Oof, I have a lot of complicated feelings and I'm not sure I'm going to elegantly express them. But I'm going to try. My background here is that I started doing yoga primarily as a means to loose weight during an eating disorder. But it turns out that I actually really like yoga! Even though I consider myself recovered I still do yoga. I just don't do it compulsively or as a way to try and control my body. I also went through YTT and teach regularly now. Though, this isn't a story of "I used to do super active yoga and now my yoga is just sitting with myself," because it isn't. I still really love active "power" styles of yoga. It's my bread and butter and it's how I like practicing if I'm just practicing by myself. I really bristle against the idea that more powerful styles of yoga are somehow not real or lesser than, or are always diet culture. We all need different levels of activity to get our monkey brain to chill out. To say nothing of the fact that difficult (whatever "difficult" is for you) postures are more mentally focusing than a posture that you find easy. I don't think that exercise is inherently diet culture, so why would "yoga as a workout" be inherently diet culture? Do I think that they can be difficult to extricate, given the world we live in? Yes. But I don't think enjoying a hard workout is diet culture.
As a teacher though, I have had so many students come up to me and ask about losing weight, or wanting their body to be different, or whatever, and I find it very hard to know what to do with that. I don't want to encourage them, but I also don't want to be dismissive. This also feels very uncomfortable because I am visibly thin and young and able bodied, and pushing back feels ridiculous because visibly have no personal experience in how hard it is to move around the world in a less acceptable body. I try to move the conversation in a direction where I can actually talk about things that I think yoga can help with (more strength/flexibility, whatever) but that just ends up feeling like the student still wants the same thing and now we're just talking in code. When yoga as advertised to people is so very diet-culture, how can you begin to deprogram students that come to you with diet culture concerns? Is it even possible for me to teach the "powerful" styles of yoga I like without having it be diet culture-y?
I also admit I've use the "panes of glass" cue even though I do think it is weird. It is so common though! But I will be sure to totally remove it from my vocabulary from now on. I usually say to imagine that you're resting on a wall behind you.
Such good points. Agree that lots of movement can be more mind-focusing (or mind-erasing) than going immediately to stillness. I’m hoping to have more folks on who can speak to fitness/working out without weight loss goals and navigating those conversations… but if you missed it, my earlier podcast episode with Anna Maltby might be helpful on this front! (And thank you for retiring “panes of glass.” 💜)
I agree with your comment that "I really bristle against the idea that more powerful styles of yoga are somehow not real or lesser than, or are always diet culture. We all need different levels of activity to get our monkey brain to chill out." My favorite yoga class was the rock 'n' roll yoga class I took where they blasted music and your were really moving. It allowed me to get out of my head and focus on my body doing what it could. Other people think I'm nuts, because yoga should be peaceful or whatever, but the lights down, music up, power yoga class works for my brain much better than a yin yoga class in the woods (which works for others). I love that there are so many options!
This made me really miss the one yoga class I have ever loved. It was at the YMCA in Washington DC and it was taught by this guy: https://www.raforanc.com/about.html
Some weeks he was in a Rihanna mood, some weeks a Michael Franti mood, or other music all over the map. While we were in savasana at the end of class, he would earnestly urge us to envision ourselves in a bubble of white-gold light. He would crack up at his own jokes and gently tease his regulars. The class was always really diverse. He definitely wasn't selling anything.
I've tried a few other yoga classes over the years and nothing has ever compared. I *loved* yoga in that class and found it kind of a chore in others.
This was such an excellent discussion! I want to put a plug in for yoga classes taught in non-studio settings like community ed classes. While the teachers (and students) can still have unhealthy diet-culture mentalities, I think non-studio settings often draw a more size- and skill-diverse crowd, and there's none of the "Be sure to stop at the juice bar for some kombucha" or "Check out our new line of yoga pants" pressure. And they're often much cheaper! I did yoga for years in a class held in random locations throughout my office over lunch. We went wherever the company put us - sometimes in an empty room, sometimes in the giant town hall meeting space, once on the auditorium stage when it wasn't being used. It was great - some people were in fancy yoga gear, and others (like me) wore a T-shirt and shorts. One teacher got us all mats super-cheap by ordering a giant roll of mat material and cutting it to our specs (so tall people could have extra-long mats). Occasionally, a teacher would casually suggest a block would be helpful if you had tight hips, or maybe try a strap, but I never felt pressured to buy specific gear. And classes were $5/each.
I also know some people who've formed their own yoga groups b/c it was more affordable than joining a studio or so they felt less intimidated. They got a group together, asked a church to use one of their rooms, and hired a teacher.
If anyone has wanted to try yoga but is hesitant b/c of their size, I would encourage you to find a friendly place and go for it. I think yoga is one of the most size-inclusive activities you can do. Yes, you have the size 0 person flowing into a headstand with no apparent effort ... but then you switch poses, and hey! this is super easy for you b/c you have really open hips and the size 0 person is now struggling to get her butt flat on the ground b/c her hips are really tight. In every yoga class, there were moments I felt great about myself and moments I wanted to die. I think that's how everyone feels b/c everyone's body finds different poses easy or hard.
I second this comment. I have enjoyed yoga in community ed, YM/YWCA, and hospital-sponsored classes.
The "yoga pants" discussion reminds me of the upscale-aspiring gym I belonged to that had a Lululemon trunk show. The gym folks were perfectly friendly and welcoming, but I think they had no clue that Lululemon doesn't have merchandise above size 12 (at least not at that time).
The only thing I've ever bought from Lululemon due to their sizing (maybe that's changed?) was a headband. They make the best headbands (they don't swish my scalp!) but wow are they pricey!
This was a very interesting episode. I remember sitting in a yoga class once as an overweight person and having the instructor talk all about stopping eating sugar/alcohol/etc. to get our bodies perfect (ie small). I wanted to ask her about those venti soy dirty chai lattes she drank daily full of sugar and endocrine disruptors (I managed the Sbux she went to daily at the time) but didn't. I did stop attending class, though.
One thing I will say as my body has gotten larger is that child's pose is not comfy or easy or relaxing for me. My fupa is in the way, my big thighs and calves don't come together right, it's hard to breathe, and instructors come to try to get my hips lower, but they aren't going lower. To me, a comfy pose is butterfly. I can get my legs down and can bend over to stretch decently well. All that to say, I wish instructors would let us figure our our own comfy, happy, restful place when other things are too much versus assuming there is one pose for everyone.
Love Jessamyn! I shouted her out at the end of this conversation. And completely agree about the need to stop revering certain poses as “best” when they don’t work for all bodies!
I love yoga. I will admit that I used to judge a class by how much of a “workout” it was. Now I’m older and wiser and I love me a gentle class that gets into my hips and upper back. Check out @curvyyoga on Instagram.
Annette, thanks for your comment and for loving yoga, too! Curvy Yoga is a wonderful suggestion & resource. Please consider joining my online Yin Yoga classes, they are gentle (despite longer times in each shape) and focus on the hips, spine, and pelvis.
I loved this podcast episode. I have been practicing yoga for about 9 years now and am lucky to have had a continuous stream of super supportive teachers that reinforce the message that poses and practices look different for everyone. I take many of my classes at work and we have a lot of former athletes that join us - and many of them can't do certain poses (especially if it puts strain on knees!) and will modify to their needs. I love this.
My yoga mat is the place I turn to when i need to quiet my soul and my mind and just focus on my breathing and my movements. I always tell people who are afraid to try because they worry others will be judging them that no one is watching them because they're too focused on not falling on their own faces. 😃 But truly, I find it restorative on so many levels. Any practice that asks you to set your intention for the time is good by me.
As for closer-fitting yoga wear, I have finally accepted that for me, it is a necessity. I recently tried to practice in a loose shirt and got so tangled in it, it fell over my face in downward dog - such a mess. People should feel empowered to wear what they are comfortable in and what gives them the range of motion they need -be it spandex, jammies or even a pokemon onesie. 😉
Oof, I have a lot of complicated feelings and I'm not sure I'm going to elegantly express them. But I'm going to try. My background here is that I started doing yoga primarily as a means to loose weight during an eating disorder. But it turns out that I actually really like yoga! Even though I consider myself recovered I still do yoga. I just don't do it compulsively or as a way to try and control my body. I also went through YTT and teach regularly now. Though, this isn't a story of "I used to do super active yoga and now my yoga is just sitting with myself," because it isn't. I still really love active "power" styles of yoga. It's my bread and butter and it's how I like practicing if I'm just practicing by myself. I really bristle against the idea that more powerful styles of yoga are somehow not real or lesser than, or are always diet culture. We all need different levels of activity to get our monkey brain to chill out. To say nothing of the fact that difficult (whatever "difficult" is for you) postures are more mentally focusing than a posture that you find easy. I don't think that exercise is inherently diet culture, so why would "yoga as a workout" be inherently diet culture? Do I think that they can be difficult to extricate, given the world we live in? Yes. But I don't think enjoying a hard workout is diet culture.
As a teacher though, I have had so many students come up to me and ask about losing weight, or wanting their body to be different, or whatever, and I find it very hard to know what to do with that. I don't want to encourage them, but I also don't want to be dismissive. This also feels very uncomfortable because I am visibly thin and young and able bodied, and pushing back feels ridiculous because visibly have no personal experience in how hard it is to move around the world in a less acceptable body. I try to move the conversation in a direction where I can actually talk about things that I think yoga can help with (more strength/flexibility, whatever) but that just ends up feeling like the student still wants the same thing and now we're just talking in code. When yoga as advertised to people is so very diet-culture, how can you begin to deprogram students that come to you with diet culture concerns? Is it even possible for me to teach the "powerful" styles of yoga I like without having it be diet culture-y?
I also admit I've use the "panes of glass" cue even though I do think it is weird. It is so common though! But I will be sure to totally remove it from my vocabulary from now on. I usually say to imagine that you're resting on a wall behind you.
Such good points. Agree that lots of movement can be more mind-focusing (or mind-erasing) than going immediately to stillness. I’m hoping to have more folks on who can speak to fitness/working out without weight loss goals and navigating those conversations… but if you missed it, my earlier podcast episode with Anna Maltby might be helpful on this front! (And thank you for retiring “panes of glass.” 💜)
I agree with your comment that "I really bristle against the idea that more powerful styles of yoga are somehow not real or lesser than, or are always diet culture. We all need different levels of activity to get our monkey brain to chill out." My favorite yoga class was the rock 'n' roll yoga class I took where they blasted music and your were really moving. It allowed me to get out of my head and focus on my body doing what it could. Other people think I'm nuts, because yoga should be peaceful or whatever, but the lights down, music up, power yoga class works for my brain much better than a yin yoga class in the woods (which works for others). I love that there are so many options!
YES to this.
This made me really miss the one yoga class I have ever loved. It was at the YMCA in Washington DC and it was taught by this guy: https://www.raforanc.com/about.html
Some weeks he was in a Rihanna mood, some weeks a Michael Franti mood, or other music all over the map. While we were in savasana at the end of class, he would earnestly urge us to envision ourselves in a bubble of white-gold light. He would crack up at his own jokes and gently tease his regulars. The class was always really diverse. He definitely wasn't selling anything.
I've tried a few other yoga classes over the years and nothing has ever compared. I *loved* yoga in that class and found it kind of a chore in others.
This was such an excellent discussion! I want to put a plug in for yoga classes taught in non-studio settings like community ed classes. While the teachers (and students) can still have unhealthy diet-culture mentalities, I think non-studio settings often draw a more size- and skill-diverse crowd, and there's none of the "Be sure to stop at the juice bar for some kombucha" or "Check out our new line of yoga pants" pressure. And they're often much cheaper! I did yoga for years in a class held in random locations throughout my office over lunch. We went wherever the company put us - sometimes in an empty room, sometimes in the giant town hall meeting space, once on the auditorium stage when it wasn't being used. It was great - some people were in fancy yoga gear, and others (like me) wore a T-shirt and shorts. One teacher got us all mats super-cheap by ordering a giant roll of mat material and cutting it to our specs (so tall people could have extra-long mats). Occasionally, a teacher would casually suggest a block would be helpful if you had tight hips, or maybe try a strap, but I never felt pressured to buy specific gear. And classes were $5/each.
I also know some people who've formed their own yoga groups b/c it was more affordable than joining a studio or so they felt less intimidated. They got a group together, asked a church to use one of their rooms, and hired a teacher.
If anyone has wanted to try yoga but is hesitant b/c of their size, I would encourage you to find a friendly place and go for it. I think yoga is one of the most size-inclusive activities you can do. Yes, you have the size 0 person flowing into a headstand with no apparent effort ... but then you switch poses, and hey! this is super easy for you b/c you have really open hips and the size 0 person is now struggling to get her butt flat on the ground b/c her hips are really tight. In every yoga class, there were moments I felt great about myself and moments I wanted to die. I think that's how everyone feels b/c everyone's body finds different poses easy or hard.
Love this so much!
I second this comment. I have enjoyed yoga in community ed, YM/YWCA, and hospital-sponsored classes.
The "yoga pants" discussion reminds me of the upscale-aspiring gym I belonged to that had a Lululemon trunk show. The gym folks were perfectly friendly and welcoming, but I think they had no clue that Lululemon doesn't have merchandise above size 12 (at least not at that time).
The only thing I've ever bought from Lululemon due to their sizing (maybe that's changed?) was a headband. They make the best headbands (they don't swish my scalp!) but wow are they pricey!
This was a very interesting episode. I remember sitting in a yoga class once as an overweight person and having the instructor talk all about stopping eating sugar/alcohol/etc. to get our bodies perfect (ie small). I wanted to ask her about those venti soy dirty chai lattes she drank daily full of sugar and endocrine disruptors (I managed the Sbux she went to daily at the time) but didn't. I did stop attending class, though.
One thing I will say as my body has gotten larger is that child's pose is not comfy or easy or relaxing for me. My fupa is in the way, my big thighs and calves don't come together right, it's hard to breathe, and instructors come to try to get my hips lower, but they aren't going lower. To me, a comfy pose is butterfly. I can get my legs down and can bend over to stretch decently well. All that to say, I wish instructors would let us figure our our own comfy, happy, restful place when other things are too much versus assuming there is one pose for everyone.
Also, to diversify who you're talking about yoga with, one of my fav's is https://jessamynstanley.com/
Love Jessamyn! I shouted her out at the end of this conversation. And completely agree about the need to stop revering certain poses as “best” when they don’t work for all bodies!
I love yoga. I will admit that I used to judge a class by how much of a “workout” it was. Now I’m older and wiser and I love me a gentle class that gets into my hips and upper back. Check out @curvyyoga on Instagram.
Annette, thanks for your comment and for loving yoga, too! Curvy Yoga is a wonderful suggestion & resource. Please consider joining my online Yin Yoga classes, they are gentle (despite longer times in each shape) and focus on the hips, spine, and pelvis.
I loved this podcast episode. I have been practicing yoga for about 9 years now and am lucky to have had a continuous stream of super supportive teachers that reinforce the message that poses and practices look different for everyone. I take many of my classes at work and we have a lot of former athletes that join us - and many of them can't do certain poses (especially if it puts strain on knees!) and will modify to their needs. I love this.
My yoga mat is the place I turn to when i need to quiet my soul and my mind and just focus on my breathing and my movements. I always tell people who are afraid to try because they worry others will be judging them that no one is watching them because they're too focused on not falling on their own faces. 😃 But truly, I find it restorative on so many levels. Any practice that asks you to set your intention for the time is good by me.
As for closer-fitting yoga wear, I have finally accepted that for me, it is a necessity. I recently tried to practice in a loose shirt and got so tangled in it, it fell over my face in downward dog - such a mess. People should feel empowered to wear what they are comfortable in and what gives them the range of motion they need -be it spandex, jammies or even a pokemon onesie. 😉
Thanks for the intro to Jessica - she is great!!
Love all of this. (And YES to the double standard on who needs to wear tight clothes…)