When I’m not writing client copy, doing an abysmal job at updating this website, or looking for more copywriting gigs, I teach small group and private yoga lessons. In the fall of 2014 I was subbing for another teacher at the Maritim Antonine Hotel & Spa in Malta.
Just for fun, I designed a four-week series of themed classes titled “Plan B Yoga.” Week two featured a sequence of bird poses from Flying Bird to Proud Pigeon, Penguin Pose to the Gálapagos Blue-Footed Booby posture (I made that one up), Crow, Peacock and King Pigeon.
We had a flock of a lot of fun with it so I thought I’d see if I could stretch the idea into the entire creative for indriyoga.com. I think it works. Here’s an example of the class copy from one of them, the Men’s Operating System Yoga Class, which features a Bengaluru Eagle as its hero image, courtesy Shreyas Malavalli at Unsplash. The rest of the classes’ bird images follow at the bottom of the page and you can seem them in their native (digital) environment at indriyoga.com/classes.
Men’s OS Yoga (WooCommerce class page)
Guys are notorious for refusing to ask for directions, avoiding what’s uncomfortable and thinking that yoga’s for girls, so kudos to you for getting this far.
There are no chicks, soothing music or incense in the Men’s OS Yoga Class but there there is breath work, a meditation component and instruction on how to focus your attention on the time and space in each asana [posture].
Unlike a gym workout, it isn’t all about crushing it, building muscle and getting a six-pack. It’s an hour-long mix of arm, leg, core and balance postures with special attention to engaging and strengthening your pelvic floor muscles (more or less where your prostate gland is).
You will sweat. It’s gonna hurt. And you may well be a better man for it:
- Will yoga improve my sex life? This Men’s Health story says it might.
- Vegetarian Body Building on how yoga builds muscle
- If the idea of meditation freaks you out read this great article by Leo Babauta at Zen Habits: Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Understanding the Mind
- If you’re (a) a guy, and (b) stiff in the morning, the Indri Yoga Men’s OS yoga class is for you.
You can read the rest of the thinking behind theming the classes with birds at indriyoga.com.