Can Yoga Give a Man a Fit Body?

Yoga is an ancient Indian practice that uses postures and breathing techniques. Even though the exercise has generally been associated with women in modern times, practicing yoga is quite beneficial to men, too. Yoga helps men strengthen muscles as well as tone their bodies and gain greater flexibility. Yoga is also a great way for men to relieve stress and heal internal organs.

  1. Toning and Strengthening Muscles

    • Toning and developing muscles is something men aspire towards naturally. While conventional Western approaches, such as lifting weights and strength training, are tried and true, yoga is an excellent alternative for men, especially those just diving into working out for the first time or who want to test their mad-strength and flexibility skills in new ways. For example, doing yoga strengthens muscles in the hands and arms in ways that traditional weight lifting doesn't. Weight lifting is still best for bulking up but yoga’s well-rounded approach helps develop and tone muscles that are used for everyday tasks such as walking, bending and lifting.

    Benefits for Men

    • There are several advantages to doing yoga over conventional sports such as hockey or football, "Canadian Living" notes. Whereas these sports tend to focus and develop specific muscle groups and skills, yoga hones the whole body. Men that practice yoga get healthier cardiovascular, skeletal and endocrine systems. Yoga also improves men’s performance in the bedroom. The Eagle Posture, for example, improves blood circulation in the sex organs, leading to enhanced sexual prowess. The Triangle Pose hones cardiovascular endurance resulting in longer sexual stamina. Yoga also helps reduce muscle soreness and enhances vitality and vigor. Yoga is also a great way for men to gain better mental focus and emotional resilience. The practice also helps men flush toxins from their bodies and achieve weight loss.

    Potential Dangers

    • The potential for injury is a possibility in any exercise activity. Because men have generally more muscles than women, they are not as flexible, "The New York Times" notes. This means that men that are starting out with yoga should not rush into advanced poses. A common injury that men risk in yoga is to their pelvic area. This is because women’s pelvises are generally built to be more flexibile than men’s. So, the range of movement and joint play is more limited for men. Unfortunately, yoga uses the pelvis as a central pivot for its bending moves and poses. The risk of dislocated joints as well as torn ligaments and muscle injuries is thus higher for male yoga practitioners. Taking things slow will minimize the risk of injury. Men yoga practitioners shouldn’t be shy about stopping when they encounter pain during a pose or stretching routine, especially since powering through the pain increases risk of injury.

    Yoga Poses for Men

    • Yoga poses such as the Warrior Pose and Triangle Pose are great for building muscle strength in the legs, "Gaiam Life" notes. The Tree Pose on the other hand is great for increasing balance. The trick to getting the most out of yoga is practicing consistently and as often as possible. Men should try holding the poses for incrementally longer periods of time. Yoga, like any form of exercise, rewards those that remain consistent and persevere.