feedback please: yoga for very heavy people

pookeyism

This goes to the heavier people - where you are in your weight loss journey, or if you are currently on that journey - I am not going to set a limit on size, just that you at one time felt (feel) too large to go into a gym or studio, or felt (feel) too embarrassed, or you needed more help physically to do so than was available without a personal assistant. Perhaps you responded slower or needed a lower temperature, or wanted to be with like-sized people who had the same goals as yourself, or could not follow the yoga poses with out modifications and the class progressed too fast to get into those poses, or was too much for your breath and ability?

Would you have explored exercising (for this discussion specifically yoga) earlier if you had a yoga class designed specifically to accommodate a much larger body, and the issues and fears that often surround that? A class that in no way was tied into a weight loss program, but only focused on you being able to do what you could at the time, and progressed from there? One that put no emphasis on losing weight? Only being able to do more in your body than you currently could?

swsays

I was 250+ when I walked into my first yoga class last fall. I was terrified of the whole thing for any number of reasons, but certainly all of those listed in your post. I went to a "beginners hot power yoga" class, and stuck with the beginners classes for the first few weeks while I got used to the general routine. There was no pressure to do what anyone/everyone else was doing and major emphasis on listening to our own bodies and appreciate where we are at right at that moment. I was hooked immediately and have a been a regular attendee now for eight months. Yoga is not about competition or perfection and I find that so liberating. Incidentally, yoga is the only exercise I did for the first ninety days of my journey and it has changed my life, starting with my brain. I only wish I'd have tried it earlier! ;-)

I will say, however, that I am the type of person who thinks nothing of taking exercise at my own pace, even if I am in the midst of a class or a group run - if my body says I need a break, I take a break. Because of this, the idea of doing my own thing in yoga, during times that the teacher/group is going farther than I am able for instance, is not upsetting or nerve-wracking to me at all.

As far as a yoga class intended to accommodate larger folk, I think all of yoga is intended for accommodating whatever a person needs - injuries or other limitations can all be managed with modifications and if the teacher knows ahead of time, I've found them to all be very helpful with suggestions so you get the most out of the class. I did take a workshop last fall with an instructor (from the Seattle area) who is really focused on rehabilitative yoga and modifying everything to your own physical needs, so something like that might be a thought if a person feels very physically challenged.

Hope that helps!

TeaBea

I don't have any feedback from actual experience. But I do know that there are DVDs geared toward larger people, or older people, or inflexible people.

I agree with Swsays. Yoga classes should be about the individual. None of us starts in the same place. Yoga is about progressing. There are poses where I am flexible....other poses I'm not flexible at all.

If someone wants to see what type of adjustments they may need to make, see if your library has any of these videos.

Mega Yoga
Heavyweight Yoga
Expanding into Fullness
Yoga: Just My Size

Peggy Cappy has a series, Yoga For the Rest of Us....not specifically for heavier people....but lots of modifications. This was part of a PBS series.

pookeyism

Thank you both!

I am, however, more so aiming the question to participation in a group setting - the mentor/mentoring aspect. Yoga in a private setting has a different dynamic than a group, and a group can have a different dynamic than another.

I hope to encourage people who are very large to respond to this thread. For instance, I have been doing yoga consistently for over twenty years, at my heaviest I was over 300 lbs. Most of my yoga experience in what I would call the "middle" of my practice - say from '98 to '12 was solitary yoga. I am wondering about people heavier than that - would you participate in a class that you were not the exception for needing additional time, that it was not hot, the straps fit you and you did not need four blocks or two bolsters - that the yogi leading didn't have to be mindful of what you MIGHT need, but offered these modifications as the way the whole class was doing the asanas (poses)?

jeanstudies

That is a very interesting question. I think, emotionally I would not want to walk into a class that was labelled "for obese people," (too embarrasing), but I have been in classes in which the instructor went waaaaay out of her way to accommodate people like me who were new or not as flexible. At my old gym one leader was widely reputed to be encouraging/accommodating and I did feel very comfortable in her class.

Also a long while ago I went to a resort focused on fitness and healthy food (unfortunately now closed down) and one of the guest instructors came equipped with extra blocks/blankets, etc. She went out of her way to create a little perch for me (out of blankets and blocks, I think) for the cross-legged positions which had been a big problem for me, and because I felt comforted I was able to stretch much farther than I had ever before. I wish I could remember her name, unfortunately I can't.

I hope this response is helpful!

pookeyism

Thank you - all feedback is helpful. There is no right tor wrong answer to this. I appreciate all input, as long as it is civil.

The post is not to decide if I am going to do yoga - I'm sorry to all I may not have made that clear. I am an assistant yogi, actually, I have been doing yoga for over 20 years. Just trying to get feedback on this, from several different venues

MostlyWater

My sister has been more than a hundred lbs overwieght for quite some time. She did yoga for a semester, loved it, and dropped tons of weight. She didn't keep it up but speaks warmly of the experience.

I say try it, if you love it great. If you don't but it's a sustainable workout for you, keep it up. Otherwise, keep looking.

swsays

I am wondering about people heavier than that - would you participate in a class that you were not the exception for needing additional time, that it was not hot, the straps fit you and you did not need four blocks or two bolsters - that the yogi leading didn't have to be mindful of what you MIGHT need, but offered these modifications as the way the whole class was doing the asanas (poses)?

I have never done yoga alone - it's all in the class setting. I feel lucky that the instructors all are welcoming and accommodating and create an inclusive space where modifications are just offered in the course of the class without any singling out. We are all encouraged to listen to our body and return to child's pose or tabletop if anything is too much for us. I do think that my own personality makes it easy for me to sit my body down on my mat and take part without really caring if I'm the oldest or fattest or least flexible or whatever in the room. It just doesn't matter to me whether anyone else even notices me and since I don't really pay attention to anyone else, I guess I just assume others are doing the same and keeping their focus on their own mat.