That wasn’t my supposition at all. That’s was the supposition I was replying to.
Wow, there’s a lot of strange yoga-sniping going on in here. Why do old white guys hate yoga so much?
So no, you guys don’t hear yourself.
Old white guy here. I don’t hate yoga, although it’s something I’d never consider doing.
My problem with adding it to a school’s curriculum is primarily that I don’t think “extra” stuff belongs in school unless the students are absolutely kicking ass in math, science, history, etc.
Sure, enroll your kids in martial arts, gymnastics, yoga, etc in the evenings or on weekends.
There is no reason why yoga would require any special tight clothing. The same clothes used for regular PE would be sufficient–which makes sense, since many PE classes incorporate yoga at some point.
The reason to think that guys might like it less is because yoga is very much anti-aggression. It’s not about bulking up or becoming stronger. There’s no competition, no judgement. And guys are much more socialized to prefer those things.
I’m also not sure why you would rather do things that cause you physical pain than a simple, soft exercise that helps you relax and increases flexibility. Any person who has had panic attacks or anxiety or anger issues or any other stress problem would get improvement from it. Hell, it even helps with pain management–I know a woman with chronic, incurable pain issues who could not live without it. (And she was previously a fundamentalist who attacked it as not spiritual.)
And I say this as someone who doesn’t really think it’s for him. I just don’t get the hostility, unless you are part of those groups you mentioned.
I’m an old, white guy, and I take a yoga class 2x per week. It’s great! More people should take it. But I don’t think it’s the right class for teens. For one, there is a lot of sameness in body shapes in the class. Although the age range is from 20-70, the body shapes generally look the same. And the body positions can be embarrassing for some people, what with limbs and butts sticking in all directions. So for teens who may be shy or not feel like they fit in, they would likely feel uncomfortable in a typical yoga class. Maybe I’m wrong and those kids would find it empowering, but my feeling is that isn’t the case.
That doesn’t mean that a yoga-type class won’t work with teens. The key is to understand that audience and come up with a class that they would enjoy. My feeling is that a traditional adult yoga class would not be well received, but that a class incorporating yoga-like moves that are teen friendly would be better.
We had some yoga as part of gym class at my grade school. Nobody batted an eyelash at it.
Myself, I ‘hate yoga’ because if I were to attempt it it would result in staggering amounts of embarrassment for the thirty seconds before it snapped my back like a twig. I’m aware that the average teenager is more flexible than 42-year-old me, but at the subconscious level it still sounds like the proposal is to set up a class that will murder most of them.
(I was one of those teenagers who, as a teenager, would have been murdered by it. Some people just don’t bend. And yes, PE in general was a massive problem for me.)
Ding ! I think “Unholy Nightmare” is the best name suggestion yet !
Kids will be intrigued, and will want to see how they fare. The main thing is that it will get kids into the class, and once there they will find 1) some are more flexible than others, 2) the stuff may be a lot harder than it looks.
I’m another old white guy who thinks a varied PE agenda is a good idea, including Yoga tailored to address the legitimate issues raised above. If being belittled for not having rope-climbing skills puts one off of pursuit of physical activity then the intent of a PE class is not being served.
Snap your back like a twig? Have you seen pictures of advanced yoga poses and assume that’s what they do in every class?
I’m 40, and have the back of an old woman (degenerative disc disorder, yay!) and can do yoga with no problems. I have taken classes where the most exciting thing you do is a forward bend.
And honestly, as a teen, I would have been thrilled to be able to take yoga in gym/health. I was happy when they started offering step aerobics.
I’d rather sit on a couch and read a book or watch a movie than do any of those things. Doing yoga in HS wouldn’t have relaxed me,it would have left me with the same seething contempt for the instructor and the system that forced me to do such worthless bullshit that I had for other PE activities such as sportsball and running in big circles. I used to have a coach that especially pushed me to participate in PE–I took such satisfaction in his dying a slow and painful death from cancer in his 30s/early 40s while I was still in high school.
Jesus Christ dude, really?
Well, let me elaborate on one particular incident, this was in middle school. There was this elaborate obstacle couse that the class was supposed to go through. I didn’t. He noticed. So he forced awkward couch potato me to go through the whole thing alone (including sectons that involved crawling on my hands and knees) while the whole class of maybe 50 or more students sat in the bleachers and laughed at me. Hell yes I’m glad that fucker had a bad death. I’m still a couch potato, and yet I’m now older than you ever got, so suck on that, you dead bastard.
I dunno about your area, but my studio usually has at least a half-dozen old white guys in it. It also has 30-40 women who look freakin’ amazing.
Total coincidence, of course.
A forward bend? Are you mad?? You really do want to snap me in half!
There has never been a time in my life when I could touch my toes. Never. I mean, not even close. The attempts to make that happen in PE were exercises in pain.
Good for you! I would have been thrilled if they stopped trying to twist me up, even as much as they did.
And that’s why it will fail. It’s seen as “too easy” by people who likely couldn’t do it themselves, but since high school is run on the basis of hazing from the top down, well, anything different is easier and anything easier is bad.
Yoga is pretty popular. I’m sure plenty of people on most PTAs will think it’s perfectly acceptable for gym class and likely more useful than dodgeball.
I don’t hate Yoga, but due to it’s religious roots, I firmly believe that it should not be taught in the public school system. If someone tried to start one in my kids school, I would be as against that as a school sponsored prayer group. Stretching can be taught in a secular way, I strongly believe there is no need to drag Hindu spiritualism into it.
My best friend’s wife, who was also one of my karate students, said she took yoga classes at her high school. Like dance, intramural sports, and fencing, it was offered as an afternoon alternative to regular PE (racquet sports, team sports, etc.) and, to calm the religious reich (this was the early '80’s when the “moral majority” was on the rise) it was simply called “stretching and toning” and the instructor talked about ‘focus point 1’ through ‘focus point 7’ instead of calling them ‘head chakra’ or ‘chest chakra’ et cetera.
Simple stretching, breathing, and muscle-toning can be done without the use of terms that are specific to India’s culture or religions. It could be ‘marketed’ to appeal to general audiences or even specifically to those kids who particularly dislike intramural sports and the regular PE classes because stretching and toning can be tailored to each individual’s fitness level, and progress in the class also measured individually.
It seems to me most high school kids have already had a taste of yoga by the time they’re allowed to choose from the intramural/general/alternative PE classes. In the junior-high (middle school) generalized PE classes, most kids do some warm-up exercises and stretching at the beginning of class. That’s all it is. For the kids who consider themselves uncoordinated or non-competitive, they could do a full hour’s worth of just stretching and calisthenics – call it yoga or warm-ups or toning-and-stretching or just-getting-started or whatever.
Sure, some kids will prefer to sit and read – preferably with earbuds in and chips & soda nearby. But when public schools are being asked to provide a minimal level of exercise-with-instruction, sitting and reading (even if it’s coursework) doesn’t fit the bill.
–G!