News alert: If a yoga instructor reprimands you because you don’t look a certain way in an asana or physical pose, that teacher may be in the wrong profession.
A good teacher will emphasize that how you feel in a pose is what’s important, not what shape you are creating on the mat. If you are finding sensation and breathing fully, then you are in the right place. Despite the barrage of Instagram filtered images crafted by tall thin yogis in advanced yoga poses, you do NOT need to be a skinny pretzel to be a “real yogi.”
We’re here to tell you there is no such thing as a yoga body. With the explosion of yoga’s popularity in the Western world over the last few decades, a huge focus on appearance has overshadowed what yoga is truly about. Yoga is for every body and there’s a style and type of practice that works for each individual. It’s adaptable. Accessible. Don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t.
No matter who you are, whether you are thin or heavy, tall or short, in a wheelchair or an Olympic athlete, yoga is for you.
Let’s start with straightforward anatomy. A vital principle to understand in asana practice is that everyone is different. We are born with differently shaped skeletons—long bones, short bones, heavy bones, light bones, mobile joints, stiff joints, and that’s just your frame.
For example, a student with loose hamstrings has short arms and long legs and reaching their toes in paschimottasana (seated forward fold) is almost impossible. Another student may have less muscular flexibility, but has long arms and shorter legs and can grasp their feet with minimal effort. Same pose. Different result. We all have our inherent limitations, which impact what our personal yoga practice looks like.
You wouldn’t judge a person or stereotype them because of their anatomy, right? Well, the same principle applies to everyone who doesn’t fall within the narrow window of social media yoga star. Sometimes people feel intimidated and avoid showing up on the yoga mat because they aren’t naturally flexible or model thin. We want to help make yoga available to anyone who wants to practice.
This week, we are thrilled to introduce a 5-class program for Body Positivity Yoga. Designed and taught by Dana Smith, author of Yes Yoga has Curves, these classes are accessible to everyone. Dana is passionate about breaking down stereotypes preventing people from stepping onto their mats because of fear or insecurity. So join us today and celebrate the body you are in!
Enjoy the program now!
The program classes include:
1. Dana Smith - Find Your Strength 2. Dana Smith - Blissful Balance 3. Dana Smith - Flow with the Go 4. Dana Smith - Open Your Heart 5. Dana Smith - Shifting Paradigms