Looking around Cerritos College, I have noticed that there is a trend going on as students have registered for class under phyiscal education.

Why are there no men signing up for yoga? Can someone please explain to me, why?

In a sense, it is true that yoga is a 3,000 year old practice that deals with uniting the mind, body, soul and spirit with oneself.

True, that more women have practiced yoga than men.

True, that yoga is more popular now, than 25 years ago.

The thing that gets me, is why are men not interested.

To all the men who are reading this, this is what yoga is not:

Yoga is not religious, not just for women, and not just about mediation, chanting and sitting in a cross-legged position.

Yoga, as I said before is about uniting the self as one and trust me when I say this in yoga there is no competition. (Forget what Bikram Chourdry says.)

I took my first yoga class at Cerritos in 1999 and it was the first time the college offered such a class.

There were 25 women in the class and one man. I thought to myself, “Well, that’s not fair, where’s the support for that one man, alone.”

I practiced yoga here for one year and in 2001 I signed up at the Town Center Hall in Santa Fe Springs.

Didn’t know what to expect. I walked in and thought, “I’ll give this a try, but if I don’t like it, I won’t come back!”

Who would have thought, that I would still be practicing yoga with my yoga teacher and have made a committment to it.

In that class, there is usually 15 to 20 women and lucky to have three men.

To those men who have been there, I thank you.

At least they are not intimated by the women surrounding them.

As well they shouldn’t be.

I’m sure that you didn’t know that Pilates, which is similar to yoga was founded by Joseph Pilates.

Did you know that?

Let me ask another question, do the name Baron Baptiste, Rodney Yee, Bikram Chourdry, or Parahamansa Yogananda sound familar?

If the answer is no, than shame on you! These men are reknown insturctors for teaching yoga.

Yogananda for example was a 1920s yoga teacher whose philosophy are still practiced more that 50 years after his death.

Chourdry is the reknown yogi who teaches his 26 asanas (poses) series in a 105 degree room temperature. (Definitely, not for beginners!)

Baptiste and Yee are the ones who teach Hatha and Vinyasa class for those beginners.

So the men out there who think that it is not cool to practice yoga, think again.

Besides what is the harm in doing a yoga class. No one is after your ego, and you certainly will not look foolish.

I am not only putting blame on the men, women have to encourage their boyfriend, or (for older women) their husbands, to at least try one yoga class.

I have to be honest when I say that for me yoga has help me a great deal.

Most importantly though, I have noticed that people get confused and think that I’m 19 years old when in fact I’ll be 26 next year.

Yes, it is true, if men, women and kids practice yoga long enough it could possibly slow the aging process.

Have I made you men think? I hope so.

There are yoga studios everywhere and for those who live in the surrounding areas, visit a studio in Whittier.

Yoga; and they think it’s just for women?!