Where are all the men?

Historically, yoga was almost exclusively a male preserve - yet classes in the west are still overwhelmingly attended by women. Brighton-based Iyengar yoga teacher Andy Roughton says it's time for a change.

A yoga class can be an intimidating place for the male of the species; the majority of the class is likely to be made up of females, many of whom have greater flexibility than the larger framed, larger muscled male.

My own unofficial statistics say that less than 6% of IYA (UK) members are male and this figure is even lower for IYA (UK) male teachers.

Historically, there is no reason for this. Yoga was almost exclusively only practiced by males.

So, with all the modern scientific data that has been collected on the benefits of yoga, it is time for us to ask how can we encourage men to return to the yoga mat.

It is interesting to find that yoga is now taught to many top athletes such as swimmers, runners, footballers, tennis players, cricket players and even rugby players have turned to yoga training to complement their own disciplines.

Many of the top premiership football clubs hold regular yoga classes. Everton FC have recently opened a purpose built yoga studio at their training ground and Manchester United have been holding classes for over six years.

Players such as Ryan Giggs, Rude Van Nistelroy and Roy Keene have all sung the praises of yoga. Meanwhile, Richard Ward, an Iyengar yoga teacher from Bath, has been actively involved in providing regular classes for Bath Rugby Football club.

The stories don't end there: Mike Catt, one of the victorious squad that won the Rugby World Cup back in 2003, would not have made it back into the England squad were it not for yoga.

Cricket players have been a little slower to catch onto how yoga can benefit there performances but things are changing. Many of the international clubs such as India, Australia and South Africa have been using yoga training for some time.

Currently Northampton and a number of the other County Cricket Clubs are holding yoga classes. The England cricketer Andrew Straus, when recently asked what his interests were outside of cricket, said he was 'very keen' on yoga.

So, assuming that about 94% of the readers of this article are female, why not encourage your male friends and family to take to the mat? Whether you are male or female, old or young yoga is for everyone.

Andy Roughton is a dedicated, certified Iyengar yoga teacher. He believes precision and technique are the tools that enable a student to progress safely. As well as teaching at locations including the Brighton Natural Health Centre, Andy is an active committee member of both the Sussex Iyengar yoga organisation (IIYS) and the Iyengar Yoga Association IYA (UK).