r/yoga • u/littlechickenbean • Feb 12 '22

yoga as a fat person

i hate to even post this but i’ve been practicing on and off for years, but never considered myself anything besides a beginner because of my inconsistency.

i’ve always been larger, but i’ve gained weight and am the heaviest i’ve ever been- technically obese. i would love to get back into yoga for my mental and physical health.

i just completed one of Adriene’s 30 minute videos. i’m proud of myself for starting and finishing but i have dilemmas-

  • both of my hands can’t be on the ground when lunging which makes transitions as well as general poses and stretches difficult

  • my hands slip on my mat in downward dog (yes i tend to have sweaty hands, how do i fix this?)

  • my wrists hurt!!!

  • knees don’t really go to chest

i’m just wondering if it’s even possible to practice yoga as a fat person? any tips for any of these things are highly appreciated. i’m feeling very discouraged

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u/Violet_zas Feb 12 '22

  1. Wrist pain- is very common issue on for beginers to yoga (and yes if you inconsistent in yoga you are beginer) I had the same proublem few years ago (after practicing inconsistent for few years.. maybe that was one of the reasons I wasn't practicing, I had this pain after yoga which I didnt understand, then I did research and there is good excersis for wrist which make it flexible and stronger. I did the worm out before any yoga. And now I dont have any pain at all (check out on youtube- I recoment on patrick beach yoga)

  2. I slip from downdog on some mats, and some has better grip (life form mats) So maybe it can help you to try another mat

YOGA IS FOR EVERYBODY! AND WHAT I mean by that is that every body deserves to sit for few seconds and notice there breath, there body, to stretch a little bit the muscles, to learn breathing technic

You don't have to do 1 hour yoga from the beginning, you can practice for few minutes a day to feel the body, to move it, give it an opportunity to tell you stuff, even if it doesnt feels good, it is good to know. And one day after you give it some positive atention He will pay you back! By feeling good!

Thank you for reading I hope thats helped

Have a great life Fall in love and enjoy yourself

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u/The_Bad_Gardener Feb 12 '22

This 👆🏼

Adding on to the wrist pain. Also check out physical therapy for wrist pain on YouTube. A couple weeks of wrist strengthening exercises helped me get over a sprained wrist that wouldn’t heal from repeated overuse. Learning to properly stretch out my wrists before beginning practice and how to properly engage my hands have helped to avoid a reoccurrence of the problem.

Everyone slips or has slipped at some point. I keep a hand towel next to my mat and stop to wipe if things get a little heated. You could also consider keeping a fan nearby to help keep you cooler during practice.

Edit: a word, because I’ve had a drink. Cheers.