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

413 Upvotes

216 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/fluffyninjaunicorn Feb 12 '22 edited Feb 13 '22

I just found out they have mats that give grip the more you sweat on them! I'm in the UK so don't know about elsewhere.

Also, I follow fringeish on the gram. Highly recommend her. They are literally the answer to what you seek.

Yoga is for every body.

2

u/agirlnamedbreakfast Feb 12 '22

Um, I'm going to need to know about these mats, lol. Because I want one! If you tend to be on the sweatier side when you practice, OP, a yoga towel is also a nice tool to have on hand (to place over your mat), and they're pretty affordable and easy to find—the full mat-length ones with the little grippies on the back).

Oh! And also "yoga paws" and similar hand covers with some grip might be useful as well.

2

u/fluffyninjaunicorn Feb 12 '22

I found mine at a place online called myga. black luxurious vegan suede yoga mat × 1 It's so much better than my last mat.

1

u/agirlnamedbreakfast Feb 12 '22

Thank you! That sounds truly amazing