He walked behind his girlfriend, dragging his feet along slowly, as if every step was a step closer to his doom... a stoop on his wide, muscled, reluctant shoulders and a doubtful look on his face. She on the other hand, smiled widely at me, as if half the battle had already been won.
"I brought my boyfriend", she sang. "It's his first class".
He glared at me and mumbled his name when I introduced myself.
I asked if he had any prior injuries or health conditions I should know about, and he crossed his arms and said loudly in his most macho tone, "I wrecked my right knee when I was windsurfing, and I have a disc problem in my lower back due to lifting weights at the gym".
So, here we are... in class, with Mr. Macho (let's call him Mr. M), his bendy girlfriend and 3 other regular female practitioners. Being clearly outnumbered in the flexibility department did not peak Mr. M's enthusiasm for yoga.
I assured him this was a Beginner's class, and we're not here to be competitive. "To each his or her own practice" is my mantra, and I promised to offer variations, props and lots of pit stops for rest in-between. (I also told him to only look at my demonstrations and not at the other ladies around him).
We started off with some joint movement exercises, breathing, before proceeding to four half rounds of the Classical Surya Namaskar. By then, Mr. M was already sweating profusely and breathing loudly at each Tadasana, as if to find inner strength from each inhalation to last the hour.
I sprinkled the class with light-hearted humor, just to make him feel more at ease (and to divert his attention from his super tight shoulders, hamstrings and quads). The rest of the ladies found it relaxing to slow down and work on their alignment, so the class turned out pretty balanced.
Surprisingly, for someone who's never practised yoga before and is extremely inflexible, Mr. M was very aware of how his body responded to each asana, and his alignment was near perfect. I told him so, and he looked at his girlfriend with a "see...I'm not that bad" grin on his face.
At the end of the class, his towel and t-shirt were soaked (so was the mat), and he said, "Wow... this was hard! Harder than lifting weights! But I feel good". (My heart did a lil' dance of joy).
Well, here's hoping he'll join his girlfriend for more yoga.
In the meantime, here's some eye candy on male celebs who practise yoga.
Have a great weekend! xx
"I brought my boyfriend", she sang. "It's his first class".
He glared at me and mumbled his name when I introduced myself.
I asked if he had any prior injuries or health conditions I should know about, and he crossed his arms and said loudly in his most macho tone, "I wrecked my right knee when I was windsurfing, and I have a disc problem in my lower back due to lifting weights at the gym".
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| Image from 123RF |
I assured him this was a Beginner's class, and we're not here to be competitive. "To each his or her own practice" is my mantra, and I promised to offer variations, props and lots of pit stops for rest in-between. (I also told him to only look at my demonstrations and not at the other ladies around him).
We started off with some joint movement exercises, breathing, before proceeding to four half rounds of the Classical Surya Namaskar. By then, Mr. M was already sweating profusely and breathing loudly at each Tadasana, as if to find inner strength from each inhalation to last the hour.
I sprinkled the class with light-hearted humor, just to make him feel more at ease (and to divert his attention from his super tight shoulders, hamstrings and quads). The rest of the ladies found it relaxing to slow down and work on their alignment, so the class turned out pretty balanced.
Surprisingly, for someone who's never practised yoga before and is extremely inflexible, Mr. M was very aware of how his body responded to each asana, and his alignment was near perfect. I told him so, and he looked at his girlfriend with a "see...I'm not that bad" grin on his face.
At the end of the class, his towel and t-shirt were soaked (so was the mat), and he said, "Wow... this was hard! Harder than lifting weights! But I feel good". (My heart did a lil' dance of joy).
Well, here's hoping he'll join his girlfriend for more yoga.
In the meantime, here's some eye candy on male celebs who practise yoga.
Have a great weekend! xx
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| Adam Levine in Nirlamba Ardha Chandrasana |
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| Matthew McConaughey in Bhujangasana |
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| Sting in Padmasana |
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