Every-body is a YOGA BODY......

by Awilda Rivera

 Originally published in May 2017 in Aquarius Magazine for the "Under the Bodhi Tree" column. Some edits have been made to this version.

Plus Sized Yogini Jessamyn Stanely taking a strong Peacock pose on the Beach

Yoga is for every-body!  Despite the images you may see on TV, Film & Social Media there is NO right or wrong body type for yoga.  Humans love to compare, so naturally when we see skinny women in spandex leggings on TV doing handstands we think “There is no way I could do that”  or “Only if I were tiny like her then I could do all the Yoga moves.”  I must confess those were some of my first thoughts when I first stepped on the mat.
 
The Question becomes: “Does Yoga have a body image issue?”   Thankfully the answer is no. Yoga does not have a yoga body issue, however we in the west DO have a body image issue. 
 
The great news is that in the last several years there have been a handful of Phenomenal women and men who have stood up to shine a light on this ugly little secret.  The truth is that since Yoga has become a business, there has been  a ton of money poured into marketing and creation of the Yoga image. This image like all other sales avatars alienates most people and focuses on conventional ideas of beauty & strength (i.e. hetero-normative, skinny white women in fancy pants doing hands stands).  The reality of Yoga could not be more different. The postures and poses of yoga are meant to be applicable to all body types depending on the need of the individual, hence all the various modifications available for a single pose.
 
One Fearless Woman leading the  Yoga body image revolution is Jessamyn Stanley. Jessamyn is a voluptuous, queer, women of color who is smashing yoga body image stereo types left & right.  She is unafraid to acknowledge that many of the challenges facing those who have bodies out side of the culturally approved norms come from the glares & judgment of others. These stares coupled with the internal dialogue of comparison can easily prevent a first timer from ever stepping foot in a studio. However, as long as you remember why you are coming to Yoga in the first place then all the other obstacles will fall away, as Jessamyn put it ““The whole point of this practice is to burn away the parts of our lives that are built up over the years that don’t matter, and to burn that away to who you truly are.”[1] Skinny or Big, White or Black, Straight or Queer – Yoga is for  EVERY BODY. 
 
More importantly, there aren’t just two sides of the coin. The body of a yogi can land anywhere on a broad beautiful spectrum because ANYONE can practice yoga. 
Remember -- “Your body is not standing in your way[,] Only your mind is[.]” [2]
Get out there, get on your mat, and start to burn away what no longer serves you so that you can rise from the ashes like Phoenix – renewed, rejuvenated, ready to take on the world.
 
 
 Footnotes:
[1] http://www.boredpanda.com/plus-sized-yoga-jessamyn-stanley-fat-femme/

[2] http://www.boredpanda.com/plus-sized-yoga-jessamyn-stanley-fat-femme/
 

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