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(Show us your review at the studio or email Leslie at leslie@joyyogacenter.com)

// Are You Man Enough for Yoga?//

Are you seeking a strenuous workout to kick your mind and body into high gear and help you perform at your peak?

It’s not boot camp. It’s yoga.

Despite the wrongheaded attitude that yoga is the exclusive domain of crunchy women looking to find their centers, the art actually proves itself quite manly. This Men’s Health Month, make a commitment to invest in the stability and sustainability of your mind and body. Break away from arbitrary societal norms and show everyone what kind of man you really are – one who cares about his health and his happiness.

Forget Stigma!

Stereotyping yoga as a feminine practice precludes many guys from signing up for class. For fear of taunting and stigma, they shy away from learning and only attend classes at the behest of their wives or girlfriends. Never mind that the world’s most influential yogis have historically been male!

As a result, yoga classes these days are predominantly female, perpetuating a catch-22 when many men feel locked out of participating. And that’s sad! Yoga is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, with instructors making adaptations for different skill levels, abilities and conditions. To portray the practice as the exclusive domain of women prevents men from enjoying the health and wellness benefits it offers.

Men need to slough off the stigma and start pursuing yoga without the coaxing of a female. Doing so will open them up to a brand new way to feel happy and feel healthy. Everyone deserves to live the best life possible, and shouldn’t think themselves locked out of opportunities for arbitrary reasons like gender.

The Benefits

Daily yoga boosts everything men claim they want in a workout - strength, stamina, agility and more. Weekend warriors and professional athletes alike use it as a viable supplement to their workouts. Men suffer from heart disease at a much higher rate than women, and yoga helps reduce their risk for heart attack or stroke.

But the perks extend well beyond the physical.

Yoga’s stress-relieving properties keep the mind calm during anxious times that could affect the body. Some studies also suggest that it may encourage the creation of more nerves in the brain, heightening cognitive function and mental performance. Men are less likely to empower themselves to seek psychological therapy when faced with depression and anxiety. With yoga, they have a safe strategy for meditating on their lives and either finding solutions or building the emotional fortitude necessary to seek out professionals who can help guide them toward solutions.

Strut Your Stuff

What are you waiting for, guys? Show your fellow men that you’re not afraid of challenging stereotypes and building your strength, stamina and agility through yoga. Check our schedule for a class that appeals to your needs and wants, or contact us with any questions you may have about how yoga can be used to enrich men’s lives.

Free yoga for men! On June 15 and 16, all men will be accepted into our classes completely for free! Any man curious about the physical and mental benefits yoga can offer should drop in and try it out without obligation. And ladies: Take this opportunity to treat a friend or even your father this weekend!

// We have been very busy updating our class schedule so it is just perfect for you! //

We made changes to Tuesday/Thursday mornings and Sunday evenings. Friday night’s Shake Your Asana is cancelled permanently as well. 

As always, please double check the schedule before you go to class.

Namaste, y’all!

// Better Parenting Can Start with Yoga//

Daily life is fraught with stressors, many of which might leave you too exhausted or time-crunched to be the best parent you know you can be. You love your children dearly and wish to constantly do right by them – even if your work-life balance so often seems overwhelming. Yoga provides you with a gentle method for re-aligning your work, family and hobbies so you feel refreshed and able to really enjoy quality time with your kids.

Before You’re Even a Parent

Great parenting can start even before your child is born! Moms-to-be adore prenatal yoga because it prepares them for the impending birth and provides their babies-to-be with a safe, soothing environment in which to grow. Ujjayi breathing exercises help you relax and calm your body during the most stressful moments of your pregnancy.

Prenatal yoga also provides a major boost to your circulation and balance, both of which are integral to a healthy pregnancy and baby. In fact, Mayo Clinic states that the practice reduces the risk of preterm labor and delivery as well as intrauterine growth restriction. Give prenatal yoga classes a chance. They can help improve your health and the health of your child.

Build Your Mindfulness and Patience

Parenting isn’t always the sweetest of cakewalks. Raising happy, healthy and productive kids takes almost superhuman fortitude sometimes. Yoga’s very nature fosters improved mindfulness and patience – necessary characteristics when you have children! When life starts stressing you out, you can apply the techniques learned during yoga sessions.

Breathing and meditation alike equip you with the skills to weather almost anything life throws in your path. If your kid smears SpaghettiOs on the wall before a fancy dinner party, yoga can help you address the situation with grace and calm. Solving the problem in a peaceful manner fosters a healthy, open relationship between parent and child.

Set a good example for your children by embodying the very principles which you wish to instill in them. Practice yogic breathing and meditation habits 10 to 15 minutes a day. Mindfulness breeds compassion and strength. If they see Mommy and Daddy operating in harmony with their environments, they are more likely to emulate those behaviors.

Just Relax! You Earned It

Take a little time for yourself and decompress with yoga. Although the art encourages mindfulness and a peaceful outlook and demeanor, all parents benefit from a little relaxation – even if things seem to be going swimmingly! Yoga keeps you feeling your best. And when you feel your best, you parent your kids even better.

Because yoga encourages improved sleep patterns, you not only approach your children with calm, compassion and clarity, but enjoy generally enhanced cognition and mood as well. Cheery attitudes are contagious! Spread that happiness around the dinner table, at the park or on the ride home from school. Better yet, teach your children a few simple poses so they can begin their path to wellness right alongside you.

A Gentle, Playful Bonding Exercise

Even young children delight in the peaceful pleasantries yoga provides. Organizing sessions with your kids with easy stretches and breathing techniques makes for a healthy and loving bonding experience. Many basic poses are easy enough for young minds and bodies to do, so show them a few moves you learned in class.

Beyond nurturing a closer relationship between parent and child, yoga also encourages physical fitness. It keeps kids mindful of their bodies, their limitations and how they relate to the spaces around them. And the enhanced coordination, strength and flexibility certainly doesn’t hurt, either!

Yoga isn’t just about chanting “om” and establishing inner peace; yoga happens to be quite a bit of fun, too. This component will especially engage kids and get them enthused about healthy lifestyles – hopefully spending time with their parents as well!

We Want to Help!

Your family deserves to enjoy a happy, healthy life, and yoga provides every member with the skills needed to reach their full potential as a parent or child. Contact us for more information about classes and applying what you’ve learned toward creating a peaceful, harmonious home.