yoga for morbidly obese

Sure! The great thing about yoga is you do what you can do. Make whatever modifications you need to get your practice in. If you can't do a certain pose at all, do a different one you can do until the yogi moves to a different pose. Seriously, it's YOUR practice! Make it work for you!

I wasn’t morbidly obese, but I was well into the 30’s BMI when I moved to doing yoga more often and more seriously about eight years ago, to recover from an illness that caused joint pain.

Absolutely you can do it. There’s no shame in picking up the “apron” and moving it out of the way, or even “rolling it up” as I often did.

I had a yin instructor who was/is fabulous about suggesting modifications. Yin is a slow, stretching yoga, generally on the floor, where poses are held for 1-5 minutes. It was very accessible to me, although I did flow, too.

In all honesty, Chatarungas were a horror to me as an obese person. Just lowering my weight was nigh on impossible. I came up with my own version, with the assistance of a few caring instructors. At no time was anything ever said or criticized about it, and I was never made to feel “less than”.

There are certain poses I just could not do til I lost weight- notably, binds of any kind. The fat was just in the way, no matter how hard I tugged at the pooch. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Arm balances, too. The weight was too much, and I had to work at building upper body strength through weight training. But I could try, and I did.

Only one time did I feel judged or belittled by an instructor, who is now one of my very favorite instructors out of the dozens and dozens I’ve had. I had to learn that the judgement was in my head, not hers. I was hearing my voice, my failure, my insecurity coming out of her mouth that morning, not hers

In fact, as a yogi, the only time I ever felt truly belittled was in a couple of LuLuLemon stores, which left me with a foul taste for that brand for many years. The only reason I have a few pieces now is because my studio carries a small selection of LuLu, and I want to support them and keep them in business during the pandemic. So many studios have folded. I’ve even surreptitiously paid for a second, seldom used membership for a family member to help them out because I more than get my money’s worth.

A great supportive studio with wonderful, knowledgeable teachers is a treasure beyond price. Zoom and Online classes fill the gap, but nothing touches in-person classes.

I sincerely hope you find a practice that’s as meaningful to you as mine has been.