The Wellness Center in Tellico Village recently kicked off a clinic that gives men a chance to try something new.
A men’s only yoga clinic, led by Village yoga instructor Jill Pranger, is focused on providing a “nonjudgmental” place where men in the Village can try out the exercise.
“There tends to be a reluctance for men to try yoga because there’s a sense of, ‘Oh it’s a silly girls things,’ quite honestly,” Pranger said. “I had the idea of let’s see what we get with a men’s only class.
“... Most people don’t know that yoga was actually developed by men thousands and thousands of years ago as a way to prepare for meditation and way to be more relaxed when they were calm,” she added.
Holly Bryant, recreation manager, said Pranger formed the idea to start the men’s clinic and was given a green light.
“We support our instructors,” Bryant said. “This was her thing she wanted to do.”
There is no single advantage to yoga, Pranger said.
“It’s many different benefits sort of all having equal value,” she said. “Increased flexibility, better balance, increased strength, especially in the core area, but arms and legs as well, and eventually there’s the hope that one gets a calmer mind as well.”
Many male Villagers could see age specific benefits because yoga tends to target certain areas of need later in life, Pranger added.
“What I would say is — it’s easy for me to say yes. I would say some of my participants — I’ve been teaching here in the Village four or five years or so — some of my participants say they have more flexibility, better balance,” she said. “Some say they sleep better at night, which is a nice thing to say. … There are some targeted areas, especially for this age group, that are very important as we mature throughout life.”
The hope for the clinic is that it brings more men to regular yoga classes in the Village.
Pranger said there is already a small group of men who come to the classes regularly and she would like to see that increase. It could even become an activity couples can share.
“I sometimes have husband and wife couples coming to the existing classes, the classes that are here,” she said. “It would be my expectation and my hope that after the men get a sense of yoga with this introductory clinic that they would continue to work on yoga in the regular classes, which are all coed.”
There isn’t a lot to know for somebody taking the class for the first time, Pranger said.
“What I would say is they’ll need a mat, a yoga mat or a workout mat,” she said. “If they don’t have one there are some community mats available. But I would say just come with an open mind and a willingness to give it a try.”
