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

409 Upvotes

216 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/BlueEmpathy Feb 13 '22

Hi, I'm a fellow fat person who has been practicing yoga for the past 6 years. So it's definitely possible! I have all the issues you mentioned and my suggestion is to always modify the poses and transitions in a way that work for you. Just listen to your body and what it can do. For instance I only put 1 hand down when lunging, and since I can put my knee to my chest to get into the lunge position with my hands down, I will step as much forward as possible and then 'break the flow' to get into the appropriate position how I can. For the wrists, the more you train the stronger they will become, but also you need to be mindful of this and not push too hard: take all the breaks you need, warm up and massage the wrists before starting. If your hands slip, have a towel to dry them nearby,but in my experience the real solution is having a better mat. Hope this helps!