Broga: Yoga Reimagined for Men

The practice gets shaped into a more appealing, welcoming and empowering experience for the guys

By Maggie Wolarik

Yoga From a Regular Guy’s Perspective

I hadn’t felt great lately. Weight had been piling on around my belly, my libido had waned, and I felt sluggish. Mornings were a struggle, and work and kids had been stressing me out. My wife’s yelling at me hadn’t helped.

I went to my doctor’s appointment, only to find out my cholesterol and blood pressure were high, and I was teetering on the edge of diabetes. The worst part was when my doctor suggested I try yoga.

My doctor told me that in addition to the meds I now had to take, maybe yoga could help with weight gain and flexibility, and I might sleep better. I was desperate for something, but, YOGA?

I found a Groupon for yoga at a studio down the street from the house. I had to do something, but what would my friends say? I just wouldn’t tell them. My drinking buddies would never speak to me again. Ugh.

Still, I signed up for a class, grabbed my wife’s yoga mat, put on some baggy shorts, and trudged my way to class. The studio was small and smelled funny. Some young snooty girl at the counter had no clue how to register me. My confidence began to fade.

I sidled my way into the studio. It was dark except for candles, smelled like incense (I hate incense), and had the strangest ethereal music playing. This was going to be the longest hour of my life.

I lay out my mat at the back of the room. In front of me is an assortment of women in various tight-fitting spandex outfits – so distracting. They took one look at me and told me they didn’t want me behind them (like I’d be looking at them). I moved to the front of the room – now everyone is looking at me, the only guy in the room. Was I supposed to remove my socks? (I am sooo screwed). Completely mortified, I started my first-ever yoga class.

Broga Class From the Perspective of the Same Regular Guy

I workout at Powerhouse gym in Northern New Jersey. I lift weights with my buddies. I notice some yoga going on in the studio, but I would never set foot in there. It’s all women, and my buddies would laugh their asses off at me if I went there.  

One day I notice a flyer at the front desk: Broga demo class coming the following week. What is this Broga stuff?

The flyer states:

“Try Broga (for men) – Less fluff, more athletics

Functional movement, breathwork and physical drills.

Rock-and-roll music and a live violin closing.”

Hmm … sounds interesting … 

I had some back pain, blood pressure was a bit high. I grabbed a couple of my buff buddies and we go to class.

The room wasn’t dark, smelled good, and there is some cool, old-time rock-and-roll playing. The teacher was nice and comes up to introduce herself. She is wearing some faded sweats and a T-shirt – I like it so far.

There are 12 of us (all guys) all lined up with our socks on. A bit of apprehension hangs in the air. Our Broga gal chats with us all a bit before we start. We all start to relax. We stretch, we laugh, we breathe, we do some pushups and release the crankiness in our backs and hips. The socks all came off! She played the violin at the end while we stretched out.

The hour flew by. We all chatted a bit more after class. It was fun, relaxing and we all felt a lot better. I was a convert. We are all now Brogis! And dang proud of it.

So, there you have it. Yoga reimagined into a more appealing, welcoming and empowering experience for men.