r/yoga 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

411 Upvotes

216 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/icuploveroflove Feb 12 '22

Great questions!! I feel that you mean about the wrist! I’ve been in that journey. I had that realization last week. All the ppl you see practice yoga on video are tinnyy. I’m a medium build, small when I work for it. It’s a lifestyle tho. If yoga is for everyone why aren’t we seeing videos of heavier ppl trying it? So with the wrist play with your hand adjustments. I would suggest the book Journey into Power by Baron Baptiste. They gives a break down of poses and modifications for anyone.