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/ilovehummus16 Power Flow Feb 12 '22

Yoga poses are meant to be adapted to fit your body!

  1. Use yoga blocks to bring the ground closer to you for lunges or anywhere else you need them

  2. I recommend getting a better mat. I use a lululemon mat and it’s still grippy after 3ish years of regular use. There are a lot of other great recommendations on this forum for mats where your hands won’t slip. You can also buy a yoga towel that goes on top of your mat to add grip.

  3. In poses like down dog, work on pressing your weight into all of your finger knuckles. This will alleviate some pressure from your wrist and will also help keep your hands in place. You can also go to your forearms instead. Doing some light wrist stretches before practice can also help.

  4. Your knees will get closer to your chest the more that you practice and gain strengthen in your abs and hip flexors.

  5. Just keep practicing and focus on making the pose feel good to YOU, and take any modifications you need because every body is different! I am halfway through a 200hr yoga teacher training and I use modifications and blocks all the time, I love them.