If you work in the yoga industry, you know that the bush drums are quite nimble. That's why it's not surprising that we found out about a great campaign in far-away Dortmund via small detours. The Yogabude Dortmund, a great and loyal OGNX dealer, gave us a hot tip. The yoga studio “Soulyoga” occasionally invites you to join in the massaging. That means: Yoga in the city, in the open air and on the Möllerbrücke in Dortmund. After the last little flashmop in the open air, we were able to have a nice conversation with the yoga teacher Rosa Montana:
Namaste Rosa, great that it worked, we would really like to talk to you today specifically about the topic of “men and yoga”. Tell us a little bit about Soulyoga and why you have so many men as customers in your studio.
I'm not in the mood for this "esoteric" thing
Rosa: We've had the studio for almost 6 years now and have found time and time again that it's important for most men not to be directly confronted with "all the yoga stuff". As a guy, the inhibition threshold for us to join in is lower because we are very relaxed about it when someone says: "I'm not interested in this "esoteric thing". Yes, then just not. You can still do yoga and get the whole positive effect We have different yoga styles in the studio, hot yoga, vinyasa, hatha yoga.... I would like to offer a varied program in the studio to prevent exactly what often happens in studios: you become very narrow-minded and see your yoga as THAT one and true. For me it is important to stay open. Physically and mentally!
You mentioned that hot yoga is really popular with men. What could that be about?
Rosa: Hot yoga often brings with it a very beautiful borderline experience physically. Men in particular seem to be keen on this. In this style of yoga, we consciously avoid chanting Om or reciting mantras. It's important to me that people can decide for themselves what they need and want to do. Hot yoga has a very strong physical component, so for many people there is a direct link to sport and men often feel comfortable with us right from the start. You just do yoga, sweat, breathe and then say “goodbye” and look forward to the next time.
“Just do yoga normally”
In our preliminary conversation you mentioned the sentence: “Just do yoga normally”. I thought the sentence was great because I think a lot of men are attracted to it. What do you mean exactly?
Rosa: I myself love singing mantras and would also say that I am quite spiritual. But that doesn't mean I have to preach something to my students in every class. I think that in yoga everything is often taken very seriously. You get the impression that they are superhumans, or you feel bad yourself if you don't do all of these things to make your life more conscious, healthy and successful. Something like this puts me under pressure and creates an unconscious “defiant attitude” in me. Now I'm definitely not doing it!" Everyone knows what's good for them and I don't want to presume to judge what would be better or worse for this person. So doing yoga together for 90 minutes is pretty cool and makes you happy The rest can develop, but it doesn't have to!
In your opinion, is there a “typical men’s yoga”? And what is the difference in practice between men and women?
Rosa: I don't think much of separate classes for men and women. And that even though I have worked in the gender area for years :) But I think that it definitely makes sense to address individual needs through workshops or special attitudes. This also has a lot to do with people's lives: What job do they have? What sport does he do? Does he even play sports? The biker needs a few different tips for yoga than a sound engineer. You can always work this out individually.
Now you have just done a yoga class on the Möllerbrücke in Dortmund, how did you come up with the idea of doing yoga in such an unusual place? And how did the cooperation with OGNX come about?
Rosa: I've lived around the corner here for four years and have never complained. So I just thought it was about time. The Möllerbrücke is a really nice junction for the people who live here and a well-known place for Dortmunders. We just wanted a cool place nearby that had something to do with us. Not always the fancy location or models and perfect yoga poses. It was just a really fun evening and we had a lot of fun! That was also very well received by people. That's exactly what we wanted to achieve! We found out about OGNX through the girls at the yoga booth. We have been looking for yoga clothing for our men for a long time that is not only functional but also has a casual design. These are finally clothes that have cool colors and prints and also exactly meet our sustainability standards. And what doesn't go together better than a cool or groundbreaking yoga label and yoga classes on the street?
Are these all students of yours who took part today and will you repeat the activity?
Rosa: There is a yoga teacher: Ole. All others are students from our studio. We will then communicate the next appointment online or via our own app.
Thanks for the super nice conversation.
Photo credit: Amke Kramer and Jennifer Bunzeck
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