Men, taking dominating yoga/groups.

[SpongeBobJudgeyPants]

I've just come back from what should have been a chilled yoga class. Half way through, a man enters, announces he thought it started later, but he will join anyway. Rather than just quietly join in, he bangs his stuff about loudly. I found myself tutting. He settled down for a bit, but then during relaxation at the end, he has to competively exhale. No one else's breathing audible but his. I realise his entrance was a "A man has come, all hail the man, women" and I have seen it many times, being an old bird. But what do they actually get out of it? Surely it doesn't produce results? Or are they just satisfied when they've done it regardless? I've seen/experienced this in about every excercise class/reading group/whatever I've ever been in, and am a tad vexed about it tbh. In fact, if there is a womens only yoga class, I go for that. Any answers please? And anything I can actually do rather than passively agressively tut, or have a word with the tutor? Probably not. It's just soooo tiresome!

It’s annoying. Maybe you could ask the tutor not to allow late arrivals? ( cos you mustn’t be prejudiced against people who are not women,OP)

Yes, that's a thought! Trouble is I'm newish, so I don't want to be labelled That Woman! Yes, can't be prejudiced and give the menz the hurty feels. I just feel that any yoga benefit is wiped out by wanting to do harm to Noying Man!

What a dickhead.

Ha yes! There’s a yoga class at my gym that’s clearly advertised and ‘yoga and relax’ so slow paced and gentle.

TBF most of the men who go are absolutely fine, but there is one who always insists on being right at the front in his own row, and does performative stretches before the class has even started. it really annoys me every week.

We have a man that sometimes joins our exercise class. I think it’s really poor gym etiquette, if you’re not there in time you shouldn’t come at all.

I teach exercise classes and do a few women only groups, mostly in areas with a lot of Muslim women, although the classes are quite diverse. Might be worth looking for yoga classes in a similar area.
Alternatively, Sikh Gurdwaras often run yoga classes, if you can get to one. I don't know if they run women only classes, but it might be worth considering.

I go to a lot of yoga classes and mostly it's OK but last week a man walked in at the beginning of the class like he was a celebrity and then made sex noises during relaxation.

I won't go to any yoga class run by a man either. I've seen too many genital outlining yoga pants. And I've only ever been physically touched or 'tweaked' into postures by male teachers. Female ones give demos or verbal directions - they can give you advice without needing to fondle you.

You could ask the tutor pointedly afterwards if she’s ever considered running any women-only classes, and if she ever decides to, you’d definitely sign up.

Wow I run a yoga studio and we've never had anything like this. We wouldn't allow someone to walk in late or be disruptive. Ahimsha (non harm) and Satya (truth) are two principals we live by.

I'd even pay extra @CoolerThanIceCream . Yes, that's a thought. :)

It's one of those classes in a church hall. Annoying bloke just waltzed in, said he was joining in, rather that 'ok if I join late?' scenario. Maybe his entitlement threw the tutor, who is lovely, possibly a little on the timid side?

For several years, I belonged to a fitness club that had a male and a female department. It was bliss. No men hitting on you, ogling you, or mansplaining to you. No men being too close and spraying you with their sweat (Never attended that particular fitness club again. Yuk!). No smell of men being way, way too lax with their hygiene.

Why wouldn’t men do yoga? There are lots of annoying women in my yoga class. The men are lovely actually.

I hate this too. My heart sinks when I turn up and this one particular man is there. He spends the class racing ahead of the instructor despite her repeated polite requests to wait until she prompts and complaining loudly about his "tight patella tendons". The nail in the coffin for me was when he clattered about packing up his stuff because the class went right to the last minute - "it's actually already 7pm and I have a client in 45 minutes".

No reason at all. The objections above are about men joining otherwise exclusively female groups, failing to read the room and dominating the class.

We used to have one of these. Wore tight fitting cycling shorts and made the most annoying noises.
My teacher told him to shut up in end. She definitely wasn’t shy and retiring.

My Yoga instructor puts a stop to any of this shit. Late comers are kicked straight back out.

If people are being noisy she will say “x, there’s a lot of huffing/groaning coming from you, are you ok? Are you struggling”. They soon shut up.

This happened at my pulsates class this week . New man joined , delighted with himself , told its all it was his first time and talked the whole way though. Noisy and poor personal hygiene.

Are you reading the same thread as everyone else?

Oh my god the performative yoga man breathing. I fucking hate this.

'My Yoga instructor puts a stop to any of this shit. Late comers are kicked straight back out.

If people are being noisy she will say “x, there’s a lot of huffing/groaning coming from you, are you ok? Are you struggling”. They soon shut up.'

She sounds like my kind of woman 😁

I agree with @Lottapianos. That's exactly the sort of teacher that I would want.

This ☝🏻. I do yoga type classes at my gym - body balance and pilates. We have men in our classes and I don't see them as any different to the women. Plus why shouldn't they benefit as we do - they're open to all members. If anything there can be one annoying woman but generally we all get on together and I've been going for many years.

No one has said men shouldn't do yoga.

Bodybalance isn't yoga