SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With a new course, Collective Soul Space is hoping to make it very clear that men do yoga too.

Johanna Tiemessen, left, and Andrew Matthews hope that a new men's yoga class will help men break a sweat. - Jessica Davey-Quantick/NNSL photo

The yoga studio is launching Guy's Guide to Doing Yoga on Feb. 23, "from one stiff guy to another" according to instructor Andrew Matthews.

"I just want to give men kind of the tools to be able to enjoy yoga as well," said Matthews. "Guys could use yoga."

He should know. The former competitive snowboarder does yoga as a way to balance out what the sport was doing to his body.

Johanna Tiemessen, head goddess (as she puts it) at Collective Soul Space says while they already have some men attending existing classes, she hopes a just-for-guys session will help men get over the stereotype that yoga is just for girls.

"There's a cross section of men that have already discovered yoga and alternative measures to take care, especially of their physical body, but all around. But that's not typically something that men do," she said. "This gives an opportunity for men to say, 'OK, I can relate to my teacher, and it's an opportunity for me to do something specifically for myself with other men who might not be as flexible.'"

Many professional athletes use yoga, as well as other disciplines like ballet and dance, to improve balance and flexibility as well as relieve stress and muscle tension. But yoga is still considered by many to be the exclusive territory of women - and many drop-in classes today are predominately populated by women and female instructors.

The four-week course runs Thursday evenings, and aims to teach the basics of yoga so men can feel more confident continuing on their own, or attending other drop-in classes.

Tiemessen says having Matthews on the mat at the front of the class will be a big help in combating the stereotype.

"I think that it's great having a male teacher in our studio to be able to add a level of comfort or welcoming to men to come into that environment and give it a try and say, 'Hey I can do it, so can you,'" she said.

She also suspects having a man guiding the class might help in adjusting certain poses to men's physiology.

"We felt as a male teacher he had something unique to offer, especially to men who might be intimidated coming to a class with women taught by a woman," she said. "As my husband put it nicely, if I have body parts that get in the way and prevent me from doing a pose, I'd like the teacher to be able to recognize that and tell me how to do that pose properly."

Matthews is just hoping the class helps more men feel comfortable in their own bodies.

"I'm confident that it will be well received. I really think that a lot of guys will be interested, at least I hope so," he said.

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