12 July 2009 @ 02:53 am
 what's up everyone? i found myself surprised that I was able to get into yoga through the wii fit.  I have had a spinal injury which added in my getting a "bigbody".  Now if this helps me slim down, all will be great in the world. :)  Some positions I can't do completely but I am glad I can be among others who do this.

My question to you is, what is your favorite position? Are there some that you are hoping to one day be able to master?  
 
 
Current Mood: awake
 
 
28 June 2009 @ 01:54 pm
Here is a great source for yoga for large bodies in New York. A nice website, too, with good information. BUDDHA BODY YOGA and an article in the New York Times about the class here.
 
 
23 April 2009 @ 09:48 pm
Does anyone have tips or suggestions for Eagle pose? Two videos I do regularly focus on this pose, and I just can't manage to get my arms to cross properly. I've tried using a strap, but my arms still cross awkwardly, with my elbow poking into my inner arm and my hands are a good 6 inches apart. Also, it kinda hurts. The other thing I've tried is just starting with my palms together and then trying to bring my elbows together and that creates a nice stretch, but I'm not sure if it's the right stretch, if that makes sense.
 
 
20 April 2009 @ 03:11 pm
Hello Beautiful Big Bodies,

I have not been to a yoga class in a couple years. I have been doing some asanas at home recently trying to get stronger. Saturday I went to my first yoga class and it was great.

It was a beginning Hatha class. It was just me and one guy. The guy was thin and tall and about 25, maybe younger. I am 44, tall and very fat.

During the class there were some things that he could do that I couldn't, so I made some modifications and the teacher was great at helping me find them.

But, there were also some things I could do that he couldn't. It was a good lesson that we all have different bodies and they all are set up a little different. There is no reason to have any bit of judgment about it at all.
 
 
08 April 2009 @ 10:52 am
Hello everyone!

This morning in Yoga class we made our way to headstands. I've tried doing them in the past for other kinds of classes at sort of a non-specific level and could never do them. In this class, however, we've been working on it for a few weeks now - working our way to the full headstand - so my 250lb self kept feeling more and more confident.

So everything was going peachy as I clasped my hands in front of me, with my forearms on the floor, with the back of my head in my hands and the spot above my hairline on the floor. As I came into a downward-dog-esque position and walked my feet towards me to prepare for liftoff, everything was fine. I could lift one leg up at a time- that was fine. So I lifted both legs off the ground feeling great and wowed for a split second, and then there was a sharp pain in the space between my shoulder blades, so I came down and my instructor gave me a soothing massage as I continued to breath deep. I then did some rolling down through the spine & some spinal flexing and I felt fine.

It is roughly an hour later and I'm not feeling any tension, so that's good.

Has anyone here tried the headstand? Stories? Successes/difficulties?
 
 
Current Mood: calm
 
 
27 February 2009 @ 11:17 am
After reading the suggestions in this post, I went ahead and ordered from a company called Yoga Accessories.

Immediately after placing my order, I realized that I had ordered this mat instead of the mat I meant to order, this mat.

I immediately sent an email to their customer service email address, asking them to assist me in changing my order. I got no response.

The following day, I received an automated email that they had received my order and were processing it. I forwarded that email to their customer service email address again asking them to adjust my order before it shipped out. No response.

I attempted to call their customer service line the next day, and was put into a voice mail system from hell which ended with a "thank you for contacting Yoga Accessories. Your message has been saved." I never had the opportunity to leave a message for anyone.

I called again and was actually put into "Robin"'s voice mail. I left a message explaining the situation. I did receive a voice mail back, but she told me that I would need to refuse the package and order the correct mat with my credit card. She didn't say if I would get a refund for returning the wrong mat. Also, because I have this thing called a day job, the wrong mat was delivered to my house without the opportunity to refuse the order.

I called again on Monday of this week and left another voice mail for Robin, asking her to call me back to explain how I could return the wrong mat. No response.

I left another message for Robin on Wednesday, stating that I had already left a message on Monday and to please call me back to resolve this issue. No response as of today.

I may just be spoiled by Amazon's fantastic customer service, but this company had almost a week to correct the order before it was shipped, and I've since been ignored both via email and voice mail by their lousy customer service. I would advise against ordering anything from this company, Yoga Accessories.

cross posted to [info]fathletes
 
 
22 January 2009 @ 06:04 pm
Hello All,

Someone posted on [info]fathletes  today about looking for a larger yoga mat and I passed on a link to her. Then I realized I never posted about it here. Duh. 

I have not tried one of these, but it sure sounds like a great idea.  A wide yoga mat for big, beautiful bodies.





Also, if taking up space isn't an issue, a couples mat seems to me like the ultimate yoga mat......Wait....did I make that up?  I can't find a lid
 
 
05 January 2009 @ 12:21 am
Hello everyone,

I just went through and put the dvd reviews that we have in memories, so they are more accessible. Please feel free to add your reviews or comments.

Hope you are all doing well.

I hope to do way more yoga in 2009 than I did in 2008. I really have had quite a dry spell.
 
 
24 November 2008 @ 01:21 am
Hi! I'm Julie, and I just started doing yoga with my two best girls in the privacy of our living rooms about a month ago. So far, I love it. My friends are both a good bit smaller than me, but I think that's a good thing, because it brings out my competitive streak that makes me say "If your narrow butt can do it, then so can my big butt!"...and trust me, that's gotten me through many sessions where I wanted to give up and go smoke a cig halfway through. I found this community today and read over the more-recent posts. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who has to reposition legs/boobs/belly/etc. to get the full benefit of the various poses. Since I started, we've gone from one night a week to three nights a week, mostly because of my pestering. I hate doing things half-assed. Which leads me to my question. I know lots of people do yoga every day, some twice a day, which seems like a hell of a lot at my current state of development. I'm afraid I'd be too sore to function if I did yoga every day. Is three times a week enough to fully reap the benefits of yoga, or should I start sneaking in (possibly shorter) daily sessions? Also, I have REAL issues with inverted poses (plough, shoulder stands, etc.). I CANNOT GET MY LEGS/BUTT THAT FAR IN THE AIR! Plus, my chiropractor has forbidden me from doing anything that puts weight on the neck until I get some of my TMJ issues worked out (I'm not sure how it's connected but...I trust the man.), so is there anything else I can do in place of the offending poses and get similar benefits? I feel like a goon sitting there stretching and drinking water while my friends have their butts in the air. Haha
 
 
Current Mood: mellow
 
 
05 September 2008 @ 08:14 pm
Well lets see... I'm Sara and I'm 19. I used to do yoga in high school gym class, but there were some things that were hard to do because of my size. Everyone else in my class was like a stick. When it came to the part of touching your toes to the ground behind your head (i dont know names of poses or anything) I thought I was going to suffocate on my boobs. Now that I'm going to be having the time and space I want to pick it back up again.
 
 
03 August 2008 @ 08:02 pm
I just stumbled across this website with these inspiring and wonderful statues (more on the website) they call Yoga Fanatics. Check out the copy that they have with these:

A fun and life-affirming bronze statue. The Rubenesque figure bursts with energy and vitality, reminding us that health and excercise aren't reserved exclusively for people who match prevailing media images of what the human form should look like.




 
 
02 July 2008 @ 06:40 pm
I just joined, and thought I should introduce myself.

I'm a middle-aged fat woman who took up Hatha yoga about a month ago courtesy of a copy of Megan Garcia's book Megayoga.  I used to do yoga in high school gym class, and enjoyed it a lot.  My teacher was cool about my size and treated me well (rare in gym!).  Later I dropped out of yoga when I went to a college where thin was more or less mandatory and the fat girl's best option for exercise was to go walking.  I was delighted when my husband found Garcia's book for me, and also delighted to find this community.  It's good to be doing yoga again.

*waves to a couple of people I know tangentially through mutual friends*
 
 
Current Location: home
Current Mood: thankful
Current Music: none
 
 
27 June 2008 @ 12:44 pm
Hey guys
I just had a quick question.
I enjoy doing yoga but lately when I do certain poses involving the majority of my weight in my hands (such as downward dog) my right wrist starts to hurt. So I was wondering if any of you deal with the same thing or if you have any suggestions to ease it/get rid of it.

Thanks :) 
 
 
Current Mood: curious
Current Music: Better Than Ezra
 
 
27 June 2008 @ 10:58 am
For anyone in the Northern Virginia/DC area, there is going to be a curvy girl yoga workshop at Pure Prana yoga studio on Sunday, August 10th. Here's the blurb from their website:

Voluptuous Yoga for Women with Curves
with Melissa Sistoza


Sunday, August 10, 2008
2:00-4:00pm
$35.00
register

Find comfort and acceptance in your body!

Join us for a playful, uplifting and nourishing yoga experience for women with curves. Melissa Sistoza will encourage and challenge you to build your strength, balance, and flexibility, as well as offer a
safe and inspiring space for self-awareness, personal growth, and finding peace with our imperfections.

We'll discuss and practice specific yoga postures, emphasizing how to accommodate breasts, bellies, and any other body part that feels too round or big. In this intimate setting with like-bodied individuals,
we'll make the deeper connection between the mind, body, and spirit, promoting harmony with our entire beings.

Melissa Sistoza lives in the Lakeridge, Virginia with her husband, two children and dog Blue. She loves traveling around the United States and has visited nearly all 50 states. She shares a great love and respect of the outdoors with her family and a deep connection to her home in beautiful Virginia. It wasn't a big leap from her love + exploration of the natural world into the wonderful world of yoga. Melissa completed Yoga Fit's Teacher Training in 2005 and experienced a deep and profound love affair with yoga since. She continues her on-going education of Yoga by enrolling in Pure Prana's Holistic Teacher Training Program for Fall 2008.


You can register on their workshop page here - just scroll down to the workshop blurb. :)

I am not affiliated with this studio, though one of my friends goes there regularly and has always spoken highly of it
 
 
Current Mood: awake
 
 
21 June 2008 @ 11:17 am
Hey guys! I'm new so I just wanted to introduce myself. 

My name is Liz. :)

I've never really done yoga before. Just once or twice, but I wasn't really doing it, just being stupid. So I found this group and was reading all your posts & I want to get into it. 

I don't know if any of you have Comcast On Demand, but theres a workout/fitness section on there and I found a few yoga videos and tried it last night xD. I'm REALLY not flexible haha. 

But I think I'm going to work on it over the summer & keep checking back in with you guys,


Okay, I just wanted to say hi. So, hi.
 
 
Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Metro Station
 
 
26 May 2008 @ 12:34 pm
Has anyone large-breasted managed to do it?

When I get my arms positioned right, my breasts are in the way.

When I get the breasts in the right position, I can't get my arms positioned correctly.

My teacher is a guy and seemed very freaked out at the idea of...THOSE things.

Another woman in the class showed me how she moved her breasts, but even though she was large-busted, it seemed like she had to wear a bra with much less support than I'd like-- so that she could maneuver the girls out of the way. I don't especially want to be flopping around throughout the rest of class just to have a certain freedom of movement in this one pose.

I have no expectations of ever being able to achieve the full pose. I just want to get my arms in position and keep my extended legs on the floor.

Anyone?
 
 
09 April 2008 @ 08:56 pm
A couple of weeks ago we had this post about boobs and shoulder stands where I hijacked [info]thedarbycrash's thread (sorry!) asking about how to get my big butt in the air in the first place and wherein we almost gave [info]birdofparadox a heart attack.

I am pleased to announce that tonight I did a shoulder stand for the first time in a long time. And it was fantastic!

The thing is, I used to be able to do it. But that was pre-medication, pre-thyroid condition, pre-eating-disorder-recovery, pre a lot of things. And I think I even commented in the other thread that I was feeling so frustrated and betrayed by my body... which, let's face it, is kind of detrimental to the whole yoga practice. My yoga history had me doing lots of yoga during college and then taking a break for about 7 years and then picking it up again about nine months ago. So I had it in my mind that next time we had a teeny class, I'd ask my yoga instructor about it. Then the next couple of weeks our class wasn't teeny. And I didn't get a chance.

But oh, the power of intention... I didn't even get a chance to ask, but it happened anyway.

We had a small class tonight and she had us working up against the wall. That, also, is something I hadn't done in a long while. And I'd forgotten how neat and different it is. We started from a position with our butts against the wall, legs straight up at 90 degrees, supported by the wall. We put our feet flat on the wall, legs bent at 90 degrees and pushed so our butts were off the floor. It felt like we were making sort of a square (or more probably a rectangle) with our bodies. We were taking one foot at a time off the wall, and I was thinking... hmmm... we're halfway to a plow! And then... she had us move our arms into position for shoulder stand... push off the wall... and bingo! SHOULDER STANDIN'! WHOO!

I'm so excited right now, I'm just giddy. When you spend so much time fighting your body... and then finally you get even a moment of peace with it... it's just really cool.

X-posted [info]goingdriftless and [info]bigbody_yoga
 
 
01 April 2008 @ 09:55 am
Hi.

When I do the plow or the shoulder stand, my tits flop my shirt and bra in my face and cover my nose and mouth. this makes it hard if nigh impossible to breathe. I've tried belting my tits but this also makes it hard to breathe. The only thing that works is going shirt and braless because then the giant tits flop on either side of my face but I can still breathe.

Any recommendations for how to work around this dilemma in a public setting where taking my shirt and bra off would be a violation of some mores or laws?

THX!
 
 
Hey all: I thought you might be interested in a review I wrote of Yoga Just My Size. Full disclosure: I do get paid a little by Associated Content  (and by "a little" I mean a few pennies for every 100 people who click on it) for you viewing it, but that's not why I'm posting it here. I thought it was pertinent to the community.

Also, since we're on the subject, it's my impression that at least a good chunk of the people on this community use the video on a semi-regular basis, and I wanted to know what, if any modifications you may use.

Megan Garcia mentions several modifications herself in the DVD. For instance, she recommends:

-Sitting with legs out in a wide V if sitting cross-legged isn't comfortable
-Making fists when you're in cat/cow position if palms flat hurts your wrists
-Spreading your knees for Child's Pose to accommodate a belly and/or breasts
-Putting a towel or pad under your knees for knee-down lunge

I use some other modifications and have talked to others about modifying the routine either for comfort issues, or to make it more challenging after you've used the DVD for a while and have started to master it.

For comfort:

-Modifying the pose during the relaxation sequence at the end. Some people find corpse pose uncomfortable on the lower back, particularly if you have a particularly round rump. You may find lying with your legs up a wall more comfortable, or, alternately, lying next to a couch or chair and putting your calves on the seat/couch.

-Changing the breathing pattern for the leg pump sequence. To me, it makes more sense to breath OUT when you're pulling your knee into your chest and breath IN when you're looking up and extending your foot out behind you.

For more of a challenge:

-Raising arms up during knee-down lunge. The routine has gotten a little easy for me after repeated use, so I like to find ways to make it a little harder, and this is one.

-Spreading my feet even wider during the warrior poses, so that my ankles are almost under my wrists.

So, you folks who use "Yoga Just My Size"- what modifications, if any, do you use? I'm curious.
 
 

Unfortunately, I can't find a link to this specific DVD. It's a sampler of routines from various DVDs that bodywisdom media puts out. It has 15-30 minute samples workouts from many of the DVDs listed on this page, including "Yoga for Inflexible People", "Yoga for Athletes," and "Power Yoga for Everybody":

http://www.bodywisdommedia.com/yoga_main.php

In fact, the link above lists a DVD called "Yoga for Beginners" but it's all with the same instructor and is not the same as the one I'm reviewing, which has an "Interactive Personal Trainer" subtitle on it. (Confusing!)

I think it should be fairly easy to find, though, as I just picked it up from my local Borders book store.

Pros:
-The DVD has a really wide variety of yoga styles so you can try out various forms and instructional styles. You won't get bored!

-Most of the workouts truly are at beginner level, though some are pretty tough, so you can work your way up from some of the easier ones to some of the tougher ones. Most of the poses aren't that difficult, but some are hard to hold for as long as the instructor tells you to, specifically some of the poses in "Yoga for Athletes." She gets you in warrior and some triangle poses and holds you there for 60 seconds or more- it's quite a workout.

-The routines for inflexible people are really terrific in my opinion, and are spot-on about areas where people might be tight, like hamstrings or hips.

-There are some moves that I've not seen elsewhere, and some of the routines target specific tight or achey spots, like the "hip opener" or the "Oh my aching neck" routines. My husband is a big fan of the hip opener routine, while I find the "aching neck" one works great after an 8-hour shift in front of the computer.

Cons:
-Some of the routines require ridiculous amounts of props. One routine calls for TWO sticky mats, bricks, a strap, and a blanket or towel. That seems like a bit much to me.

-There are some that are focused on weight-loss, so if you want a DVD with no references to weight loss at all, this wouldn't be the DVD for you (though I do like that particular routine, weight-loss talk aside).

-A few of the routines aren't really for beginners. The ones for athletes are TOUGH. The actual poses aren't that hard to get into, but they're not easy for people who are just starting yoga and who may have limited upper body strength.

Overall comments:
I like the variety. I like that they're short, from 15-30 minutes, so I can fit them in before work or other times I have a tight schedule. I can skip the ones I don't care for, or do two in a row if I want a longer workout. Some of the mediation/relaxation commentary is a little on the cheesy side. For instance, I like the "Oh My Aching Neck" routine for the first 25 minutes but generally skip the second half of the meditation because I think it's hokey. Overall, I'm glad I invested in this DVD.