Opening a Yoga Studio
Upon graduating from Yoga Teacher Training in 2000, I
set out to begin my practice.
Like most new yoga instructors, having to teach a
class at various studios, at gyms and the occasional private class is normal.
It can also be challenging and more labor intensive than need to be. But, by 2000 the practice of yoga had become
completely mainstream as a work out regime mainly for women. Yoga studios were popping up as fast as
Starbucks. Different styles of yoga were being created. Rock star yoga
instructors were finding name and notoriety.
Because I lacked finances and a following, I did not
have the notion of opening my own studio. As such, I was relegated to teaching
at someone else’s studio, and following their practice protocol. I even taught
at a few gyms, which I detested. Gym yoga is nothing like studio yoga. In a gym
setting the “students” were looking at me like I had no idea what I was doing.
And the feeling was mutual. It just wasn’t a good match. Since I did not have the marketing skills to
promote myself, I decided to step out of the practice.
Three years later, more financially sound and better
focused, the opportunity arose to embrace a teaching practice and open a studio for men.
Years prior I had a few challenging moments that made
me question my yoga practice and my ability as an instructor. But nothing has
been more challenging than opening my own studio.
It made sense to open an all male facility as females
mainly attended all the neighboring studios.
For some reason, when yoga hit the mainstream it was
embraced mostly by women. Despite the star athletes, male movie stars and other
media worthy men that have embraced the practice of yoga, it has stayed mainly
a female dominated practice. It did not help that the Americanized yoga became
fashion conscious and somewhat materialistic with its accouterments. Yoga was also
viewed as part of the “self help” movement and that in itself detracted men
from jumping on the mat. Not that men are deterred from engaging in self-help,
but that and the “stretchy” part of yoga with the limber females may not be the
most enticing aspect of the practice.
Years ago a friend and I joked about teaching a naked
yoga retreat. Shortly after, during a workshop we were approached by a fellow
student and were asked if we would be interested in assisting him in teaching a
naked yoga class that he had started a few months prior. The classes were
growing, and he felt the need to expand. We accepted, and I ended up teaching
for a few months.
Unfortunately
I had to drop out as the classes and the space had too much of an erotic over
tone. Not that I was teaching that but the original instructor allowed that
essence, and I did not want to teach yoga with an erotic or sensual approach. Quite
the contrary, I wanted to teach a naked yoga class without the essence of eroticism
or sexual energy.
I do not identify as a nudist, but I enjoy being naked,
and I have always scoffed at the belief that nudity is erotic or sexual. Yes,
of course it can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Such a view of nudity can
create insecurity and self-loathing. We
are barraged by the media with pictures of the “perfect” body and socially
worship them. With naked yoga I wanted to approach the idea of being naked in a
communal setting and have the attention drawn to something other than where the
eye is drawn. I wanted to prove that people could be naked together, engaging
in a physical, mental and spiritual practice and putting aside any insecurities
and inhibitions. And to date, it has been successful.
Of course I offer clothed classes as well. Yoga is
yoga with or with out clothes.
So why practice yoga? Why men’s yoga? Why naked Yoga?
I began yoga 27 years ago looking for something that
would help me get in touch with my body and spiritual growth. At the time I had
enjoyed working out at a gym but it seemed to lack something. A few books I had read introduced yoga to me
so I looked for a class.
Throughout the years the practice was many different
things to me. At times I felt it was breaking me down, other times I felt it
was building me up. With more study I realized that was what the practice was
all about. Similar to the practice of
Zen Buddhism, in order to fully realize ones self, one needs to release
preconceptions and accept that everything and everyone is connected. Despite my personal insecurities and
self-imposed limitations, through my yoga practice I began to “lighten up” and
began to accept others and myself. Of
course this is still a process and always will be as long as I draw breath.
Being a gay man or, as I usually put it, “a man who
happens to be gay.” I never found my place in the male society. I didn’t feel
that I fit in with the gay community and even though at times my social circles
were mainly heterosexuals, I didn’t feel at home there either. I was confused for a long time. I felt like I
was supposed to be on one side of the fence or the other but, I didn’t want to
choose just one. I didn’t see why I had to.
Opening a yoga studio gave me the opportunity to
embrace that challenge and combine the differences. I had experienced so much
growth through my yoga practice, and I wanted to share that with as many men as
I could.
Many men use sports or weight lifting as means of
identification. There is this machismo
that comes along with that definitely serving a purpose but it doesn’t need to
be the end all to our identification. Most of us were raised with media
portrayal of what a man is. We could be a businessman, a military man, a
policeman, a cowboy, a sports “hero” or even The President. Take any male
character from any movie and we had a blueprint of what we could be. But the one thing we were not taught was to
embrace our selves.
Yoga worked for me to bring all that together and
through trial, error and success, I have fully embraced myself as a man. Not as
a gay man, but as a man. The yoga I
teach is not for just gay men, nor is it just for straight men. It’s for all
men and the main intention behind the naked classes as well as the clothed
classes is for the students to embrace just that. Shed your clothes, or not,
but shed your ego, embrace yourself in a community of men where there is no
social challenge or bravado that needs to be won.
