Men who are shifting to yoga from their regular fitness routines tend to think that their baggy sweats will work just as well in their yoga workouts. While this may hold true in some cases, they are typically not suitable for yoga because the material is either not stretchable or breathable enough. When it comes to men’s yoga clothing, two things should be kept in mind: they should be able to absorb sweat (to prevent sweat from dripping onto the mat) and they should allow enough room for movement to let you do a wide variety of yoga poses.
Men’s Yoga Clothing Tops
Basically, men can choose to wear either a t-shirt or a sleeveless top (sando or singlet) when practicing yoga. Going topless, though allowed by some instructors and studios, is not really that advisable because it increases the possibility of soaking your mat in sweat. Different materials are used for making mens yoga clothing tops, although cotton is still the most popular choice because of its sweat absorbing capacity and its light weight.
If you’re more particular about your workout clothes, you can also look for dry-fit tops that have enough stretch in them. You can buy sets of men’s yoga clothing (top and bottom) for not more than $50 or $60, though expect to dole out more cash if you’re set on buying clothes from the more well known brands.
Shorts, Pants, and Bottoms
You can choose to wear shorts, pants, or cropped pants for bottoms, depending on your preference, or the type of yogic practice you will be doing. Those doing Bikram or Hot yoga may want to go for shorts to allow heat to escape the body faster, since you will be doing breathing exercises and asanas in a heated room. Typically though, men wear long or cropped pants for doing yoga. Cropped hemp pants tend to have wide-legged seams, which is not that recommended for beginners, especially if they decide to do faster paced styles of yoga.
If you decide to wear shorts to your yoga sessions, do everyone a favor and choose a pair that is sweat absorbent AND fits just right. You wouldn’t want to have any incidents of “indecent exposure” while you’re bending over and doing all types of lower body stretches. Pants can be made of any of the following materials: cotton, a combination of cotton and lycra, hemp, and other organic materials. Organic yoga clothing has gotten quite a following because one mantra of the yoga tradition is respect for all forms of life, and it helps capture that feeling of being close to nature.
