Yoga for gain, not loss.
The S&R community open a conversation about their experiences with yoga and weight loss. Sharing personal thoughts, opinions and journeys in the hope of highlighting that the practice is not about calorie counting, flat tummies and burning fat.
Any contributions welcomed!
CELI
I have so much to say on this subject. I'll start at the beginning.
I was born in 1980 so for my formative years I was bombarded with horrendous amounts of body shaming, fat shaming and wildly bad nutritional advice. There was heroin chic, Cher fitness, (I did this every morning) the mad diets I watched my mum try (cabbage soup anyone?) and the very unfiltered and unconscious way that as a child/teen I was spoken to about my weight and the conversations around weight that I witnessed the adults in my life having in front of me. I could probably spend a fortune in therapy talking about the core memory I have of my dad hysterically laughing as he literally chased my mum around our living room with a pair of scales to make her weigh herself when she didn’t want to until she cried. I must have been 6 years old. Needless to say, like a bunch of women my age (And similar) I didn’t come out unscathed and have battled with body dysmorphia and eating disorders for most of my teenage and adult life.
From the desire to be skinny and shredded I found exercise, and from a career in fitness I was led to (lower case) yoga. I am not going to lie but for years I treated yoga as a way to burn calories and change the shape of my body and earn food rewards. For years I was missing the point of it altogether and it feels, with hindsight, like it was a little mis-sold (or perhaps I mis-sold it to myself). The movement was great, it IS great and it serves a huge purpose, but it is only one of the eight limbs of a full Yoga practice.
Even writing this and trying to voice my thoughts on the subject I am feeling conflicted, surely if we are finding a yoga practice then it doesn’t matter where the invite came from? I think what I am trying to say is that if we are looking at this ancient science as a weight loss trick then we are missing out on so much, and perhaps not allowing ourselves to enter the landscape of “uppercase”Yoga.
We don’t “do” Yoga for weight loss. With a disciplined practice there may be some weight loss as a side effect but really I believe that that is all it should be, a side effect. A signpost or signal that maybe through our Yoga practice we are shifting things around in our thinking and conditioning, lowering our stress levels, sleeping better and making different and healthier choices when it comes to food and other forms of exercise.
It’s difficult to look up Yoga on the internet and not be overwhelmed with images of svelte, coiffed, tanned yogis on a beach in Bali in £100 leggings as sex, sadly, still sells. And sadly, it is this kind of marketing that is still guilty of mis-selling yoga. It is this kind of marketing that is making us feel certain ways about the bodies we have, the leggings we wear and how valid our practice is if we can’t do eka pada raja kapotanasana in size 8 Lulus.
I feel so strongly about how we approach asana, the physical practice of Yoga. I feel that is for literally fucking everyone and that no one should feel like they are too old, too inflexible or too fat to find a home in Yoga. I know that if we stay caught up in the aesthetic of it all then we have the potential to perceive ourselves as to be “failing" at Yoga. If we approach it with a results oriented mindset then are we not already projecting ourselves into the illusion of the future and keeping ourselves locked out of the divine present moment. I love asana for its ability to bring us into new layers of understanding, sensation, awareness, compassion and appreciation for the body we have, now, in this life. It invites us into the more internal elements of Yoga, encourages us to investigate further, and connect to new understanding, sensation, awareness, compassion and appreciation for all that we ALL are.
If we are approaching our asana with the intention of creating an energy deficit or getting ripped abs, logging every practice into myfitnesspal or some other calorie tracking app, we are going to bypass so much of what the asana limb alone has to offer. I love a strong practice don’t get me wrong, I love to sweat and push and ache the next day, but for years I felt that if that wasn’t what my asana looked like, if it wasn’t giving me a big immediate food bonus, or pat on the back for working so hard on myself to get skinny, then I wasn’t really practicing. That it wasn’t worth it. I was so wrong, and for all of that time I avoided “levels” that I thought were “beneath” my dysmorphic ass, the more restorative classes, shorter gentler practices, yin, and subsequently meditation and pranayama in favour of the burn, when really some stillness would have served me more wholly that I could have ever imagined.
Maybe at present you are approaching asana indeed for the purpose of weight loss and I am not by any means trying to discredit your endeavours. The awareness and mindfulness that we learn to cultivate in our practice can indeed be valuable skills that we can 100% evoke if on a body composition restructure journey. Food IS a part of Yoga, and the yogic diet, based on the principles of Sattva (purity), Ahimsa (non harming) and the energetic influence that the nature of our consumption has on our whole being is super interesting and valuable to learn about. There are so many resources you can access if you want to learn more about this and I encourage you to do so, simply in pursuit of Jnana (knowledge). I love to read and learn about nutrition and the new developments in our scientific understanding of the effects of the food we eat and HOW we eat it, and below I will share some of my recent favourite resources that you might find helpful. I also love talking about this stuff and am always open to learning more and sharing the small amount of knowledge I have in conversation with anyone who is interested.
What I hope (and how I believe Yoga should be represented) is that you can learn what lies beneath the outer layer of Yoga, that you can experience, through your practice, a place of knowledge, introspection, self love, vitality, gratitude and peace.
A few of my favourite things:
‘Superlife’ by Darin Olien
‘Eat Smarter’ by Shawn Stevenson (his podcast and his other book about sleep are also excellent)
‘The Hunger Habit’ by Judson Brewer. This is my latest read and I have to say (I promise I’m not sponsored but feel very strongly about this book and Juds work) the BEST book I have every read with regards to my own personal body composition relationship stuff experience. Not to over share but I have found my relationship to food incredible challenging for most of my life and this method has been life changing for me. He is blending eastern traditions with modern science, it’s super accessible, easy to understand, plus he also has an app, which I have been using, and it is, in a word, brilliant. I heard about him on a recent episode of The Rich Roll podcast (another excellent resource) so if you are interested go check out that interview.
‘Eat, Feel, Fresh’ an Ayurvedic cookery book by Sahara rose…food never tasted so vital!
I could go on forever. But I’ll stop now. I hope there was some value in this for at least one person who read this.
Peace, love and wisdom. x
ROSE
This is a BIG subject and quite frankly I have no idea how to be succinct in my opinion. So, I just typed yoga and weight loss into Google for some inspiration…
“5 Yoga poses to reduce belly fat”
“10 day yoga challenge for weight loss”
“Yoga for a flat tummy”
“Yoga for losing weight quickly and easily”
“Yoga workout to lose the pounds and tone”
“Calorie burning yoga”
Now, just to put all my cards on the table. I started yoga back in my late teens as a form of exercise to earn my food. For a variety of reasons (another can of worms!) I grew up defining my worth by the size of my waist: less is more. It didn’t go well. So for me, these titles above are so incredibly infuriating; they prey on ignorance, insecurities, lack of self-worth, and are *divisive*. Ultimately they imply the complete opposite of what I learned (albeit delayed) yoga is truly about; inclusion, connection and unity both in the individual self and universal consciousness.
Yoga isn’t about weight loss.
There is a big difference between the practice being a tool to support physical and mental health, balance and improve your quality of life, compared to promoting it as a way to burn calories, have a certain aesthetic or be part of a diet or restrictive culture. Yoga teachers or spaces promising ‘weight loss’ to get bums on mats have completely lost the plot in my opinion. It’s like saying “I love you” and punching the same person in the face (unless that's your thing I suppose).
Yoga is for everyone, it's not the aim to look a certain way and the practice shouldnt be intimidating for those who don’t fit a young, bendy, ripped mould that seems to have engulfed the current yoga world community. Hello social media, ‘yoga can change your perspective’, cue a butt shot in down-dog. Or even better, a Gandhi quote titling a well-timed handstand on an idyllic beach in Goa. I joke because I LITERALLY DID THESE THINGS. But, I got educated. I was lucky that I dipped my toe long enough in the nuanced waters to want to jump in and experience everything that the practice has to offer. Ultimately, I have been privileged and guided by so many amazing teachers over the years that I can only hope to emulate in knowledge and inspiration...
But this shouldn't be about luck. So how do we maintain a quality of ethos in our teaching, our space, our sanga…and honour yoga? How do we share the practice from a place of yoga? Surely we keep learning, keep listening, keep changing, keep embracing…
I say, walk the talk, make yoga approachable and accessible for all by any means possible. I love to focus on modern and playful movement and breathwork, and though I will often explore outside the box of traditional yoga, I'm indebted to and will always aim to promote its roots. If I can empower, nurture a little bit of joy, or make someone feel interested and slightly more ‘at home’ in their body - that’s pretty cool.
PS. Don’t you think sharing yoga for gain rather than loss has a much better ring to it? Spread the word, there's power in numbers!
ABBIE
‘The Plus Siz(d)e Of Yoga’
As is the experience of many people my age, I grew up being defined by my statistics; height, weight, school grades, number of boyfriends, pocket money amount, even shoe size (I had bigger feet than my friends so felt like a giant).
I felt like the token fat friend because all their clothes were too tight on me. Looking back at photos, sadly I was no fatter than them, I was just bigger. But everything around us screamed smaller is better. I had no idea about how to feed my body and soul, I ate whatever I liked whenever I liked until I realised that this was a way to have control. I could control what I ate and so feel like I was doing something well, and so came disordered eating. I hated my body. I wanted it to wither away and with it I was sure to be “successful”.
Exercise wasn’t for me. I was put in the fat, uncoordinated group for PE; all my friends were in the all female skinny group while I was in a mixed group. In actual fact we were all perfectly healthy and just didn’t fit the tiny box that the others did. Nothing was expected of us, so we didn’t have to try and I began to hate all things exercise, it just meant humiliation. So I never abused exercise in order to diminish myself, just the control of food.
Eventually in my thirties after decades of hating my body, an extremely important person introduced me to yoga. I only did it to support them to begin with, to be a test subject for their training, but it wasn’t long before I fell in love with it. I was moving my body in a way that empowered me, showed me how incredible my body is and most importantly for me, quietened my mind.
I have an extremely noisy brain, which while sometimes means I can’t stay on task and am thinking of a thousand things at once, sometimes it means I get stuck. So overwhelmed by thoughts that I switch off, I become immobile, unable to snap out of a funk, a funk that could keep me in bed, indefinitely.
But when I started practicing yoga, my brain worked so clearly. I could channel the thoughts, observe them, not be in them. I became full of vibrancy again, I felt energised, I felt not only capable but full on kick ass! I am able to step out of the crippling self doubt and see how incredible I am.
It made me feel a sense of love for myself and for those like minded people who I met in various classes, I felt connection I’d never felt before.
And yes, my body moves better now, I feel like my body is healthier for accessing movement that I enjoy and makes me feel strong, but it’s the benefits for my mind that keep me coming back every morning in order to settle and still my mind, so I can step off the mat and out in to my day being my truest badass self.
LUCY
Yoga in the West has for a long time and still does push the narrative for an ‘ideal’ body, one which is slim, usually white, and looking ‘perfect’ and it is not a surprise that it provokes and plays on our insecurities. This can quickly tumble into the weight loss and yoga world, a world where we have been conditioned to not be good enough, slim enough, pretty enough, bendy enough, particularly women (although men face similar issues with being strong and tall etc). A world where we hate our bodies, dislike imperfection, and feel inadequate.
In our western society with its deeply rooted ways, yoga has become yet another ‘commodity’ to profit from by praying on peoples insecurities about their body. Yoga advertisements continue to portray slim, toned, strong bodies which invites the same stereotype to the mat and has often alienated those that do not fit the mould. This image of yoga is not accessible, diverse or inclusive.
Yoga is not only about movement on the mat, it is a philosophy to incorporate into our daily life. It promotes acceptance, non-judgement, compassion both for ourselves and others. As a mind/body philosophy – yes weight loss may be an effect of moving more, eating better, feeling less stressed and grounded but it offers more. Yoga invites you inwards, to reflect on your experience in the world, how to treat yourself and others, to learn and find stillness. To find contentedness.
Yoga needs to be more inclusive and accessible. To those with larger bodies, to those of colour, to those struggling with mental illness, to those with disabilities, to those who feel they are not flexible enough, to other genders, to those with injuries, to the neurodiverse, to those that are older, younger and all the in between.
The beauty of yoga is that it teaches us to nourish ourselves, all aspects of ourselves. To find perfection in the imperfections, to speak kindly to ourselves instead of criticise, to offer kindness and non-judgement instead of shame. A space that allows us to go inwards, to feel comfortable with ourselves as we are, and to welcome and accept others.
JODIE
Yoga isn’t for weight loss.
It’s not to be used to earn food.
Food is not a prize and yoga is not a get fit quick solution.
Coming at it from a different angle…
I’ve never been skinny, battled an eating disorder or seen my cheek and collar bones. But what I have had is...“supple for a fat lass”, “big boned”, “it’s just puppy fat”. Then as I neared teenage years it was “Jodie’s put on weight”, “Jodie why are you hiding/sneaking snacks”, “you need to dress for you’re size” and “oh you’re quite physically fit for your size aren’t you?”.
I was scared to start but actually it’s been, and will continue to be, a fun ride that I’m totally here for. It’s always been a lack of routine for me, I’ll do it tomorrow kinda gal. But what yoga has given me is routine, learning in a safe and kind and loving space. Challenging my thoughts that I’m too fat for yoga when actually you can find yoga at any size altering your mind pathways to show that you’re a boss-ass bitch.
Also finding teachers that sparks your inner curiosity. It’s time we honour our bodies, honour our bellies, honour our wiggles and jiggles and if they start fading in the process then that’s just part of you’re journey - it’s not the destination.
The destination is the nurturing of our health, nurturing our new routines and having the f****** self care we deserve (it’s not selfish mama’s - we’re raising the next generation of children who deserve to know that self care is a top priority to looking after our own wellbeing). Let’s be honest, the noise will always be there, but if you can sit for a few moments a day or a week and focus on something else to block out that noise, well you’re onto a win.
I applaud all the people and teachers who have dived deeper into yoga beyond many levels and made a u-turn in their practices. Learning everyday how to open the spaces, make them inclusive and set no expectations.
I don’t use yoga for weight loss.
I use yoga for routine and community and that’s so much more special and rewarding - I promise you!