You know, hearing about Broga, I kind of almost feel like at this point we just need to accept the fact that men and women do a lot of the same things and not every single activity, accessory or article of clothing needs an emasculating portmanteau to highlight its silliness.
We’ve been to this bro-deo before, with giggled interest in such phenomena as “mantyhose,” which is pantyhose marketed for dudes that we used to just call cross-dressers. We’ve dubbed work satchels “manbags,” when it is readily apparent that sometimes all the things men need to carry don’t fit in a wallet, especially in this day and age of tablets, laptops, and of course, where the hell is a guy supposed to carry his spare mantyhose ?
There are manbras for the dude who needs a bit more support, brozilians for the bikini-conscious male, and now broga- which is the needless renaming of the generally unisex practice of yoga when it is a total sausage fest. Yoga culture has indeed become a bit chick-centric, with yoga pants reigning and a clam jam atmosphere in most classes. But a Massachusetts yoga studio has rejected the girly pink butterfly-printed mat in favor of a more clinical, less froofy vibe.
BrogaYoga.com highlights the differences between yoga geared for dude bros, in hues of gray and green, with straightforward wording:
“Broga is a yoga class geared for men (where it’s okay if you can’t touch your toes). Strong, energetic,and challenging, Broga combines the best core-strengthening, muscle-toning, cardio-working, stress-reducing, clarity-enhancing yoga postures with functional fitness exercises for an amazing workout.”
HuffPo quotes co-founder Robert Sidoti, who reinforces the totally not-feminine vibe at Broga Yoga:
“This is not a dumbed down version of yoga. There’s a lot of movement linking the postures, but adding push-ups and variations of squats.”
Although Broga Yoga is the only known bro-focused yoga studio, male-centered yoga classes are available in most major cities.
