Yoga for Fat People

On our Thin Blog we have had quite a few people looking for yoga for fat people. I have done a lot of research looking for the answer. I keep coming across the same information over and over.

Yoga is an equal opportunity pleasure. It is available for ever size, young or old, big or small. Once a few special issues are addressed even large yogi's can get the same benefits from a physical yoga as anyone else. These benefits range from:

• flexibility
• balance
• strength
• stress reduction
• increased awareness
• a wonderful link between your mind and body

When seeking out yoga, you should first take some preliminary steps. If you are a newcomer to yoga it is important to determine what you want yoga to do do for you. Are you looking for:

• relaxation
• help with meditation
• flexibility
• a rigorous athletic workout
• lose weight
• find out who you are, and learn to value yourself

If you are a large person that wants to get started in yoga, maybe you are fortunate to live in an area where specialty classes are being taught such as Big Yoga or Yoga for Round Bodies. If there are no specialty classes near you and you live a fairly inactive life, watch for classes that are labeled gentle. Beginner yoga can sometimes be brutal.

After you find a class that looks promising go in and speak to the teachers. Ask about their experience or their interest about having to teaching large students. Ask about who attends their classes like age, fitness level, and the size of the people in their classes. Ask if there are props, chairs, blocks or other things that can help a large person do the yoga poses. If the teacher's attitude about weight and weight loss is important to you, then include that into your discussion.

The only person stopping you from doing yoga is you. Overweight people have a tendency to separate their minds from their bodies because it is tough living in a fat body in a fat-hating world. We need to acknowledge our fat without judging it and work on removing the barriers that keep us from living a full life. There is no such thing as yoga for fat people because yoga is universal without any prejudices.