The US yoga community has a very serious set of attitudes that in the end tend to push men away. I first started yoga as purely a physical practice to enhance my abilities at endurance sports. To say that my first class was a revelation, a sense that I belonged is an understatement. I immediately bought the biggest card (in terms of sessions) I could for the studio. I was doing yoga at the studio five or more times a week including a few twice a day shots.

Then, I annoyed with a statement, a woman who, with no exaggeration was a hostile, lesbian feminist out of a Rush Limbaugh monologue. What was the statement? I was discussing a friend in another city who was into yoga with the studio owner. She asked if it was one of a list of women in that city. I say, “no, but do you have their numbers?” in a joking tone. Immediately from behind me I heard, “Women aren’t just objects for your enjoyment” in a testy voice followed by two people slamming out of the studio in a huff.

At the time the studio owner just rolled her eyes. Two days later when I came to class again it was different. I was taken outside by her and lectured on violated a sacred space and all that. Apparently the woman and her partner had called to “apologize” and then complain about a tee shirt I had worn once. In retrospect I would have worn a better but my thoughts in choosing it had been “this is my own clean tee-shirt and I don’t want to upset others with an offensive smell”. That said, a hash run tee-shirt that said “Hard farts Hash” (we were the Hartford Hash) wasn’t a good choice.

I went to that class then one more. With that my card was done and what little practice I’ve had was on DVDs. I had been considering signing up for the upcoming first stage teacher training after only about three months of doing yoga (it would have been about nine months when the teacher training started). That was seven years ago. I’ve been in a studio once since and had a brief and, in my mind, probably exaggerated by me encounter that kept me out of that one as well.

My shoe-throwing had been unintended and born by accident out of a desire to be polite. The woman’s complaint were intentional shoe throwing beside I didn’t fit the yoga mold of the US. Men in yoga in the US need to be a subset of the metrosexual brand or they aren’t welcome in many, many studios (one male’s friend reaction to my story was “dude, what did you expect, it’s a yoga studio”).

I think that’s where questions like this come from. The model these men have of men doing yoga isn’t the well known teachers but the local wimps (or worse) who most men never want to be like.
Her´s last blog ..Inspirational Art: Frank Frazetta In Pharao’s Tomb

I would love to teach sometime, but even if I don’t, Havi presented this amazing thing so weel that just doing would be awesome.

Maybe this comercial from my country could add a little spice to the answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nx7UaXP38g

Have fun,

Alvaro

So. Guess I’ll push a little more into the “This is cool – I’d like to teach it someday” side of things. If only because I’d hate to be a stereotype.

Thank you for taking my question seriously and not shrugging it off. I felt a little stupid asking that question because of course some men do it… this man just needs a little reassurance.

It was sooo exciting to see that you responded to something I asked in a whole blog post!!!! I’m not ready to jump on it yet, it’s still brewing in my head. I know if I order your kit before I’ve dedicated myself to trying it that it will sit in my closet and turn into an icky ‘should.’ And that is so totally not something I get from your blog (and so totally something I think you’d understand.)

Thank you Havi, you made my day.

That was just me being all excited that YOU (Lynn + Eileen) are thinking about teaching Shiva Nata.

ROCK. ON.

I love that!

And you totally should.

And of course you would be good enough. You ARE good enough. As soon as you can do something that someone else can’t (like remember the arm positions!) you can teach them.

Yay, both of you for going ahead and saying it out loud.

I repeat: Wooooo!

:)

Me, me me!

I want to teach it. Here’s the first public place I’m saying this.

(Not sure how that’s going to work, but there you go.)

Love to you, and thanks for writing about this conundrum.

~E.

Eileens last blog post..The Gumshoe’s Guide to Getting Off the Couch, Part 3: Station Identification