Christine Morgan is urging the government to do a lot more about 75% of suicides in Australia being men. This shocking statistic is being fought on many levels, but it’s never enough. Men are slow to seek help and find it hard to locate the help they need at times available for them.

Real Men do Downward Dog is Greg Cawley’s book offering valuable insights into what is really going on for many mid life men. He shares openly about what he did about it, and now shares with other men who need help to seek assistance. Opening up to talk more about a man’s journey through mid life family and career challenges.

‘Toxic masculinity’; ‘male privilege; ‘locker-room culture’ – who shows blokes what it means to be a man in 2021? With changing traditional gender roles and expectations, some men feel that their sense of identity is being eroded; they feel lost, overwhelmed, and confused about who they should be.

Greg Cawley knows this feeling only too well. Most people would say that Greg is your typical baby boomer bloke – he studied hard so he could be a good provider, eventually owning and operating several manufacturing businesses in New Zealand; he married, had two children, bought the big house and the fancy car. To the outside world, he was living the dream. But no one saw what was going on behind the scenes – the endless hours at work, the arguments at home, the financial stress, the bout of depression with near-fatal consequences.

It was during the GFC, while his marriage was breaking down and his business was on the verge of collapse, that Greg accidentally discovered yoga while visiting Nepal. This trip changed his life. Yoga taught Greg to stop and listen to his body. Yoga gave him the courage to admit to his failed marriage, sell up the business that wasn’t satisfying him, and become a yoga teacher – eventually opening a studio in Toowoomba to teach other men the life-changing benefits of yoga.

Greg said:

“As a young bloke I was taught that to be a real man you had to have a stiff upper lip, that boys don’t cry, to win at all costs. These ideas led me to play elite football, to run successful businesses, to make money for my family – but not to necessarily always being a good man. It took a near-nervous breakdown for me to discover yoga, but that changed my life. It hasn’t always been easy, but life is now so much better.”

Stress levels, burnout, and anxiety are through the roof, and suicide rates are at an all-time high. Men are at a crossroads, and many don’t know where to turn. More often than not, they turn inwards, isolating themselves, or to self-destructive habits.

Greg Cawley is on a mission to change this and the sign in his yoga studio says it all: ‘No Shelias, no Lycra, just blokes.’ In his newly released book, Real Men Do Downward Dog, Greg shares his powerful personal journey, explores the gendered history of yoga, and shows average blokes today how yoga can help them navigate the chaos of life. Greg believes that yoga is key to helping men learn how to bend before they break – to connect with themselves, to open up to each other about what is going on in their lives, and allowing them the urgently-needed space to embrace better mental and physical health in their mid-years.

Greg has been helping blokes discover yoga in his Toowoomba studio and online, and his book offers all men the opportunity to learn how the Warrior Pose can change their life.

Further information can be found at www.gregcawleyyoga.com.au/book.