Men’s Broga yoga craze so popular in California even the women are joining

Men’s Broga yoga craze so popular in California even the women are joining

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Broga was created for the “bros” who wanted to do yoga but with moves designed to complement the male physique.
And the Broga sessions are now proving so popular in Los Angeles they’re attracting a strong female audience.

STORY-LINE:
Broga is alive and well, becoming a popular choice for men (and increasingly women) today who want a sportier version of yoga without the focus on stretches and bends.
It was originally created to make yoga more accessible and rewarding for men.
Broga combines traditional yoga with functional fitness exercises and high-intensity interval training. It works on improving core-strength, cardio, muscle-toning, stress-reducing and clarity building postures.
But if men are taking up broga because they want an easier ride than weight or circuit-training sessions, then they might be in for a bit of a shock.
Co-founder Robert Sidoti created Broga to let men get a workout to accompany their other fitness routines.
In Broga there are no candles, no spiritual music, no chanting, and no spirituality – it’s about improving the body.
“What it is, is a strength-based yoga class. We base it in a Vinyasa yoga kind of framework and we add functional fitness and high intensity interval moments. What we want to do is, we want the yoga experience to come through by giving accessible challenging fitness and heart pumping movement,” says Sidoti.
At Crunch gym in Burbank, California, it’s a strong and energetic class.
Men worried about their flexibility need not worry here – there is no prerequisite that they must be able to touch their toes.
Push ups, squats and elongating stretches are added to make a more familiar regime for men, however the exercises still stress breathing, strength, flexibility and balance.
“All the physical benefits that any yoga class offers, Broga offers, but maybe the strength is a little bit more engaged. We do a lot more strength than a traditional yoga class. That’s huge. I think a lot of guys are deconditioned and they have poor patterns and posture. We are looking to to change that,” says Sidoti.
43-year-old actor Jerry Ying has just taken his first Broga class and says it was a lot tougher than he ever imagined.
“It was super challenging. I’m pretty much a beginner yoga person. I just started and it was really challenging. You really work your muscules and then he talked you through it. I’t was cool because it was almost like a sport. It felt sporty” says Ying.
Some men use Broga classes as an accompaniment to weight-lifting sessions.
Meena Dimian is a media consultant from Los Angeles and also a Broga devotee. He likes to incorporate broga sessions around his weight regime and finds it a perfect balance.
“It also speaks to the male body. There is a lot of back work and leg work that sometimes you miss in your classic Vinyasa classes so it is pushes the male hormone a little bit more, which is nice,” says Dimian.
Despite the name Broga – the sisters are also getting in on the act and are equallly invited to attend the sessions. Today between one third to half of classes are filled with females.
Since Broga claims it is more strenuous than traditional yoga classes – some women seem to prefer the more macho environment.
Sidoti says both men and women like Broga – but his classes target a demographic and might not be for everybody.
John Rowley is the wellness director at the International Sports Science Association (ISSA), he explains the origins of Broga and how its audience is beginning to shift.
The class has caught on with people because it offers yoga moves but with intense strength training while respecting the wisdom of yoga.
Rowley says it’s growing exponentially.

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