If You Think Yoga is Just for Women Think Again: Men's Yoga is Trending

We all know most people stereotype yoga as mainly a female category of exercise. When we think of yoga we generally think of some classroom filled with women and maybe one or two feminine guys. That it's mainly just a soft form of exercise to become limber and toned. However this is far from the truth as men's yoga is quickly growing and building an enthusiastic following.

Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years and has numerous benefits for both sexes. Yoga helps center the mind and create a relaxed environment for the subject. It of course does increase flexibility and muscle tone but also can build muscle strength and agility. There are many practitioners who have gained a great strong physique from doing yoga; an example would be Rodney Yee.

Not all Yoga is created equal. If you are a guy and you want to get some muscle added to your arms and chest, you can do this with yoga. There are positions in Yoga that require vast amounts of upper body strength and have no limit to how challenging they can be. This doesn't mean you have to be contorted like a pretzel either, there are many basic movements similar to push-ups that add another dimension to your workout that weights don't. These other movements are great for targeting stabilizer muscles, ligaments and tendons. Some of these positions include the plank pose, cobra pose, downward facing dog and more difficult poses such as the crane pose.

Men's Yoga has also many benefits for the mind that weight training does not always accomplish. This means you can achieve a state of meditation combined with physical exercise. Meditative states allow for deeper insight into the functioning of your body. This can give you a heightened sense of awareness and help you target specific muscle groups when exercising.

When it comes to exercise variety is the key for overall health and success. So if you are only weight training right now, adding men's yoga to your routine is a great idea. Using 10 minutes of yoga and stretching before each workout can reduce the risk of injury and give you a pre-workout energy boost. A great way to find Yoga moves is using free video sites like YouTube. YouTube has thousands of videos spanning from 10 minutes to full hour long classes. However remember guys, going to a Yoga class is a lot of fun when you're in that handful of guys surrounded by in shape women.