10 Opinions & Thoughts from Your Dad on Yoga

Not all dads are confused by yoga. In fact, there are a good deal of men who have taken an interest in the benefits of yoga and have started a practice – and many of which are dads!

But still, we all know that one dad who just doesn’t get it. You know the type!

Still, it’s in our nature to want to share the benefits of yoga with other people, especially our family and friends.

Are we crazy for wanting them to be healthy and happy, too? Nope! But they look at us like we are when try to talk them into poses like the “standing split” or the “lotus”.

I mean, come to think of it… they may have a point. We do look a little “crazy”!

So, let’s go through the ten things that your dad has probably thought or told you about your yoga practice that has definitely made you roll your eyes a time or two!

Hey, it’s a dad thing. Gotta love em’!

1. When you try to talk him into starting yoga but he thinks it’s a “girl thing”. Queue massive eye-roll here. It’s totally not a girl thing! But look, we get it. You’re from a different generation. Still, yoga’s origins were of a practice that only men were allowed to partake in. While the West’s adaptation of yoga is a bit different and is more favored by women, that doesn’t mean that we are the only ones who should get to reap these benefits! But there’s no negotiating with masculinity, is there? Maybe “warrior pose” will help convince him that yoga is cool and manly…
2. When you tell him about yoga class and suggest that he should join. We all know the answer to this one is a, “no way Jose”. But still, we’ll never stop trying to get them to take part! One of these days we’ll convince our dads that yoga mats, soothing voices, and fresh smelling candles are totally cool and “hip”. One day…
3. When you pull out the “but so and so does it” card. Try telling him that Tom Brady and LeBron James are big supporters and practitioners of yoga. That might get you a little leeway into convincing him to give it a try! Dad’s opinion of yoga might be that it’s far less girly if sports giants like Tom and LeBron are into it!
4. When he makes jokes about “Namaste”. And he definitely pulls that one out every time you convince him to join you for a class or a home session. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard, “Namaste home” or “Namaste here instead”, I’d be able to go on a shopping spree. That’s for sure!
5. When he finds out what “hot yoga” is. “They do that in WHAT temperature?” Queue the questions about being insane, crazy, and needing a different hobby! Look, dad, there’s something magical about hot yoga and it’s that you feel amazing afterwards. You’d know that if you gave it the old college try for once!
6. When he sees something on the news or the Discovery Channel about yoga. Did you see that this person got hurt doing it? Did you see that they think the benefits are overstated for yoga? Did you see that so and so actually caused problems for themselves because of it? Conspiracy theory this, conspiracy theory that, we know you’re just trying to discredit it so we’ll shut up about it. You won’t get us that easy, pops!
7. When he gets familiar with some of the words and phrases associated with yoga. Dad jokes, dad jokes everywhere! I thought it’d start and end with Namaste, but boy was I wrong.
8. When he finally does decide to give it a try, but can’t stop laughing. Yeah, I know that “wind-relieving pose” sounds kinda funny, but can you please stop laughing in the middle of class? Oh no, somebody just farted… I’m never going to hear the end of this! But at least you finally got him to try it out, right? That’s some progress!
9. When he’s convinced that your healthy lifestyle is all a bunch of hoopla. “Back in my day, we ate meat with every meal. And we were perfectly fine!” I swear, dads have a rebuttal for every single tip or new information we try to share with them. No, you can’t live healthily off sliced bread, peanut butter, and coffee. Why? Because I said so!
10. When he sees how much yoga has helped your life and made you a better person. “Hey, honey, could you tell me a little more about this yoga thing?” Ah, finally! Maybe the answer all along was taking a page out of the dad-book and leading by example, not by convincing. Thanks for noticing, and I’d love to tell you more! You’re the best, dad.

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Okay, so not every dad is going to give us the happy ending from #10, but we can’t be mad at them for it.

It’s a dad thing! They don’t get it sometimes, and that’s fine. They have their own way of life.

Who are we to tell them it’s wrong? Hey, it’s worked for them so far. Plus, they’ve clearly raised a great kid! Maybe they do know what they’re doing after all.

Still yet, if you want to have a fighting chance of getting your dad or anybody else interested in yoga, the best way to do it is by showing them what it’s done for you and all the benefits it has.

You shouldn’t need to convince a horse to drink water. Just start drinking it yourself and they’ll see that it’s not so scary after all. Maybe then you might just gain yourself an awesome new yoga partner!

The yoganum family