Real Men Do Yoga: 21 Star Athletes Reveal Their Secrets for Strength, Flexibility and Peak Performance [Paperback]

I've been practicing Yoga for about 7 years now daily. I used to be intensely involved in weight training and I'm in much better shape and feel a hundred times better doing Yoga than I did before. There are several reasons for this.

First of all, you can do Yoga every day which means you can feel great every day. In my case I vary the intensity of my practice, some days more of a power routine and other days more of a gentle approach to stay physically "open". You are truly as young as your spine is (and your joints, muscles, ligaments (etc.) as well

Second, it involves whole body movements so you are not overtraining any one area. While you certainly aren't going to get the size that you will from weight training, you will get incredibly muscular everywhere. My torso has more subtle definition from daily yoga than my former weight training regimen.

You also get whole body, "real life" strength. You learn to work with your body in an integrated fashion that will help you in your day to day movements. Even if you are doing very physical work you'll find you can do it more effectively because your body works cohesively.

Third, you learn how to breathe more completely. This helps with stress, fatigue and also your ability to focus.

Fourth, if you do a vigorous vinyasa style of yoga several times a week (one that is continuously flowing) you CAN actually get a pretty intense cardio workout (this is my only point of disagreement with the author who thinks you still need a separate cardio practice). Sure, your heart isn't going to be pushed as hard as if you are running or biking, but from my own experience I have found tremendous cardio benefits from a vigorous yoga practice. You will push yourself enough to get a serious sweat going and raise your heart rate up to a higher yet safe rate without putting yourself into a situation of "overwhelm".

While I'm sure there are many who will disagree with this, there have been studies that show that serious yoga practitioners have excellent cardio scores when tested.

Of course there are multiple other benefits of yoga in general but now I want to speak about this book in particular.

This book is a great introduction to yoga, whether you are a man or a woman. It has sound and clear instruction,is actually more thorough than I expected it to be, and it is a book that many men might be inclined to read who otherwise wouldn't give yoga a chance.

The short vignettes throughout of various world class atheletes as well as men who do yoga just to enhance their regular lives (as well as their "weekend" sports activities) helps bring yoga into the realm of real people.

My only complaint, and it's a VERY small one, is that sometimes I find that the author "tries too hard" to appeal to a certain "jock" mentality in his use of language. It seemed a bit forced to me and actually geared to a "locker room" mentality. It's not that he uses profanity, its just that he sounds like he's speaking to idiots from time to time and I found it annoying.

I happen to be a huge football fan in general and a Tennessee Titans fan in particular and can assure you that if you've ever heard Eddie George speak (who is on the cover of the book) he is highly intelligent and extremely well spoken. This goes as well for many other professional atheletes (such as Defensive end for the Titans Kevin Carter, who is another Yoga Junkie).

So I would've liked the book more with less forced "jock talk" and language geared more towards intelligent men who are also sports junkies as well as interested in their physical well being.

Still, the content of the book more than makes up for this shortcoming and that is why I still gave it the five stars it deserves.

Highly recommended!

I'd always been interested in yoga, but had always been put off by yoga books, which invariably come larded with new age gobblegook and stuffed with photographs of super-fit contortionists, none of whom seem to have a body anything like mine.

Real Men Do Yoga comes good on all counts. It's written with humor, intelligence and an awareness of what concerns men approaching yoga for the first time. It demystifies yoga - the photos feature an identifiably regular guy - while explaining clearly and interestingly how it can help the ordinary jock. And it is wonderfully good at helping anyone who wants to integrate yoga into a broader exercise regime. At the risk of sounding new agey, I'd say that, given time, this book might just change my life.

My own personal journey towards yoga includes receiving All American recognition as a college football player as well as a long time practicing martial artist. In my early 30s I began to feel the tremendous physical abuse I had subjected my body to throughout the years. My shoulders ached so painfully at night, I couldnt sleep. It was time to start taking a look at other alternative methods of staying in shape outside of bench presses, bicep curls and protein shakes, which in all actuality just maintained my inflating waistline.

It was time for a much needed change, which first led me to return to the martial arts, explore Tai Chi and finally Yoga. At 240 plus lbs, you have a tendency to stand out in the middle of yoga class that usually consists of about 85% women. I loved the energy and atmosphere so much, it inspired me to participate in a yoga teachers training program and eventually open my own tai chi and yoga center in New York City. This summer, after purchasing RMDY we now dedicate Thursday evenings to a men's practice. This wonderful book is timely, speaking directly to the modern male athlete, although anyone would benefit from reading this book as it strips away the stereotypes while focusing on the real benefits of practicing yoga, which include greater flexibility, strength and balance. And the list of names and pictures of well-known professional athletes utilizing this ancient Eastern practice is mind blowing. I wish this book would have been accessible to me 20 years ago, but I guess there is time for everything. Highly recommended...