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Male only yoga classes are proving to be more than a way to improve flexibility and strength, and get in touch with your breathing, according to yoga instructor Julian Fordyce.
Julian’s Broga classes (and Facebook page) began at Whangaparāoa Hall last year. They are for beginners and have recently been able to re-start under the red Covid-19 setting. Julian says numbers are growing, class by class.
He understands the hesitation and uncertainty men may feel as they start their first yoga class.
“Some poses are harder for guys, who may be generally stiff and tight in the hamstrings and pelvis,” he says. “They have been put off by all the Instagram images of people, mainly women, who are great at yoga. We have to unpick all those patterns of muscle movement from sports and so on. The slow movements and deep breathing in yoga increases the range of movement by small amounts each time.”
Julian – a graphic designer who moved to NZ from England five years ago – has played a lot of sport and had his fair share of knocks and injuries.
“Physios, and my mum, would tell me I should do yoga – but I managed to ignore all that advice,” he says.
A spinal injury that required an operation changed things, leading him into first trying yoga around 15 years ago.
“I was always the stiffest person in the class and one of the only guys,” he says. “All those bendy girls in lycra made me very self-conscious.”
He stuck with it, but it was a battle to make progress, with his working day spent behind a computer.
During the move from England to NZ, Julian and his wife stopped off in Thailand where he trained as a yoga instructor.
“There I was the only guy in a class of 21 and again, the least flexible,” he says.
Now living in Manly, Julian made contact with Whangaparāoa Hall, and the idea for male-only yoga classes was born.
“Being men only is an important aspect, because they can laugh at themselves and each other and at me,” Julian says.
All ages can take part. The class is a proper hour of yoga – gentle, but with challenges along the way.
Relaxation at the end means everyone finishes the class “blissed out”.
“They are saying yoga clears their mind, because they are focused on the physical poses. It creates mental energy and spark, and a desire to talk. It’s therapeutic.”
Afterwards, anyone who wants to goes for a beer (or ginger beer) at a local bar.
Along the way, something special is happening, Julian says.
“A tribe is being created and it’s emotional for me to be the focal point of it,” he says. “The drinks afterwards is like a debrief – we have a laugh and they ask questions and chat. Guys who haven’t met before are becoming mates just through the process of putting some sweat on a yoga mat.”
Broga sessions are held in the Hall’s supper room, Wednesdays 5.45pm-7pm – Next session March 2, FB: @brogaWhangaparaoaHall. Koha appreciated. Bring your own mat, a block if you have one, and a towel.
