...And Inhale

Right after publishing Introducing Guys to Yoga, I found a video (at Piggy Postings) that exemplified Rule #10, What to Eat (or Not Eat).

*Language Warning*

Introducing Guys to Yoga

Over the Memorial Day weekend, our friends Jonathon and Lance came into town from Dallas, and decided they would try out our favorite Power Yoga class with us.  After some strange looks and post-class stories, we realized that it was time to write this post.  These are the suggestions that we've come up with for guys that are new to yoga.  Share these with your friends if you're inviting them or listen up yourself if you're interested in going to your first class.

What NOT to Eat

Mayonnaise-Free Chicken Salad

In light of the Yoga Food Conundrum, we've been trying to keep our dining out expenses to a minimum (we've only slipped once, though!). You've seen Danielle's two favorite recipes, tabbouleh and pasta salad. The idea is that we'll have foods that are ready to go, served cold. A lot of this is so that we can come straight in from practice, scoop it out, and eat. No heating, no fuss, no muss. I like her dishes, but she's a vegetarian. It's not that I have anything against vegetarians, I just like meat. She doesn't mind cooking meat (just ask her how much she loves bacon!), but she's not as comfortable and starts doubting herself.

Enter my Mayonnaise-Free Chicken Salad!

Quick Update

Alright guys, sorry for the long delay between posts. Life has been quite hectic the past 2 weeks. We thought we would be able to catch up some, but it's taken us longer and longer to take the time to sit down and write. We've got several posts that we're currently working on, including more recipes. Hopefully we'll have some up tonight or tomorrow morning.

Thanks for checking in!

Sweati Yogi

I sweat. A lot. I'm the guy that has to do full body wipe down with a towel after a practice. After talking to another guy after the Ashtanga class last Tuesday, I realized that I'm not the only guy with this problem. As a result, I thought I'd post up my solution to my sweaty mat problem.



Now, I think of it as a good thing (toxin flush), but it can be kinda dangerous when you're rocking a Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana) and your foot slips. As a result of pulling a groin one particularly sweaty practice on my old mat, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge and bought myself (and my lovely wife/co-blogger) a Lululemon The Mat. It was an AMAZING purchase. It absorbed a ton of sweat, stuck to the floor AND my feet, and was generally one of the best purchases I've had in any hobby of mine to date. This set up worked well for about 2 or 3 months, until it started getting pretty warm outside, then I started to really really sweat. I started to sweat puddles. I literally soaked THROUGH the mat. It got to the point where I would soak through the mat and make the floor slick underneath the mat where it no longer had any traction. See what I mean when I say I sweat a lot?

Anger Management in Practice

“Come on, hurry up! (Clap, clap, clap) Move your ass bro, I’m in a hurry!” I can feel my face beginning to flush and my heart rate quicken. As I feel my body prepare for a fight, I make sure to take a few moments to breathe deep and hold it long enough until it causes my heart rate to slow. As I watch the pudgy, balding man with obvious issues wave his arms around like an idiot, I can tell that my body is amping up for a confrontation. However, my mind is calm, clear, and ever so slightly bored.

A white boy's intro to yoga

Like Danielle said, she pretty much had to drag me to my first class. I did the typical newbie guy thing: wore basketball shorts and a cotton t-shirt, expected incense and chanting, and I got completely surprised by how tough it was, even though it was a "girl's exercise." I wasn't hooked, but I could see that it was a serious workout, even if I was the least flexible while also being the sweatiest.

On a related note: yoga is VERY intimidating for guys. Understand that going into a room full of ridiculously flexible and strong women, who are sporting nothing but Lululemon and rocking Manduka Pro mats, is like that dream where you're naked in front of a room of your peers while speaking in public. The biggest difference, however, is that the people are ridiculously better than you and appear to have neon signs that say "you're not from around here, are you?"


If you are a serious yoga girl, the best thing you can do is to introduce yourself and try to start up some light conversation like "what do you do for a living?" or "geez, it's hot outside." Avoid, especially with the uncomfortable new guys, the following: "my 4th chakra has a blockage that I'm working on," "my spirit animal is the chihuahua," "I studied at the Sri Sri Swami Baba Guru YogaDawg ashram in Punjab for 6 months," or anything the girl in this video says. We're trying to make the tent more inviting, not make it like a redux of the 1960's.