If you have been to a yoga class in the last 10 years, you might have noticed something: it’s mostly women. Guys can often walk into a yoga class and feel like they have entered a woman’s world, the students are mostly women, the teacher is usually a woman, and the teachings are often directed at the audience: women. The challenge is: where do we fit into this world, as men? Do we have a place? Is there room for us to be men in this feminine world? The answer is: definitely yes!

There are some wonderful opportunities for men in this world of modern yoga, and if we are aware of the things we can learn, we can certainly become better men and better people. Let’s have a look at some of the ways we can get the most out of yoga classes:

1. Yoga is for everybody. In class, be yourself and stay established as exactly who you are. A genuine yoga class will welcome everyone and help them learn and practice in the way that suits them. Let your yoga practice be an expression of the good parts of your masculinity. Yoga is all about helping us to be a more refined expression of who we are, male or female.
2. Look and Listen and Learn. Since you are entering a world that can be very feminine, it’s actually an excellent opportunity for men to understand and connect to women on a positive level. Yoga class should a place that is open and healthy and encourages everyone to be in their own power. Women (and men) in yoga tend to be powerful, positive,  healthy and self-assured. It is a great place to be: in a world where people are comfortable and confident. If you want your relationships with women to be better, go to yoga! There is a lot to be learned in yoga class about the ways women approach things, which can be different than the ways of men. I feel it is very important for men to be sometimes immersed into a world guided by women. Listen and Learn!
3. Don’t be Intimidated! Yoga is a practice that is about strength and flexibility, both mentally and physically. Few people walk into a yoga class and are instantly good at it. Men and women both have to work to improve at yoga. The in the first few classes, we all feel like clumsy dolts, slightly lost and often intimidated by these powerful and confident people surrounding us. Especially when men walk into a yoga class, they want to be good at it but aren’t. Their pride can make them feel inadequate when faced with all these full-power women around them. Good! Feel inadequate and out of your depth. It’s good to be humble and it’s useful to be bad at something in public. Take the lesson, stay with it and improve. Don’t let pride stop you from going to yoga! It’s worth it. And no one’s judging you. We have all been there.
4. Find the Right Teacher or Style. All of us have to shop around to find the right yoga teacher or style for us.  Men tend like challenge and intensity and practices that require strength. Ashtanga Vinayasa Yoga tends to have lots of men because it is more of an intense focused challenge. Other styles like Power Yoga also provide lots of challenge and difficulty. Make sure you go to a number of different teachers and styles before you settle on one. Men should also try to get out of that intensity comfort zone sometimes and try Yin Yoga or other soft styles. This might hurt (a lot) at first but it’s great for men’s bodies which tend to be tighter and less flexible than women’s bodies. Surrender is a hard lesson for men but a valuable one!

The great thing about yoga is that is shapes men into solid, good men. All of us have tendencies that are not healthy, and yoga can help to smooth out our sharp edges and refine our behaviour. The men I know that are dedicated to yoga are some of the most balanced, happy and powerful people I know. It is a place were we can all be ourselves and let others be themselves. No one expects you to be anything other than who you are, but they want you to be the best you that you can be. In yoga, we can find ways to grow into being complete men: understanding, caring, powerful, supportive, confident, kind and communicative men.

Especially when it comes to relationships, yoga is one of the best places men could be. We can explore both our masculine and feminine sides (for we all have both) by being in a place that is an open place for both the men and women. If we don’t connect to the masculine and feminine in ourselves and balance them out, we can never hope to be in a balanced relationship.

As a yoga teacher with 30 years experience, I am always astounded by the lack of men in the classes and wish that more men would man up and join us in this amazing practice. It is truly one of the best places we as men could find the harmony that will improve our lives and make us healthy and happy till then end of our days!