This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
Published on July 12, 2019, a yoga instructor in Mombasa, Hezron Mwabili, has been teaching yoga for 13 years and has noticed a significant disparity in the number of male and female students.
Of the more than 20 people he trains, only five are men, a trend he admits is not unusual.
Hezron attributes the low number of male students to the misconception that yoga is a woman's exercise, despite its numerous physical and mental benefits.
"In one of the gyms I have two men and seven women. In other gyms, it is only women who come for yoga. But it is not a popular exercise in Coast compared to Nairobi," Hezron says.
Hezron, a 29-year-old yogi, started practicing yoga after years of martial arts and taekwondo. He believes that yoga is not just a physical exercise but also a mental one that helps to reduce stress, manage anger and anxiety.
"Yoga is for everyone. Some men think they won’t get much from it and opt for weights to bulk up muscles or running on a treadmill for cardio workouts but yoga is a total body workout," Hezron says.
He encourages men to try yoga, especially those who think they are not flexible enough. "Some men say they are not very flexible like the women. Others say they feel bored doing the different poses. But yoga can help men become more flexible and ease body pains and stiffness," he says.
Hezron recommends starting with beginner-friendly poses such as child’s pose, high lunge, crescent pose, and yogi squat. He also suggests trying Bikram Yoga, Vinyasa yoga, or other types of yoga to find what works best for you.
However, he cautions against getting injuries, especially for beginners.
