[eli.dag photographer]

Robert Sidoti leads students through a class at the Somerville, Mass., studio.

By Cari Nierenberg

Tired of hearing a wife, girlfriend, mother, sister or female friend sing the praises of yoga, some guys will eventually man up and tag along to a class. Once there, in many studios, he might be one of few downward facing dudes.

Being the only man surrounded by a room of limber ladies in tight-fitting yoga pants might sound like paradise. But it gets rough when the gal on the next mat can touch her nose to her knees and the guy can barely bend over to reach his toes.

Feeling self-consciousness and possibly embarrassed, a guy may retreat to his man cave convinced that yoga is not for him. It's too New Age-y or hippie-ish. Or not macho enough. Or too damn hard.

Enter broga -- a yoga class geared for men.

"We're a yoga class geared for guys, but open to all," says Adam O'Neill, president and co-founder of Broga, which is based in Somerville, Mass. Although women are welcome in class, it's designed with a man in mind.

"We chose the name broga because it's funny, catchy, and familiar. It lets men know this is for them," O'Neill explains.

"On the one hand, we don't take ourselves too seriously. But broga is a real thing with real integrity," points out O'Neill. Classes, he says, work from the familiar to the unfamiliar.

Follow this link:
'Broga' caters to guys wary of yoga