Why the mental health of men is not a temporary trend

The stress of pandemic affected us all, but particularly affected men.

Years - including men in our community - have focused on mindfulness practice and yoga to open up stress reduction. Meditation in particular is an important instrument to reduce PTSD and anxiety in many different areas. Studies show that it reduces fear and stress, improve cognition, attention and memory, improve general well -being and much more.

That was one of the reasons for this yogamatter creates the men's eco-collection to offer men a comfortable set of important things that you can wear when breathing and stretching.

April is also stress consciousness month so we turned to the founders of Medito , a free meditation app that promotes meditation and mindfulness to understand how our society deals with mindfulness for men and deals with emotions. From Cardiff to Bristol, London to Los Angeles and Amsterdam: The Medito Foundation team teamed up at the beginning of the Covid 19 block in 2020 to create their award-winning app. They also founded a diversity & inclusion group of voluntary bipoc members to ensure that all content welcome and encourage people from all areas of life. And while all founders are men, the app also encourages women and non-binary people to sit, breathe and find a free moment for mindfulness.

mindfulness is male

For some time now, men have not been culturally encouraged to share their feelings and open themselves as much as women in our society. Yorke believes that the creation of more rooms for men, women and people from all areas of life can help change the view of our society on gender roles.

"I think men sometimes hesitate to talk about their spiritual well -being or feelings because it was historically not the male. This definitely improves, but I think there is still a lot to do to reduce the stigma when it comes to mental health," says Yorke. “I think there is a similar problem when it comes to mindfulness, with men less open to it than women.

The Medito team does not collect any data about its users in the app, but says that the Medito Instagram channel attracts many female users: more than 60 percent of their followers are female. It is obvious that more work can be done so that men feel more welcome in the mindfulness room and the mental health of men is improved.

"Meditation and mindfulness are crucial for us to center us again in order to be completely authentic," says Yuta Hasumi, D&I board member of the Medito Foundation. "Many of us feel anxious and are easily affected by what others think about us, especially at this time of social media. Due to the unconscious and social prejudices, these are the way out of our control. Through meditation we can concentrate on feeling privileged again."

mindfulness and yoga tips of the Medito Foundation

Steven Yorke, co -founder of the Medito Foundation (Cardiff, UK)
about 2 years ago I realized that I couldn't touch my toes! I think this is a common problem for people who are sitting on a computer all day. I don't have a problem with my three main strings, which are at the bottom of my knee tendon flexibility. I started to do 1 hour.

Gareth Yorke, co -founder of the Medito Foundation (Bristol, UK)
"I like to stretch myself before and after a run, so I wear my running equipment. My favorite routes are dog down, stretching from knee tendons and calves, low lunge for stretching from quads and knee seam The wall, for improved circulation and muscle regeneration.

Michael Martin, co-founder of the Medito Foundation (Los Angeles, USA)
"I have a lot of excitement in my back and hip, so I like to stretch that helps to disturb this tension. Prasarita Padottanasana (" Feet spread intensive stretching "), Janu Sirsasana (" head and knee posture ") and Marichyasana) ("Marichis pose") are three of my favorites. I am not particularly special in terms of clothing, but I like something that keeps my muscles warm. I try to take meditation and mindfulness from the mat or pillow by practicing them all day while I do regular tasks. For example, I will check in with my breath while waiting for websites to be loaded. I also practice emergency technology when I am excited or feel stuck, for example when I have to struggle with writing blocks. By introducing mindfulness into our daily activities, we can benefit from it around the clock. “

Mike Speed, co -founder of the Medito Foundation (Amsterdam, NL)
"You really can't beat the fold of the knee after training. Children's pose is good for cooling. Similar to Michael, I like to be aware of my whole day. I try to notice my feelings or complaints completely. I play musical instruments, I think mindfulness also helps me to be concentrated without force.

Romain Sourdiaux, co -founder of the Medito Foundation (Amsterdam, NL)
"Yoga really helps me to feel relaxed and grounded. My three favorite positions that help me to degenerate and stretch after long zoom calls are downward Dog and reclining. I often feel overwhelmed by the negative events in the world - from inequality to the suffering of farm animals.

Yuta Hasumi, D&I member of the Medito Foundation (London, UK)
"" Meditation enables us to concentrate again, to feel privileged, wherever we are. Therefore, the daily practice is the key to dealing with stress and fear. are butterfly, cow and dolphin.

accessible meditation and mindfulness: The Medito app

Do you want to access meditation that the earth doesn't cost? Try the Medito app (free of charge!).

Follow: @Meditohq