OM Yoga UK – June 2017

FM

Good news guys. Mindfulness is not

just about easing stress or counting your

breath, it’s about strength, performance,

and excellence too, says Neil Seligman

Why men need

M

en are now starting to take more of an interest in

mindfulness, but are still heavily outnumbered by

women (as shown by a recent survey from the US,

which found that men were half as likely to engage

in the practice) - but why?

On the whole, men tend to be less motivated towards

introspection having been socialised to give off an air of confidence

and invulnerability. It follows that for some, even trying mindfulness

can feel like an admission of weakness. There may also be a fear,

that to look within could open a Pandora’s box of emotions and

baggage, that we may feel ill equipped to deal with. If mindfulness

asks us to turn towards the difficult, to embrace our challenges and

discomforts such that we might know them a little better, this can be

a tricky proposition for guys, particularly if they have adopted the

role of a macho Superman.

Mindfulness in its modern format comes from a clinical setting,

steered by doctors and psychologists motivated to help their

patients with anxiety and mental health ailments. As a result, it

tends to be hailed as a cure-all for the mind (which, largely, it is) but

this doesn’t come close to telling the whole story. Improved mental

health is just the tip of the mindfulness iceberg, but those sticky

clinical associations, which are tied in with the mindful message,

can be off-putting for men, who might consider that there is nothing

wrong with them, so don’t need a fix.

Power up

So here’s the thing. Mindfulness is not just about stress, anxiety

and counting your breath – it is also about strength, performance,

and excellence.

My motivation for over 20 years of mindfulness practice was

not sorrow or despair (although when those came along, it helped

hugely) it was to further explore my two passions: witnessing the

unfolding of human potential, and the pursuit of excellence. I

wanted to be both powerful and peaceful at the same time. I didn’t

see many role models for this in the world. It was mindfulness that

showed the way.

So for all the guys who have not yet found a place for mindfulness

in your day, allow me to tempt you.

1 Mindfulness improves your

performance in the sack

Let’s face it, we would all like to be better lovers. The ability to

mindfulness