Men’s health is in crisis. Men are dying on average 5 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons.
A growing number of men – around 10.8M globally – are facing life with a prostate cancer diagnosis. Globally, testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men. Across the world, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 69% of all suicides.
Movember is a charity that fund ground-breaking projects all over the world to address these issues.
The charity unites experts to collaborate on projects that will fundamentally change the way men in need are treated and supported, prioritising funding for the three biggest health issues facing men: mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
Movember use the funding to invest in country- and culture-specific health projects while collaborating on game-changing solutions that address the men’s health crisis on a global scale.
Every year we will see men adorning some facial hair in the support of Movember, or perhaps men and women running marathons, taking on challenges in support of this wonderful charity. Movember resonates with everybody.
I support Movember, I cannot grow a moustache, but I can hold an event and this why I will be teaching ‘men only yoga classes’ through the month of November.
Yoga is a practice that develops mindfulness, improves breath awareness and physical conditioning. Men are usually absent from the regular public yoga classes, on average we were getting only 15% maximum male attendance throughout Park Yoga 2022, with average attendance of 120 people, that’s not a lot of men..
This is interesting as yoga, historically, was mostly practised by men, mainly for the mindful benefits, rather than the physical, it was recognised as a means of quietening a busy mind. Men are missing out.
It seems entirely appropriate that I attempt to address this and provide an environment that, hopefully, men will feel comfortable trying some yoga, perhaps for the first time. The classes will be aimed at the beginner and regular yogis. The content will be informative, challenging, good fun with some banter expected. I will request that moustaches are adorned and since I fall short in that department, I will have a stock of fake moustaches on hand.
Men will learn how to move functionally, efficiently, improve their posture, and learn about their bodies, their constraints. We will learn breath techniques and coping mechanisms for times of stress and anxiety. We will build confidence with balances, on feet and arms, learn how to improve focus, concentration, and stamina. There will be many ‘take aways’ from these classes in the hope that we can break down barriers to yoga and remove the stigma. Ultimately this is about self-care which men need.
Classes are £10 for the hour, all proceeds will all go to the charity, Gorse Ride School in Finchampstead are providing the infants hall at no cost, which is brilliant, and my services are also free.
If you are reading this and are even slightly interested, then please get in touch, it’s just for November, it’s a brilliant cause, you will get something from the class, not just a free moustache.