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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I build muscle with Man Flow Yoga?
YES. Muscle growth happens when exercise causes the protein in your muscles to break down. You don’t need weights in order to accomplish this. All you need is your own bodyweight. Most full grown men in the United States weigh an average of 191 pounds. You think you need to add some plates on your ears to make it heavy enough to produce muscle? No! The only requirement for muscle growth to occur is that your body is put through the stress necessary for it to adapt to a higher threshold than it had previously been adapted to. As long as you are doing a workout that challenges your body to accomplish a physical task, then you are building muscle! Man Flow Yoga is different from other yoga because the poses last longer and do not require as much flexibility, which means that you will build more strength because your muscles are under greater stress. Try out a workout for yourself. If you feel sore the next morning or 2 days afterwards then you are on the right path!
Can I burn fat with Man Flow Yoga?
Absolutely! The workouts themselves are very challenging and cause your body to convert stored fat into energy for your workout (i.e. burn fat). These workouts also help to develop muscle, which lowers the amount of fat on your body. (The more muscle you have, the less fat!) Going beyond the workout, the awareness and stress relief facilitated by the emphasis on breath and attention to detail actually reduces stress eating, which helps you successfully address the main cause of weight gain.
Does Man Flow Yoga help me increase my flexibility?
One of the things that makes yoga so unique from other forms of physical fitness is its emphasis on flexibility. Most yoga helps to increase flexibility, but you will see faster and more dramatic results with Man Flow Yoga, because we encourage to push your limits, rather than “just do what feels good”. Flexibility is not something that is given; it is something that you have to work for. Remember that in order to improve your flexibility you must make a conscious effort to go past your existing range of motion. When you do that, you increase your flexibility.
Does Man Flow Yoga relieve back pain?

Yes and yes. Not only does Man Flow Yoga help to alleviate back pain, it also addresses the root causes of back pain, such as inflexibility in the muscles that connect to your back, muscle imbalances, poor posture, and lack of core strength.

How is this different from other types of yoga?
Man Flow Yoga is unique from other types of yoga because of its emphasis on physical fitness. All other types of yoga incorporate a spiritual or meditative aspect, which is great, but shifts the focus away from biomechanical accuracy and physical results. Man Flow Yoga workouts are entirely focused on the technique involved in each exercise. We also talk about WHY we are doing each exercise, including the physical benefit, how it relates to performance in the rest of your body, and and how it will help you accomplish a certain physical task. Just because we don’t include meditation or spiritual practices in our workouts, we do recognize the importance of these to overall health and wellness. Within the Members Area of the Man Flow Yoga website, you’ll find a lifestyle section that addresses these other aspects of your fitness, separate from the physical fitness section.
Can I really get ripped with just yoga?
You can get ripped with just yoga, but we don’t recommend it. Rowing and pulling are two movements that are necessary for a strong back and healthy shoulders that are not found in yoga. However, we do address this by placing much more emphasis on the back then traditionally found in other yoga programs, with modifications that target pulling muscles more effectively than standard variations, and more attention to technique. We recommend that you incorporate some form of resistance training into your workout routine that involves rowing or pulling (such as a seated row, pull-ups, or bent over row) in order to compensate for the absence of such motions in yoga.
Can women do Man Flow Yoga?
Absolutely.

Man Flow Yoga isn’t just for men – it’s for anybody that wants to experience the benefits of what fitness-centric yoga can provide. The workouts reflect what most guys typically want out of a workout (more upper body, more muscle building), and contain modifications for poses that are difficulty for us inflexible guys, but there are many women that enjoy Man Flow yoga because of the fitness-centric aspect, not to mention that women can be inflexible too – the toll of a sedentary life affects us all.

Does this help me lose my belly fat?
No matter what anyone tells you (or what any fitness brand claims it can do) it is not possible to target a particular area of fat on your body with one exercise or another. If you are a male, you tend to store fat in your upper bodies, particularly in the belly area, whereas if you are a woman, you tend to store fat in the hips, butt, and legs. That said, these programs do help you lose fat – belly fat included. 🙂 It helps you lose this fat because it helps to (1) build muscle, (2) burn fat in the workout, and (3) reduce stress levels that lead to stress eating.
I am in my 50s. Is Man Flow Yoga appropriate for me?
The short and resounding answer is YES. Unlike running, cross-training, and many other forms of physical fitness, yoga is a LOW-impact form of fitness. That means that there is much less stress on your joints, and is appropriate for men (and women) in their 50s – especially those just starting out a fitness routine. Man Flow Yoga helps to reinforce basic movement principles, which builds a foundational level of fitness. Man Flow Yoga increases your strength, builds muscle, endurance, increases flexibility, develops core stability, and helps you to become more aware of your body, all of which are necessary to helping you improve your overall fitness. and to stay healthy.
I am a beginner to yoga. Is this appropriate for me?
Man Flow Yoga has a variety of programs that are appropriate for everyone, whether you are new to fitness or just new to yoga. We focus on breaking down the technique from head to toe so that you are learning exactly how you should be executing each posture and exercise, instead of saying “just do what feels natural”. You’ll learn yoga safely and effectively, and in less time, which means that you can experience the results sooner.
How often should I do yoga?
The answer to this question depends on your current level of fitness, your fitness routine, and your fitness goals (not to mention many other personal factors). My suggestion is that if you are just starting a workout routine and are not doing anything else in addition to yoga, start with 20-30 minutes of yoga every other day, and then to increase from there. If you have already been exercising regularly, and plan on incorporating yoga into your existing fitness routine, make sure that you are doing yoga at least twice per week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time.
What if I need more instruction?
The Man Flow Yoga Members Area offers Silver and Gold memberships which involve one-on-one personal in-home webcam training sessions with Dean, so that you can get realtime feedback on your technique in addition to designing a comprehensive, personalized program that works for you. You can read more about this in the Members Area section.
Can’t I get the same benefits from just stretching? What makes Man Flow Yoga different from stretching?
Man Flow Yoga is different from stretching because it is so much more than just stretching. Most people think of stretching as bending down and reaching for their toes for 10 seconds. That is not yoga. Yoga involves bodyweight exercises that have a flexibility element to them, but in most yoga postures you are working toward the extreme range of motion of your body while holding up your own bodyweight, which makes it much more than just a lazy stretch that you do before soccer practice while watching the geese fly by. Stretching is also different from yoga because stretching does not increase flexibility; it only maintains it. Yoga facilitates improvements in strength and flexibility simultaneously. Stretching is not a workout on its own. Yoga is.
What is yoga?
Ask two people and you’ll get two different answers. If you haven’t figured out yet, Man Flow Yoga is different from typical yoga. Search for Yoga on google and you’ll find it defined as “a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures.” Ask a yoga instructor and they’ll say that it is an 8-limbed way of life. Ask us, and we’ll tell you that is a form of physical fitness that includes a variety of bodyweight exercises, calisthenics, breathing exercises, and stretching to develop overall strength, endurance, core stability, balance, and flexibility.
Do I need any equipment for these programs?
It is recommended that you have a yoga mat, a block, and a strap. Yoga mats can be purchased for usually less than $20 at superstores or online, but I recommend purchasing a premium mat when you are ready to make yoga a serious part of your fitness routine. Blocks and straps can each be purchased for less than $10 each, but a block can be replaced by a stack of books, and a belt can substituted for a strap. Visit the “Gear” section of our online Shop for yoga gear.
Is yoga religious?
Yoga is not religious. Yoga is a form of philosophy. For us, it’s a form of exercise. You can still be faithful to your religion and practice yoga. In fact, many Buddhists practice Man Flow Yoga because they are offended by the religious aspects that exist in traditional yoga, and want to maintain a separation between their workout and their religion.
What kind of diet should I follow in order to get the most out of Man Flow Yoga?
There are many diets that effectively complement Man Flow Yoga training programs, and they depend on your physical goals. If your goal is to burn fat and build lean muscle, The Man Flow Diet is particularly well-suited to you. If you are looking to build muscle and add weight, you will have to add more healthy carbs to your diet. The Man Flow Diet and the diet & nutrition section within the Members Area are both fantastic resources for you to utilize in order to come up with a diet that works for your physical goals.
Do I need to mediate to do yoga?
Although many types of yoga make the physical practice of yoga inseparable from meditation, you are not required to meditate if you just want to do yoga. Here is a helpful blog on the subject, entitled Separating Yoga from Meditation.
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