The Yoga Guy in the class filled with Women.

Let me start by saying that my friend Rob taught me something.  He said "Don't sh*t in your own living room" .    More about that later.

In most of the classes that I go to,  I am the only guy amongst anywhere from 5 to 25 women.  There are a few guys to regularly go to my studio but I can count them on one hand (there is only one male teacher) and only one who I really see often.    Lets face it,  most Yoga practitioners are women and 99% of the classes that you will attend (based upon my experience of one class having a majority of  3 men to  2 women),  you will be a minority and for most of them, you will be alone.     I actually do enjoy talking to many of the women in my class  (at this point I have met husbands,  know about grand kids and kids and would consider some of them Yoga friends).   It is one of the reasons I do not have a 100% home practice,  I enjoy the chance to go into a class filled with women.  I enjoy their company.  Would I go if it was the opposite.   That I do not know.   

With so many women in a class,  I wonder what is thought about the single guy that is there.     I did some internet searches and some articles discuss how women feel about this with such subjects like

Guys who go to yoga classes alone. Are they creepy?

or

 Solo dude attending a yoga class, non-creepy style

I find this pretty funny but who knows. I am sure there are some guys who go to Yoga to meet women but I have not really seen it. As for being creepy, can we define what that is. You are in a class filled with generally healthy women from 20 - 60 in yoga pants with sleeveless shirts. I would be lying if I said I didn't look once and a while.

Once class starts, your focus needs to be on your Asanas and not on your neighbor's tight yoga pants. You are there for your physical and mental health. You mind may wander but it should go back to the task at hand.

Another point to make (and this is especially true when you start practicing), your strength (in reference to your body) and flexibility will not be on par with many of women in your classes. This is something that has to be let go. When I started, I was a bad back mess. I could have said, my ego won't let me do this, but I did not. I had to ignore the fact that my co-classmates were women. I focused on myself and my needs and put the time and effort into improving my practice. I still go to classes where there are many women who are "better" (bad term I know) than me in Yoga, but it does not bother me. I am there for me and only me. It is like you have to forget about your ego for your ego's sake .

So in a nutshell. Being surrounded by women is fun but it should not be the reason you are in class. You are there for your practice. And what does my friends Rob's advice mean in this situation. If you are a serious practitioner think hard before you date anyone in your yoga classes. If anything goes wrong and someone gets hurt, your practice may suffer as going to the studio becomes awkward. One or both of you may feel uncomfortable in the others' presence and we all know how gossip is.