Home | About Us | Why Yoga? | Styles of Yoga | Class Schedule | Instructors | Events | Teacher Training
Location | Prices | Yoga for Larger Women | Private Lessons | AGW Audio Tape | Contact Us

By Laurel Kallenbach, Yoga Journal

Page:  1  2  3

Modify the Poses

No matter how well-meaning a thin yoga teacher is, she or he has probably never experienced yoga as a person of girth. That's why it's important for you to know your abilities and keep your practice safe—but just challenging enough—for you.

Common concerns for us heavy people include reaching arms above our heads, folding into a forward bend (and being able to breathe once we're there!), sitting cross-legged, holding a pose for a length of time, and experiencing back and knee strain due to added weight around the middle. But in yoga there are always solutions. Place a bolster under the knees to alleviate back strain when lying down; when seated cross-legged on the floor, fold a blanket under your rear. If you can't reach your arms around your knees to pull them to your chest when lying down, a belt will extend your reach.

"You don't have to sacrifice a posture if your body doesn't bend like a pretzel," Haddon says. "But be sure to honor both the posture and your own body." Her advice is to err on the side of caution. For instance, if your weight stresses your lower back, proceed slowly, with awareness. "If you gently and gradually work into postures such as Cobra and Boat, you can strengthen your back," Haddon says.

Balancing poses require special attention. "People of substance run a greater risk of spinal injury in inverted balancing poses and should avoid them," Haddon says. When a heavy person does Headstand, she or he needs considerably more muscle power to correct a slight wobble than a lean person needs to correct the same degree of imbalance, she explains. (Tree Pose, on the other hand, develops balance and is safe for full-sized bodies.) And take credit for your own strength. "It amuses me to think the weight I'm hoisting in Plank is equivalent to what those buff guys in the gym are bench-pressing," says Sharpe.

Props can help you fully benefit from yoga, compensating for tight joints, limited flexibility, or arms that don't reach around an expansive body. Vandoske considers himself the king of yoga props—he routinely packs a pair of blocks, two straps, two sandbags, a blanket, and a mat when he heads off to the studio. "Props get me to a level in a pose where I feel comfortable and can improve," he says. "The key to success in yoga for anybody carrying extra weight is to modify. Accept where you are and don't be afraid to experiment with modifications."

Often, a pillow beneath the forehead can make it easier to settle into Child's Pose, or a strap can help open the hips and hamstrings. Don't worry whether modifications are kosher. "Yoga is about being comfortable," says Devi. "The definition of asana in the Yoga Sutra is 'a comfortable and steady pose.' But the word used for 'comfort' is sukha, which also means 'happiness.' If what you do brings happiness, then you're doing real yoga," she adds.

Practice Brings Patience
"Yoga involves so much stretching," says Sharpe. "There are downward stretches, side stretches, intellectual stretches, and emotional stretches." Indeed, both processes—learning yoga and losing weight—require patience and perseverance. A yoga practice takes time to cultivate; likewise, unwanted pounds won't disappear overnight.

Because it fuses spiritual with physical practice, yoga offers a path for self-discovery and self-acceptance. Through it, I'm more attuned to my needs and feel better physically and emotionally.

No, yoga won't always keep me from noshing on nachos.

Yet I respect myself more than before I started yoga, and I'm more likely to acknowledge my successes: small ones like holding Downward-Facing Dog for four breaths instead of two, big ones like taking a meditation break instead of a cookie break.

In time, yoga can transform you and your body. With work and years of yogic practice, Varshell has overcome illness, improved her relationship to eating, polished her self-image, and shed pounds. "Now I see food as a way to love and nourish my body, rather than hide from my emotions," she says. "Holding a pose long enough to feel muscle after muscle let go and melt into the floor touches me in a way that ice cream never could."

Article by Yoga Journal. To find a Yoga teacher in your area visit the Yoga Journal.