Cape Men's Yoga

And here it is, our new Spring Schedule for October 2017: 1 October: Nigel with a vinyasa flow (and his finale); 8 October: Theo with his fun and challenging pilates core work out; 15 October: Our new teacher, Hans, offers a yin yoga class - slow and meditative; 22 October: Eugene with his great choreography offers you vinyasa flow; 29 October: A special surprise - we have another new teacher about to join. Watch this space. For further information contact us by email: Capemensyoga AT) gmail.com Whatsapp: 082 501 2009 (note the new number!) Naked men's yoga in Cape Town - unique on our continent of Africa. Get the flow and spirit back into your life. Namaste 

When I was in India, my teacher trainer conducted a yin yoga class. I had no idea what this was. My teacher had done a lot of yin and was really enjoying sharing this with us. Despite my meditation background I found the first half of the class quite difficult. It was perhaps also to do with how sore we all were from many hours of yoga while on the course. Somehow the long hold of each position really challenged my mind to stay still. Squatting on my heels with my toes under was really super uncomfortable. By the time I finished that first class I was floating. What was it about this odd style of yoga that was so challenging at first but so liberating as we reached the finale? I was intrigued. I spent time reading up on yin, books and internet pages. I was fascinated by the philosophy and physiology. As someone with a substantial meditation background I rapidly discovered how smoothly meditation techniques and yin fit together. Yin is a physical practice where we barely engag...

Yes gentlemen, It is your lucky week. To celebrate Human Rights Day , the Autumnal Equinox and the Zoroastrian New Year you are most welcome to join us on Sandy Bay beach this Tuesday, 21 March which is Human Rights Day and also the Autumn Equinox and the Zoroastrian New Year. The weather should be perfect - come and do some naked yoga next to the south Atlantic Ocean - naked in nature - one of the best ways to truly connect to the energy of the living work. We will meet at "Helicopter Rock" - that is the flat rock between the Big Rock that juts out into the sea and the small first principal beach of Sandy Bay. If you need sunscreen please apply that, you may want a hat and definitely some water. We will practice from 08.30 until 09.30 . Our regular class on Sunday 26 March at 10.30 will be back at our home venue in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. We will be doing a Yin Yoga class. Yin is the slowest form of yoga. Rather than the usual energetic and muscular yoga...

Yin Yoga - Working with Stillness We are overjoyed to welcome Eugene who will be our guest teacher this week. Eugene has a long career in fitness, aerobics and dance. He more recently qualified as a yoga instructor and teaches regularly in Somerset West. He will be leading this week's yin yoga class at CMY. Yin is the slowest form of yoga. It also relies completely on gravity, rather than muscular strength. Almost all yoga leans heavily to a yang nature - meaning it involves strength and exertion. Yin requires letting go, completely surrendering to the experience of the asana. Yin's physiological benefit is that the very slow movements and deep stretches work on both the fascia and the ligaments. It is not easy to stretch either ligaments or have a sustained pull on the fascia. Normally the movement of the muscles is the focus - contracting and relaxing, drawing blood into the muscle. It is argued that fascia work may play a strong role in the human immune system. Th...

NAKED MEN'S YIN YOGA PRACTICE IN CAPE TOWN Join us for this special Yin yoga class. We will be teaching this unusual form of yoga - slow and using gravity rather than muscular strength. Yin draws on our lunar energy and the intuitive mind. Most yoga is 'yang' in that it is muscular and energetic. Yin allows us to let go, to let go of the physical effort and concentrate just on being. Yin is a way to explore the unexplored - to be mindfully exactly where we find ourselves.  Each posture is held for five full minutes - working through a sequence of floor postures where the focus in on the still mind rather than on the form of the asana.  This is arguably one of the most meditative styles of yoga. Though working without physical exertion it is still challenging and we confront our own mental reactions to comfort and discomfort, stillness and concentration.  We are at a venue in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. Beginners are welcome. It is a fully nude male practic...

Dear Yoga brothers, Warm wishes of the New Year to you all. I hope that you were able to say goodbye to 2015 with peace in your hearts and embrace the start of 2016 with all of its wonders, challenges, opportunities and blessings.  We will kick off 2016 with a  yin yoga class  on  Sunday 3 January 2016 at 10.00 until 12 noon . This is at our regular venue. There is indoor parking if you enter from Buitengracht, ask for details. That is the first floor parking take the lift to the 3rd floor. Your donations are very much appreciated.  Yin  is a Daoist style of yoga, very slow, positions are held for five minutes each. It is not muscular but meditative and introspective. A great way to enter peacefully into the new year.  We are expecting some changes in 2016.  We may be shifting the  venue  of our Sunday yoga. We are looking at various options.  Currently we are still at our city centre venue until further ...

There will still be Christmas cake to consume, friends to see, braais to attend and various other summer treats - hopefully including some time outdoors as the weather starts to heat up. Whatever your traditions or faith, we hope you have been enjoying your holiday period and able to experience of positive energy of friends, family, and the spirit of generosity and sharing. We will have our first men's nude yoga class of the year on Sunday 3 January 2016 at 10.00 at our usual venue in central Cape Town. We'll be doing some meditation work and a yin yoga class. Yin is a special form of yoga which is done very slowly and without using muscular energy. It is an introspective style where the positions are held for five minutes or more. It is believed that this style is stimulating for the immune system, a good recovering practice, as well as allows deep feelings to process and for the mind to find great focus and stillness. What better way to enter into 2016 than with atten...

14-16 August 2015 was our 7th Cape Men's Yoga retreat, again at Bodhi Khaya retreat centre in the beautiful Overberg of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The retreats each have a theme to them and some tools to help guide the men while on retreat. We draw on traditional yogic teaching and philosophy and add to it Buddhist, Daoist and indigenous concepts which may be useful for people exploring their path in life. Our members include Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, spiritualists, pagans and explorers of various paths. The aim is to create an inclusive, sharing, co-creative weekend space for people to deepen their practice of yoga, meditation and understanding the mind body relationship. Each retreat is so different in character but each one has been extraordinary in its bonding, sharing and learning. This retreat was characterised by a lot of joy, friendships, uplifting sensations, good food and beautiful moments. Fire & Ice was built around the t...

Yin men's nude yoga and meditation class Sunday 9 August 2015 Yin is a practice with its roots in Indian yoga and Chinese daoism. The practice uses convential yoga postures but rather than using muscular strength to achieve the asana, yin is all about letting go. Yin postures are held for between five and twenty minutes, depending on capabilities. For our practice most postures are only held for five minutes. The focus is on inner stillness - you find the posture and then just let go of all physical tension and bring the mind to a still and quiet place.  Child's pose (balasana) may be easy for five minutes, but poses like the dragon can be really challenging. These may push our buttons - triggering feelings of anxiety, anger, frustration - all states of mind that are our 'go to' when we don't like what is going on and don't feel comfortable.  Yin practice encourages us to find equanimity and truth in the still poses and to see the movements o...

Sunday 10 May 2015 Yin yoga class this week. Yin is a static form of yoga that relies on gravity and letting go into the asana rather than using muscular strength. It works with yin energy - lunar, intuitive, unspoken truths of the body and mind.  Most yoga is yang, in that it is focussed on sun salutations and involves muscular strength and movement.  The asanas are held for approximately five minutes each. Some may be quite challenging others allow us to easily find a state of stillness.  Yoga has developed a reputation in Western countries for being another version of gym or pilates. Yoga is intended to developed the body - physically, in terms of flexibility, to boost the immune system and work with energy flow. However mentally, yoga is still premised on the idea of bringing the mind into a clear, still focus - the stilling of the waves of the mind. It is an exercise in concentration and letting go. Sukha and sthira are terms used in association with any...

Here is the schedule for the next few weeks: Sunday 19 October, we have a Mysore hatha class; Sunday 26 October, we have a Vinyasa flow class; Sunday 02 November, we have a Yin yoga class (a static non-muscular form of yoga where the poses are held for long durations). Sunday 09 November: NO CLASS. The building is not available and there will be no class on this particular weekend. For more information contact us on capemensyoga AT gmail DOT com

It is that time of year again .... Cape Men's Yoga - the all male, all nude yoga and meditation community is gathering at our favourite retreat centre - Bodhi Khaya in the Cape Overberg region - just a few hours out of Cape Town. 12 - 14 September 2014 This is our sixth such retreat. There are usually about 20 guys on the retreat. The venue is beautiful. Accommodation is shared - mostly two single beds in cottages around the quad but there are also cottages for group bookings and the two dormitories which take 3 and 5 men respectively.  Bodhi Khaya has been ranked as one of the world's top 'secret' retreat centres. It was founded by local Buddhists but has emphasised an ecumenical approach to spiritual development. They have always been welcoming of Cape Men's Yoga and we honour this welcoming. It is only the yoga that is practiced nude as the centre is not designed for naturalism in other regards. If the weather is warm, there is however a dam for sw...

Join us for this week's nude men's yoga and meditation. We will be teaching a Yin-Hatha class. Yin yoga is a non-muscular yoga, where the poses are held for longer duration without muscular effort. Though it sounds easier, it can be challenging in some positions.  The purpose of a yin practice is to journey into th e memory of the body, to find wisdom in the silent places which we tend not to acknowledge or which may be hidden from view. Yin is about the darkness of the spaces between the joints, about activating the use of the fascia and in being fully present in each of the inward focussed asanas. Technically, a yin practice places gentle pressure on tendons, ligaments and pulls into the fascia. This is healthy for long term muscular health and appears to also stimulate the immune system of the body. The yin practice will be complemented with traditional hatha movements to gentle stretch and awaken our mind-body-spirit connection. Yin is one of the most meditative of ...

Get naked out in the country with the right group of men.... 09 - 12 JANUARY 2014 Dear Yogis, We are ready to take deposits and booking for the Summer 2014 Cape Men's Yoga Retreat. This year's retreat will be 24 hours longer than previous retreat - based on popular demand. This means you have the OPTION of 4 full days and 3 nights retreat OR 3 days and 2 nights. Coming a bit earlier allows you to settle in, start with your meditation and yoga and it means that the transformations you'll experience will likely run deeper than the shorter option. Nonetheless, if you can't get the Thursday off work, you can still come through on the Friday afternoon. The retreat involves a flexible programme of diverse yoga styles and guided meditation. We will be offering ashtanga, vinyasa, hatha, yin and kundalini classes. All of the yoga classes are given nude. We also offer guided meditations, both indoors and outdoors. There is usually also some teaching of y...

This is our first notification of CMY's summer retreat. Entitled the Summer of Love  on 9 to 12 January 2014.  We will be about 20 guys spending four days out at the beautiful Bodhi Khaya retreat centre near Gansbaai in the Cape Overberg.  Bodhi Khaya  is our regular retreat destination. It is well set up with a large yoga shala, indoor and outdoor meditation spaces, a walking maze, two dams for hiking, comfortable accommodation and a rolling landscape of Cape fynbos for hiking. The venue is rented for our exclusive use and fully catered with excellent vegetarian cuisine. The price is affordable with the option of sharing accommodation or even staying in a dorm. Single accommodation has to be booked early and involves a surcharge. Prices will be available on request. This is our first four day retreat. The other summer and winter retreats have been so successful and popular we decided to give it an extra day to support your meditation practice. We have ...

Join us for 2 hours of naked men's yoga this Sunday, 22 September 2013. After several strong vinyasa classes we are going to switch to a very different form of yoga for this class.  Yin works with little to know muscular effort. It is all about letting go. It is the most introspective of the yoga styles. Technically it relies on gravity and putting slow tension onto ligaments, connective tissue and fascia. This is believed to be an important trigger for relieving stress and stimulating natural immunity.   It is also a time to explore your lesser known spaces, the darkness within, still places between jo ints, memories and galaxies within you. If you are new to yoga or want to explore your practice and understanding from another angle, join us for this two hour class. It can be challenging but it is always extraordinary and transformative. All you need is a mat. No sweating or great exertions.  If you are new to yoga or want to explore your practice and unders...

Join us for a special class this week, Sunday 18 August 2013 . We will be having a 2 hour nude men's yin yoga class. Yin is a slow yoga practice that relies on gravity rather muscular strength to reach the expressions of the poses. Yin works with dark energy, with a strong internal focus. Practically, the purpose of yin is to apply consistent and steady pressure on fascia and connective tissue. This stimulates blood entering the connective tissue and is purported to have rejuvenating and immunity boosting benefits. From a more conceptual level, yin is about working in parts of the body and mind we are not used to exploring, the spaces between bones, between joints in the darker less accessible parts of our body memory. Join us for this inspiring and challenging practice. 10 am until noon, this coming Sunday. For more information, send an email to capemensyoga AT gmail.com Namaste