article: Men who crave the benefits of . yoga but recoil at sharing the experience with a room full of . women are turning to Broga, a rugged take on the 3,000-year-old . practice of movement and breath. Broga celebrates the physical over the spiritual, and . strength over flexibility. Experts say it sets men free to flex . tight hamstrings without hearing invocations to Hindu deities or . feeling inept next to a woman twisted like a pretzel. Scroll down for video . Yoga for men: From downward dog to warrior pose, Broga is becoming increasingly popular thanks to its ‘rugged’ approach to traditional yoga workouts . Making a point: Traditionally seen as an exercise regime for women, yoga is changing and now has a more universal appeal . 'I consider myself an athletic guy, but have never been . flexible and didn't like the thought of embarrassing myself in . front of a group of women,' said financial analyst and Broga enthusiast Eric Wright, . 22, from San Jose, California. Founder: Robert Sidoti (pictured) is the creator and co-Founder of Broga . Eric and his male colleagues use the video streaming . service Grokker, which is aimed at broadcasting fitness, food and yoga classes directly to your home or office, to partake in their weekly yoga sessions. 'On Wednesdays we have a standing Broga appointment and . anywhere from five to eight others will join me,' he said. Grokker founder and CEO Lorna Borenstein said more men . are adding yoga to their exercise routines as a cross-training . tool for flexibility and improving recovery time. Even if they spend most of their time focusing on more high intensity gym training, men are now using yoga as a useful warm-up method. 'Men are a little late to the party,' she said. 'But we're . seeing more men in the workplace who find time to do yoga . together a few times a week.' Yoga instructor Robert Sidoti, based in Martha's Vineyard, . Massachusetts, is the creator and co-founder of the trademarked . Broga Yoga, which so far has trained some 200 Broga instructors . in at least 22 states. Sidoti taught his first Broga class in 2009. Proof: More gyms are holding classes focused at enabling men to practice the gentle work-out as it becomes more and more fashionable . Workout: Every athlete needs to incorporate elements of stretching and lengthening into their programme, says Broga's founder . Popular: More gyms are devoting resources and dedicated studio space to Broga programs . 'A lot of guys were saying 'I can't touch my knees, let alone my toes. I would never go to a mostly women class and do things I'm no good at,' said Sidoti, whose sequences are designed with men's bodies in mind. 'We rarely go into poses that require deep forward bending, . twisting and binding,' he said, adding that a High Intensity Interval . Training (HIIT) sequence is included in his standard workout. Broga talk is also anatomically driven, rather than focusing on the mind and the soul like many traditional yoga classes do. 'It's not so much about feeling your heart center as feeling . the stretch across your chest,' Sidoti explained. Flexible: Experts say that Broga can help athletes recover from injuries and boost their range of motion . Strength training: Fitness experts say that certain sequences and asanas are great for warm-ups and cool downs before training . Beneficial: Experts say that Broga helps with increased mobility and, as a result, helps men lift heavier weights and boost their work-outs . Jessica Matthews, senior adviser for health and fitness . education at the American Council on Exercise, said most men . tend to view yoga as a workout rather than a spiritual practice. 'They celebrate the physical,' said Matthews, who is also a . yoga teacher. Wright said Broga has improved his hamstring flexibility. 'Four months ago I couldn't touch my toes and today I can . almost reach my palms to the ground,' he said.
highlights: Broga Yoga targets its classes specifically at men with more ‘rugged’ workout .
  The company trademarked the catchy term in 2009 and its popularity quickly spread .
  The training and licensing of instructors began in 2012 .
  There are now more than 200 Broga Yoga instructors in the U.S.
  Crunch, David Barton Gyms and Equinox are among the facilities offering yoga towards for men .
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