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| Ok, this isn't true. But over the past few months, my Tu-Th classes have been mostly men; for example on Tuesday we had 8 men, 3 women, yesterday it was 5-3.
Note: my teacher is female.
But this class has been mostly men for a while now; it doesn't appear to be a passing trend.
I wonder if other places are getting more men?
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| Yes my classes in the past were almost 100 percent Female, and in the past 4 or 5 years mor Males have attended, and in very rare cases M > F.
Ollie: I know you are a Mathematician. Do not count too much though. |
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| it's very common for me to have a high male to female ratio in my classes. i've taught many that were 70% male! 
i've always felt lucky. |
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| As in all things, we guys are insidiously working to capture the female domain and ruin it. Like the stewardess and nursing career fields. See what we did to them? Teachers--not so much as the pay sucks--but the higher paid administrator jobs that are easier--yeh, we want them. |
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| zoebird - 2007-11-02 4:28 PM
it's very common for me to have a high male to female ratio in my classes. i've taught many that were 70% male!
i've always felt lucky.
Yeah, but isn't that because people think that you are "mean"?
(actually, you did say something about people saying that you are a stickler for proper alignment, and my guess is that guys like that) |
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| ollie - 2007-11-02 5:46 PM
Yeah, but isn't that because people think that you are "mean"?
(actually, you did say something about people saying that you are a stickler for proper alignment, and my guess is that guys like that )
She's really good at "guy" speak.
Frankly, I've usually seen a class that was dominated by men usually with the really "cute" instructors. I've also seen a couple of classes that didn't seem that welcoming to men, so there were very few, if any. |
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| GreenJello - 2007-11-05 9:12 AM I've also seen a couple of classes that didn't seem that welcoming to men, so there were very few, if any. Just wondering, what makes a class not welcoming to men? |
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| i wish i got more guys in my classes.
its pretty much all girls.
...
i would settle for just more people.
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| OrangeMat - 2007-11-05 9:41 AM
GreenJello - 2007-11-05 9:12 AM I've also seen a couple of classes that didn't seem that welcoming to men, so there were very few, if any. Just wondering, what makes a class not welcoming to men?
I don't know; on one hand I've never felt unwelcome at a class. On the other hand, my not feeling unwelcome might more be a matter of my being dense than anything else!
(that is, I am too much of a social nerd to detect when I am (especially) unwelcome) |
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| GreenJello - 2007-11-05 8:12 AM
She's really good at "guy" speak.
Frankly, I've usually seen a class that was dominated by men usually with the really "cute" instructors. .
That certainly isn't the case here; my teacher isn't what anyone would call "cute"; she is reasonably attractive but in sort of an old-farm-girl way; kind of like your cool auntie.
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| Kate suggested that men would feel more comfortable in a class with a male instructor.
since uh, there are so many of those around.
i think she's got a point, but at the same time i think some guys might think that was, ahem, 'totally gay.'
on the other hand i don't think those are the guys going to yoga classes in the first place. |
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| OrangeMat - 2007-11-05 10:41 AM
GreenJello - 2007-11-05 9:12 AM I've also seen a couple of classes that didn't seem that welcoming to men, so there were very few, if any. Just wondering, what makes a class not welcoming to men?
I'm not really sure. One of the local classes is always very popular, but for some reason they didn't seem to attract a lot of men. It was a challenging class, always filled to the brim, and yet I was almost always the only man in there, for about a year. After a while even I began to feel a bit uncomfortable about it. However, there wasn't anything particularly bad, or anything like that I could point to. |
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| I think that more men are trying yoga now than before. I think that men (as a group) are slower to embrace new things than women and that part of the reason that there are fewer men in yoga classes is men generally don't like to perform poorly in front of women, especially attractive young women who are stronger as well as more flexible than them. Also, women are often more social than men and like classes more, as opposed to working out alone.
I know that my classes have a lot more men than they used to (it used to be 10-20% and is now 30-40%). I think that part of this is that when men come and see other men, they feel OK about it. Another reason is that I have a major league baseball player that takes my class. The other men see that and then don't think that it is a "sissy" thing to do. I enjoy having a mix of men and women as well as all kinds and ages of people. I especially like couples, whether young or old. I have couples in their 20's all the way to their 70's as well as mother/daughter and sister/sister groups that are regulars. This makes the whole thing more of a community rather than each person coming by themself and leaving by themself. I have noticed that at many yoga studios the students are almost unfriendly with each other. I don't understand that. My classes are as friendly, fun and welcoming as I can make them. Maybe since I teach in a more rural area the people react differently with each other. Do any of you get a lot of people from particular professions? I seem to get a lot of nurses (male and female) and school teachers. |
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| As to GJ's statement,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hivfxhNzTWM
(the reactions prior to the guy passing gas)
As far as our class: it is a 6 am and no one is really worried about looking bad; most of us are middle aged and a long way from being intimidating to be around.
That is, no pretty spandex wrapped yoginis here!
I've been to classes where there have been such women, but hey, I've ceased to care about my image in front of women a long time ago.
Edited by ollie 2007-11-07 4:48 PM
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| jimg - 2007-11-07 4:09 PM
I think that more men are trying yoga now than before. I think that men (as a group) are slower to embrace new things than women and that part of the reason that there are fewer men in yoga classes is men generally don't like to perform poorly in front of women, especially attractive young women who are stronger as well as more flexible than them. Also, women are often more social than men and like classes more, as opposed to working out alone.
That could have been part of it. A lot of the people in the class I was in were regulars, and it was a very challenging class. First time I went I was sore for about 3 days, and I never get sore. I also was taking this particular class (yogalates) about once a week, and I didn't feel like I was keeping up with the people who were taking it twice a week. |
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| OrangeMat - 2007-11-05 10:41 AM
GreenJello - 2007-11-05 9:12 AM I've also seen a couple of classes that didn't seem that welcoming to men, so there were very few, if any. Just wondering, what makes a class not welcoming to men?
For me, lots of chanting
I don't feel easy with it and I don't understand the words |
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| SCThornley - 2007-11-14 9:09 AM
OrangeMat - 2007-11-05 10:41 AM
GreenJello - 2007-11-05 9:12 AM I've also seen a couple of classes that didn't seem that welcoming to men, so there were very few, if any. Just wondering, what makes a class not welcoming to men?
For me, lots of chanting
I don't feel easy with it and I don't understand the words
What does that have to do with being male? My guess is that many rational types wouldn't be attracted to this; nor would those who belong to religions that threaten eternal ****ation for doing the "wrong" religious practices.
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| ollie - 2007-11-14 4:10 PM
SCThornley - 2007-11-14 9:09 AM
OrangeMat - 2007-11-05 10:41 AM
GreenJello - 2007-11-05 9:12 AM I've also seen a couple of classes that didn't seem that welcoming to men, so there were very few, if any. Just wondering, what makes a class not welcoming to men?
For me, lots of chanting
I don't feel easy with it and I don't understand the words
What does that have to do with being male? My guess is that many rational types wouldn't be attracted to this; nor would those who belong to religions that threaten eternal ****ation for doing the "wrong" religious practices.
I was just saying for me,
I am a man, that's about it, I'm unconcerned with salvation or eternity or religion
I don't like preachy stuff either
so, preachy classes suck--for me
Edited by SCThornley 2007-11-14 4:36 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Mr.Tourist hates chanting - won't do it. Not even OM. I think he has some residual anger left over from problems stemming from an evangelical relative. So I am always impressed whn any guy chants. I love having a bass line in the invocation  |
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| tourist - 2007-11-14 9:47 PM Mr.Tourist hates chanting - won't do it. Not even OM. I think he has some residual anger left over from problems stemming from an evangelical relative. So I am always impressed whn any guy chants. I love having a bass line in the invocation So is it really a guy thing? I've been hesitant to follow up on this question I asked, because I didn't want this to turn into another I-hate-chanting debate. I understand that chanting is definitely a personal preference sort of thing, but I'm finding it a little odd to think that one's openness to such a thing follows gender lines. I've known tons of women who won't go to yoga classes because of the chanting, as well as just not being comfortable with the thought of being asked to do physical things out of their perceived comfort zone. Me, I've never had an issue with things like that, maybe 'cause I have no shame?   Seriously, I really just want to understand, that's all.  |
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| OK, lemme' Xplain my position on chanting
I don't understand the language, and it's always been presented to me in a manner reminding me of some condescension so, it makes me uncomfortable.
I mean,
alignment----sure
Position---sure
breath---no problem
Getting into my head with some spiritually meaningful track that's been handed down through the ages--------no thanks
I'll figure the spiritual stuff out on my own in private or on my own agenda
I think Men like to have some control over their own boundaries and I'm ok with physically letting go, but spiritually or mentally or whatever you want to call it, I keep my gates closed until I'm ready to let you in the yard.
So, this isn't an anti-chanting rant.
What this is more than anything else is a celebration of my independence and an acknowledgment of my own personal serenity and what is necessary to continue that easy peaceful feeling.
I'm not comfortable with chanting---it ain't my thing, and I imagine that there are a lot of other folks out there, men and women, of all cultures, all over the globe that feel the same way as I do, whether it's a majority or not, I don't care, but if you want to come to some sort of further understanding I've offered my position as light. If you don't want to know, don't ask.
I, sometimes, like to hear other people chant, but I'm just not comfortable with participating because it doesn't do it for me in the meaningful intent that I imagine it was meant to be.
So, if the teacher has a chanting part of the class, ehhh, that's fine, but if the teacher wants me to chant along, even if I don't know what it's all about, that just doesn't feel right, and beyond that, chanting is just not for everyone.
So, chanting in class
-----------------optional---->good
-----------------mandatory-->bad
In my opinion
will that destroy my chances of being the ultimate yogi---probably, but that was a sure bet a long time ago and I stopped caring about such relative comparisons once I finally woke up.
--Peace--
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| SCT - yep, I think the boundary issue is certainly part of it. Guys do like to stake out territory and defend it. For some reason this is reminding me of the old song "I'll do anything for love, but I won't do that." |
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| if you don't own the territory in between your own two ears
you'll do anything you're told
like a zombie robot |
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| I can't imagine chanting being mandatory in a yoga class, but maybe that's just my naivety speaking here (as well as good fortune in taking classes). So sure, of course, if it were forced on you it would be bad. Totally a no-brainer there. |
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| Now I know why Brother SCT has avoided seeing me. He thinks I shall talk in Chanting language. But, he does not know that I am also a younger brother of Big Brother Bruce. Thus, I know other languages too! |
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No Girls allowed!
