"'Take in the sounds,' said Rua Williamson, who was leading the men in a breathwork session.... Williamson laid his hand on the tummy of Alex Mero, a 52-year-old accountant..."

"... in a light-purple T-shirt and black eyeglasses. He wrapped his hands around the waist of 30-year-old Dru Haynesworth, an activist and community health worker from Southeast Washington wearing a T-shirt that said 'VOTE.' He brought the men together with a collective ommmm. 'Feel the vibration resonate in the floor,' Williamson said. 'Feel the connection to your brothers.' It was a kind of connection that U.S. men increasingly say is missing from their lives, leaving them lonely, disconnected and, often, angry.... American men’s isolation stems in large part from a pervasive cultural belief, experts say: that men should be self-reliant and hide their emotions, especially from other men...."

Writes Tara Bahrampour in "Men’s groups are embracing an alternative conception of American masculinity" (WaPo).

I'm not a man — neither is the author of this article — but given the choice between disconnected solitude and breathwork supervisors laying hands on my "tummy" and demanding I om my way into a connection with brothers, I'd go with the solitude. Surely, there are other ways for men to find men to find friends — much better ways.

I'm surprised these "men's groups" are still around.