OOPS! THICK! CAN YOU EVEN SAY THAT?
Naturally! Because the adjective “fat” is no more defamatory than the word “thin,” whereas “fat” or “skinny” are rarely meant to be nice. The word “overweight” is associated with being sick. Are all fat people sick? Does being thin automatically mean being healthy? Today Birgit Feliz Carrasco will introduce you to yoga for the target group of fat people and what you should pay particular attention to as a teacher and student.
YOGA FOR BUDDIES
Yoga for fat people still seems strange at the moment, although I have been practicing and teaching it myself for over 20 years and have been offering yoga training on the topic for some time. For centuries, yoga was associated with asceticism or even acrobatics - in times when people had different body shapes.
Today, according to statistics, around 50% of Germans are “overweight”. An enormous target group for various industries and products, including yoga. There is no reason why fat people shouldn't benefit from the multiple healing benefits of yoga on the body and mind. My vision is that in the foreseeable future, YOGA FOR FAT people will be considered completely common by the general public and that this target group will no longer have to be afraid to go to yoga centers.
The prerequisite for fulfilling this vision is that well-trained yoga teachers can be found who are fat themselves and who feel like those who want to learn yoga. May all people, regardless of origin, age and body shape, enjoy the feeling of well-being of yoga practice.
HOW DOES YOGA WORK FOR FAT PEOPLE?
Fat people can move, breathe, live with their bodies just like thin people and can also undergo yoga training - if it is taught carefully, gently and in a varied manner for heavy bodies. As with all people, yoga practice is primarily about making the body more conscious, more flexible and stronger. Being flexible and capable of acrobatic contortions is and has never been a basic requirement for yoga, otherwise you wouldn't have to learn it... Flexibility and a good, loving sense of your body grow with every yoga class.
Asanas can be varied according to the body shape. For example, someone who has large thighs will have a hard time sitting on their heels in the "Camel" asana, but can do the exercise as a variation with a similar healing effect for the back and spine from a kneeling position and so the upper body, with the hands at the back Supporting your thighs, bend backwards. This is just one example of many of how yoga for fat people works: through adaptation.
EXPAND EXISTING MUSCLE STRENGTH
As a rule, fat people have pronounced muscles because their heavy bodies move every day anyway. With yoga, yoga beginners quickly learn to appreciate their existing muscles and use them more specifically. For example, many people shy away from lying on their backs on the yoga mat for fear of not being able to stand without seeking help from others. Such position changes become a matter of course after one or two mindful introductory yoga lessons, which not only make the musculoskeletal system more flexible and bulge the muscles but also enormously strengthen self-confidence.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE JOINTS
When doing YOGA FOR THICKNESS, it is important to ensure that the exercises are gentle on the joints. The elbow joints should be relieved during asanas such as “Dog” or “Cat” by keeping the forearms on the yoga mat during the postures instead of just leaning on the hands. There are also variants for the “Triangle” or “Tree” asanas for fat yoginis and yogis to protect the knee joints and still achieve the desired healing effects on the body like the classic versions. Flows of any kind are initially really contraindicated, as they are usually carried out with vigor and therefore little care for the joints and spine.
DOES YOGA FOR THICKNESS NEED TO BE TAUGHT SEPARATELY?
Yes, it has to! Mixed groups are not recommended because, firstly, every yoga student should be looked after individually anyway (because not all fat people are the same), and secondly because the feeling of togetherness ensures a general feeling of well-being. That's why ideally the yoga teacher should also be fuller.
WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY?
A German study published in the German Medical Journal showed that yoga increased mental and physical well-being, self-esteem and body awareness in the test subjects and reduced subjective feelings of stress. In addition, the 12-week yoga intervention led to moderately reduced waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, body weight, BMI and body fat percentage. The proportion of body muscle mass increased slightly. You can read the entire study here .
Love and Light sends you,
Birgit Feliz Carrasco
(Photo: Susanne Heiker)
Birgit Feliz Carrasco is a naturopath and yoga therapist and particularly enjoys teaching fat people. She trains fat yoga teachers so that fat people can also benefit from the healing effects of yoga. You can find all information about your yoga teacher training on your website www.birgitfelizcarrasco.com and on Find Your Yoga .
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