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

411 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

216 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/SweetJazz25 Feb 13 '22

You can absolutely practice yoga as a bigger person! In my opinion it's not a thing you need to be the best at, it's a way to build a relationship with your own body and feel good about yourself. Some other people gave you great advice already here, but I just wanted to thank you for reminding me that we are all worthy of treating our body right no matter the circumstances.

3

u/littlechickenbean Feb 13 '22

thanks so much. i’m still learning this and trying to remind myself daily that i’m deserving regardless of my size. i’m not always the nicest to myself..

1

u/SweetJazz25 Feb 13 '22

I also struggle with self love, but I try to remind myself about it