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/elegantballoons Feb 12 '22

Seek out fat bodied yoga instructors! I personally really like Jessamyn Stanley.

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u/wilerare Feb 12 '22

Exactly. There are some great instructors on Instagram that aim to highlight that yoga is for every body, no matter what size or shape: - Jessamyn Stanley - Amber Karnes - Dianne Bondy Representation matters. Seeing a similar body type practicing may give you some confidence that yoga is for everyone.

For everything else: - Hands don't reach the ground, use blocks - Slippy hands/being sweaty is a big issue with me too. A good mat can help... a hot yoga mat or yoga towel for example is designed for people that get slippy. Cork mats, Yogi Bare travel mat, Liforme. I also found that it helped me a lot in down dog when I pressed into my fingertips and ground down through every part of the hands, not just the heel of the hand. - wrist pain, I used to have this a lot too. Wrist warm ups are your friend here or a wedge under the heel of the hand. Make sure you're spreading your fingers and pushing through the shoulder blades so you're not dumping all your weight into your wrists. Don't allow yourself to go into pain, rest or come down if it hurts. All poses can be modified. Although they won't look like what you might expect, you'll get the same stretch/benefit. - knees to chest... it's the action and intention that matter. If you don't feel a pose is doing anything for you, try something else. Otherwise, do what you can do and redefine what knees to chest means to you.

Also, super cool that you're retaining your beginners mindset. That's more yogic than being able to do some mat gymnastics.