Yoga is an activity dominated by women, but men have good reason to roll out the mats, too, according to yoga instructors and male yogis themselves.

Newtown resident JoJo Keane has been practicing yoga for 20 years and teaching it locally at her Tory Lane studio and other venues for eight years. Ms Keane sees more male yogis now than when she started her practice, although the percentage is still quite small. There are many benefits for women and men alike, she said.

“A flexible body creates an environment for a sharper brain and a more conscious overall personality. Being flexible in your body slows down the fight or flight response. Men and women need to all be working together in a conscious community. The yoga studio is a perfect place, where the rules of the playing field are level, not competitive, or comparing each other and without a hierarchy. We all have value and gifts, even if we cant touch our toes. Yet!” Ms Keane said.

It is safe to say men can benefit from exercise that helps with flexibility and a better overall mental and/or physical state, so why have men typically been less inclined to do yoga?

“It must be the yoga pants. Guys just were not sure what to wear to class,” Ms Keane said, perhaps only half-jokingly. “Just kidding — I think yoga in the West has adapted a lot for the folks who want fitness. But what I think surprises those people is the power of the breath and the mind that can actually help support the overall fitness of the holistic self. Yoga classes can be a killer workout; they can be completely passive, like Yoga Nidra.

“Traditionally, pictures of yogis were mostly men, but they were shown in very difficult, twisted and flexible, bound poses. Men tend not to be as flexible as women, so perhaps they shied away from it because it didn’t look possible, or maybe they didn’t get why they would ever want to do yoga in the first place,” Ms Keane said.

“The gender disparity is closing. We are all just people. Looking for balance,” said Ms Keane, adding that people who go deeply into integrating it into their lives discover power sources to remove stress and illness and truly become fit in the end.

“It’s been ticking upward, albeit slowly. There was a time when I was typically the only man in any class that I went to, and that has changed. Now, a solid 25 percent of my regular attendees are men,” said David Macharelli, who is from Waterbury and teaches at several studios, including at Yoga Dimensions, 87 South Main Street in Newtown.

Twink McKenney, one of the new owners of Yoga Dimensions, started teaching yoga a decade ago.

“There are always more women,” said Ms McKenney, adding that overall, probably about ten percent of the yoga students are males.

Evolution In Yoga

Ironically, it is believed that when yoga began in and around India roughly 5,000 years ago — and up until only the past couple hundred years — only men were allowed to partake in the poses and strength-building elements of yoga, according to Aline Marie, owner of Newtown Yoga Center, 78 South Main Street. Ms Marie said women were permitted to participate in the chanting and meditative portions.

Why it evolved into a practically woman-only activity is not completely clear, but, Ms Marie said, women tend to gravitate to groups and social settings more than men. At Newtown Yoga Center, Ms Marie has classes for individuals as well as husband-wife tandems.

Ms Marie said yoga is great for both genders in that it relaxes the body and helps with muscle recovery — not to mention creates a venue for socialization and networking.

“When the muscles are tight, the entire body tightens up,” Ms Marie said, adding, “Stress is the number one killer.”

Ms Marie said participating in yoga helps athletes avoid injuries because muscles are looser, and it allows the body to recover more quickly after workouts or any activities. She worked with Newtown High School football players over a four-plus-year time period, and team injuries reduced by 40 percent in the first year, she said.

“Anything you do, you’re going to bounce back 25 percent better,” Ms Marie said.

“It’s really a very dynamic and powerful process, not only physically, but mentally. There’s a chronic and relentless stress that we’re under,” Ms McKenney said. “It’s good for anybody — for kids, for seniors, anybody who has a body.”

John Morlock is a yogi at Yoga Dimensions who first got involved two years ago.

“I had been interested in trying it sooner, but was too busy with my three boys and all of their sports and activities. When the youngest graduated high school, I finally had the time to start,” Mr Morlock said.

“I am into health and fitness and had read an article stressing three key areas of long term health: regular cardio activities, weight training, and stretching/flexibility. I am active running and playing sports for cardio, lift weights at the gym regularly, but other than light stretching before cardio activities, I was doing little to improve my flexibility. The article mentioned yoga as a good regimen for improving overall body flexibility, so I gave it a try. I stopped by Yoga Dimensions on a Saturday afternoon, since I knew the owner, got information on the different classes and times, and started in October 2016. Now, I go once or twice a week and have noticed the difference, not just in my legs and hamstrings, but back, shoulders, neck, and arms,” Mr Morlock said.

Mr Morlock said he is not sure why more men do not do yoga.

“Could be that they think it’s just for women or are afraid of being stereotyped, but I have noticed more men coming to classes over the past two years that I have been doing it, and I do highly recommend it,” Mr Morlock said.

“The ‘most likely to continue’ entry point for men in average physical shape is power flow class, as it’s easy to connect other forms of exercise and still gives the mental focus aspect,” Mr Macharelli said.

Mr Macharelli started practicing in late 2001 and decided to pursue teacher training in 2011, when the gym where he regularly practiced had a shortage of instructors.

“My first class was simply to accompany my wife (then girlfriend), so she wanted someone to come along with her. I had no idea what to expect but found it challenging, slept better than usual that evening, and woke up refreshed. I’ve been at it ever since,” Mr Macharelli said. “There are many reasons to try, and many styles to try, until one fits. In my case, I went into with some weight-related back and knee problems and regained a lot of lost strength and mobility. It may be even better as a means of refocusing one’s mind and managing stress, which is what I use it for now,” Mr Macharelli added.

“I have done yoga off and on for six years, and it started when an instructor at the gym I was a member of encouraged me to give it a try. I think I was the only guy who took the class. I found it more challenging than I expected, while also being a great way to unwind and detach from what is going on outside,” Ryan Knapp, another male yogi, said.

“Physically, yoga is amazing because it challenges you to find space, and you are very aware of how everything is connected. I don’t think my back ever felt better than after a class, and I wish I had done yoga when I was a college rower. Turns out, they now practice yoga with a lot of the athletes at Syracuse, my alma mater. Mentally, it was relaxing, with the meditative aspects and a need to be fully engaged, which forces you to check everything else at the door, a sort of escape into flow I have also found in rowing or fly fishing,” Mr Knapp added.

Paul Pronovost is an avid runner from town who started doing yoga at Yoga Dimensions a year ago. He began doing Pilates (exercises that improve physical strength as well as mental awareness) to help overcome injuries and has found yoga to be complementary in that it is beneficial from a mental standpoint.

“You get a running high, but it’s not that mindful,” Mr Pronovost said.

Although it felt a bit awkward being the only male, or sometimes one of two, in the class, Mr Pronovost quickly adapted and says, having participated in yoga, he does not see any reason for the activity to be dominated by women. “When you get there, you’re in your own little place anyway,” Mr Pronovost said.

“Yoga is such a wonderful platform for both genders to participate equally and uniquely,” Ms Keane said. “Men might be generally stronger and women might be generally more flexible, but we are truly on our own unique journeys in our own vehicles. The philosophy of the practice of yoga is to be on your mat, not comparing or competing, just being with your own breath and your own experience as you move. We all share a common goal of moving tension out of the body, connecting into your deep authentic self, and meditating, finding a common place where we can be together, genderless — just authentic, breathing bodies and souls.”