02 sep Our new yoga teacher Christian: man with a mission
It is a remarkable fact: in the west yoga is much more popular among women than men. Christian, one of the new yoga teachers at mac Body & Mind, regularly wonders why? “A lot of men might be afraid of getting in contact with their emotions,” he says. “Yoga releases emotional pain from your body. A lot of times, for women that is easier and more familiar.”
Christian knows what he is talking about. “In the beginning, I was a little ashamed to go to yoga”, the German admits. “I felt uncomfortable to go on my own, because I often was the only man in class. Until a friend said to me: ‘Women are going to love it that you do yoga’. That was the turning point (laughs). No seriously, I felt what yoga did to me. For example, after breaking up with my girlfriend I was practicing on my mat and suddenly started crying. That was a moment that yoga released emotional pain.”
No judgement
Now as a yoga teacher, Christian – who recently moved back to Maastricht – hopes that more men will follow his class. “Men who do practice yoga, often choose more hardcoreclasses. Classes that make you sweat a lot. And also, there is no competition in yoga. It’s not about lifting more kilos than someone else does. Whoever you are and where you are at, that is fine. As a teacher I try to provide a very accepting environment in my class, where nobody feels judged in a bad way.”
Strength
At mac, Christian will teach Vinyasa Yoga twice a week. He will also be a regular substitute teacher for other classes. Now he teaches yoga and meditation and is coaching people in various aspects of their life. It’s only been a few years – while he was a studying – that Christian came in contact with yoga, and really acknowledged the strength he found because of yoga. “In that period, I already did a lot of meditation. At one point an Australian man I had met, invited me to try yoga. I did. After that I went to yoga classes more and more often. I even traveled and stayed in different places in the world, like Australia, for ashrams. What kind of teacher I am? I am a more calm, present teacher. I’d rather use body language. But to experience that, I invite everyone to join my classes!”
Vinyasa Yoga with Christian is every Monday at 6.30 pm and Thursday at 6 pm in the Body & Mind studio.