The yoga men are here to stay, and more may be on their way. Should we let them get comfortable? Maybe, if you consider the fact that, for some enterprising ladypreneurs, there’s a market gap for adapting gear to men’s specifications. Below are suggestions from yoga practicing for making yoga gear more amenable to a male aesthetic – though some ideas are markedly more practical than others.
Does This Come In Anything Other Than Periwinkle?
Among the concerns of yoga-practicing men is that yoga mats only come in “pink and purple.”
“And the blocks,” they say, “Again with the pink and purple.” If their source for yoga gear is the softball aisle at Dick’s Sporting Goods, then point taken; otherwise, I think perhaps this misconception is a product of shoddy market research. Boys, let me introduce you to the experience of practicing a female-dominated sport. First, it’s periwinkle and raspberry, not “purple and pink,” though I realize the red spectrum can be tricky.
Second, my web search brought up a rainbow of different colored yoga mats among the premium manufacturers, so I think what you have to understand is that yoga is not like golf. There is no yoga equivalent to picking up a new driver at the pro shop just before your tee time. Female-dominated activities require research and often the best stuff requires a drive or an online purchase. The good news is that buying your gear in the right colors offers another opportunity to adjust your mindset!
Why Is This Mat so Short?
Now, this is a legit beef, but not so fast! Remember when we went to college and bought extra-long sheets for your extra-long mattresses? Back then, some of us had décor aspirations that didn’t ship in extra-long. Who cried for us? As you meditate on your short, periwinkle mat in class, appreciate this moment for what it is: the first time in which a product upon which you depend isn’t defaulted to your specifications. And then relax, breathe in, and know that because we know your pain we shall make you a longer mat, and charge you heavily for the privilege.
And Narrow, Why Is This Mat So Narrow?
Ibid., substituting in “narrow” for short and “long” for wide.
Could the center of the mat be more padded—the part where the knee is placed down on floor poses and meditation?
Serious answer: I think this might mess with your balance on some of the poses. It would also add heavily to the price of the mat unless the entire mat was made much thicker. This would also be a more expensive and cumbersome mat, but perhaps there is a market for it.
Not so serious answer: Questions like this are why women are the ones who handle childbirth.
(Questions like this one are why women are in charge of childbirth.)
Could we get mats with lines placed at 45, 60, and 90-degree angles? This would allow for foot placement at precise angles.
I’m glad that you’re taking yoga.
I sometimes use three or four mats, along with my non-slip, rubber coated towels. I arrange my mats in a T-shape and stack them together because they aren’t thick enough otherwise.
This isn’t a question. I just included it because it’s the best confession of man-spreading I’ve ever heard.
