There isn’t a person out there who doesn’t stand to gain from getting into yoga, but there are some specific benefits of yoga for men… and we don’t think there are enough people talking about them!
So let’s get talking.
We’re breaking down nine major benefits of yoga for men below. Keep scrolling for all the deets on how making a routine of regular yoga can improve the quality of any dude’s life.
1. It will improve your workouts across the board.
You might be totally new to yoga. You might even be a little skeptical! Your primary goal for building a yoga practice might be to shake up your existing workout routine. We’re planning to kick that skepticism to the curb, but we totally get it.
Assuming that yoga is about to become just one part of a more diverse exercise regimen, you’ll find that it’s going to help you rock all of your workouts more than ever. Yoga (especially the high-energy kind we practice around here) offers a wide range of health benefits that will make you feel stronger, less winded, and more flexible after just a few sessions. As a result of all of these benefits, yoga can also help prevent sports injuries! This is bound to pay off in all of your hiking, team sports, swimming, running, weightlifting, and other activities.
Need more proof? Participants in a 2016 study published in the International Journal of Yoga experienced an overall improvement in athletic performance when they incorporated yoga in their routine.
2. No more chronic pain!
Okay, so we can’t guarantee that you will actually have no chronic pain. After all, aches and pains are somewhat inevitable as we get older… but yoga is great for easing them.
Here’s a fun fact courtesy of the experts at Psychology Today: chronic pain and practicing yoga actually have opposite effects on the brain. How cool is that?! As a result of this, yoga can reduce your body’s perception of pain and minimize its progression over time.
Yoga is also great for reducing stress (more on that later), and since stress can catalyze pain-related changes in your brain, spending time on your mat to take the edge off will support pain reduction, too.
3. You’ll experience a wider range of motion.
Do you struggle to move as freely as you’d like? Does your body feel tighter than it used to? It might be time to give yoga a try.
The poses we lead you through in our studios and online classes improve balance and build strength, which will make it easier for you to comfortably enjoy — and even excel at! — the other physical activities you love, not to mention the basic movements you go through in your daily routine.
4. Yoga is good for your sex life.
Everyone wants to maintain that special spark in their bedroom, and a yoga practice is proven to do just that! Remember: yoga improves endurance, boosts stamina, and increases flexibility and strength. Wouldn’t all of those things pay off next time you want to get it on?
Hitting the mat a little more frequently may just make things a little spicier next time you want to hit the hay (wink, wink).
5. It helps you breathe more deeply.
You probably don’t spend too much time really thinking about the way you breathe. But maybe that needs to change! When you breathe deeply, your body reaps some serious benefits — improved blood flow, higher energy, better digestion, decreased pain, and more.
More traditional yoga studios tend to be a little more into breathing exercises than our fitness-fueled, cardio yoga, but our classes still push you to tune in to the way you breathe so you can keep up with the flow. You can take those skills with you away from the studio and (hopefully) breathe deeper no matter what you’re doing.
6. A yoga practice promotes healthier sleep.
Is there anyone out there who can honestly say they’re not tired? If they exist, we haven’t met them yet. A general state of exhaustion seems to just be part of being human! The good news is that improved sleep is, in fact, a benefit of yoga for men.
Yoga regulates the nervous system, reduces stress, and can encourage a more consistent routine, all of which can help you sleep better. Per a study from Harvard Medical School published in Psychology Today, insomniacs who practice yoga daily sleep more efficiently and for longer periods of time than those who don’t. Yoga also reduces the amount of time it takes people to actually fall asleep.
Sweet dreams, bulldoggers!
7. Yoga can boost productivity on the job.
Even if you don’t think you need to add mindfulness practices to your routine, you’d probably jump at the chance to become more productive on the job and at home. We’re about to come at with you another fun fact. Mindfulness and productivity are far from mutually exclusive — they’re actually connected!
A 2017 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that participants who practice both mindfulness and regular exercise (including yoga) experience less burnout and demonstrate more resilience at work. That sounds like a recipe for increased productivity to us!
8. It’s a stress reducer.
We’ve already hinted at this one a few times and it’s finally time to get into the nitty gritty. That’s right, people — yoga can help you cut back on stress. And don’t we all need a little (or a lot) less stress?
According to the Mayo Clinic, many studies have proven the mental health benefits of a yoga practice. Yoga reduces stress, dials down anxiety, and improves mood. Grab a mat to take advantage of all of these benefits of yoga for men!
9. Yoga keeps you on track for overall health and wellness.
If you’re chasing down any kind of health or wellness goal, yoga is definitely for you. Many studies have proven that people who do yoga are more connected to their bodies than people who don’t do yoga, which can increase motivation to make healthy lifestyle decisions. It’s an awesome cycle to get into!
Want to reap these benefits for yourself? Check out our class schedules! (Villanova | Boulder | Malvern)
***You can get the bulldog experience anywhere, anytime with our online classes or via our app (App store | Google Play)! Don’t forget to subscribe to the bulldog blog so you can get e-mail notifications about every new post.***
Featured image: Scott Broome/Unsplash; Running image: Arek Adeoye/Unsplash; Desk image: Daniele D’Andreti/Unsplash