GUYS. Can we celebrate the fact a plus sized model is on the COVER of a running magazine?!?! Without any mention of “how to get healthy” or losing weight?! If anything, they mention that weight doesn’t matter. She looks strong and fabulous. Runners come in all shapes and sizes and it’s so awesome that Women’s Running is embracing that. I am so inspired by this.
Hey everyone, I have been receiving a lot of Ask’s about getting started to practicing yoga. I’ve been copying and pasting youtube videos that I have recommended for people to try out, and I want to make a post specifically for anyone wanting to start yoga. You do not have to already be strong or flexible to start yoga! If you are already strong or flexible that is just a plus because you probably will be able to progress quicker then some people. For the average person like myself it will take time to gain both strength and flexibility. I have been practicing yoga for about 3 years, and am still learning new things about my body. Have patience in your practice.
For myself personally, I started yoga by taking a Hatha Yoga class at my university which met for 2 days out of the week for about 2 hours. We practiced the Sun Salutations 3-4 times and then had a Hatha Yoga sequence. My yoga teacher was an older man named Lawrence Caughlin. For me, I had no fear of learning yoga from a person who was a man, skinny, or older. I understand that some people feel like they need or have to be taught by someone who looks them (ex.bigger woman), which is completely fine and great, but I just want to make sure that people don’t feel like that they have to be scared or intimidated by learning yoga from someone who doesn’t look like them. After starting yoga I then took a couple month groupons to yoga studios. Being in an actual yoga studio is a great experience. There is so much great energy in the room where everyone wants to be there for themselves. I think that’s why I usually recommended starting at a studio. Though I understand that it can be intimidating, I hope that everyone can have the courage to go out and have a good experience at a studio.
With that being said, for people wanting to start yoga, the Sun Salutations is where it all starts. This yoga sequence is the base to all of the other types of yoga. It helps you gain strength and flexibility. I chose this Sun Salutaion video by Ekhart Yoga because when I was looking up videos for the Sun Salutations I felt like people were going way to fast. This may seem still a bit intimidating to beginners, but always remember you can do modifications of all poses till you feel comfortable doing the full pose. There is also a great video by Body Positive Yoga that has modifications for bigger women that might help some people out. You don’t have to look perfect in the pose to feel the benefit of the pose, take your time. It is also good to try some other yoga beginner stretches as well to help with flexibility.
After getting your feet wet with the Sun Salutations, Hatha Yoga is a good beginner yoga to start your practice. I have a playlist of Yoga Yak’s Hatha Yoga videos. There is also a terrific source for full yoga classes by FreeYoga.TV The videos are located on the website or their youtube.
I don’t usually do yoga practice sequences anymore from videos, but it is good to way to start. Here are a few other videos that I have personally tried that I will highlight if anyone wants to try out when they feel comfortable.
Even though I have been suggesting going to a yoga studio, I do know that they are expensive. I have not been able to ever have a membership because I am a poor collage student, and it is a lot of money in general. Check out Groupon or Livingsocial for any local deals that you can try out. Usually studios will have a deal for an unlimited month for $30-$40. If going to a studio is still a thing that you do not want to try out yet, or have no studios around you Youtube has a vast amount of videos to check out. More specific yoga video links online would be to check out Do Yoga With Me, Free Yoga TV, and Ekhart Yoga because they have a good amount of videos that are all free. Yoga.com has good instructional videos on specific poses as well. If you eventually would like to buy an online yoga membership My Yoga Online, Yoga Glo, and Yogis Anonymous has great up to date videos of all different types of yoga to try out. There are many other personal yoga sites that are for the bigger yogi, curvy women, and yogis of color. Please check out all these amazing people who are inspirations of myself and others! Many of them are yoga teacher trained and have their own online yoga programs and do workshops. Dork Yoga also has a post that has a bunch of big yoga studio related links that would be good to check out.
However you guys start, just go for it! As long as you have the motivation and patience to go out there to start yoga you can do anything! Happy yoga practicing to you all, stay safe, know your body, and have fun! Take care!
I don’t know what prompted you to send me the dumbest message I’ve received in at least 6 months, but nowhere in the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of “fitness” do I find the word “skinny.” Even synonyms for the word “fitness” focus 100% on health attributes as opposed to size attributes. So I’m sorry if you have this deep seeded complex that refuses to allow you to accept that, from all standpoints of medicine, science, and flat out fact, fitness is irrelevant to body size. That really sucks for you that your brain is struggling to let you come to terms with that. However, it is also 100% not my problem.
tl;dr: Blow it out your ass.
Shut
the
fuck
up
you
fucking
piece
of
shit
and
sit
the
fuck
down
before
you
speak
you
fucking
asshole.
I love this way too much
BOOM
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! SO MUCH WIN!!!!!
YES THANK YOU. For including all of these amazing women! Sarah Robles and Holley Mangold (pictured, both are Olympian weightlifters!) are heroes of mine. I aspire to be as strong and as dedicated to weightlifting as these two.
Fucking. Yes. Mother. Fucker.
I am 36 years old, 5’4" tall and weight 280 pounds. I literally just had a check up and my bloodwork done this past Saturday.
My blood pressure is 120/80, on the dot.
My triglycerides are normal.
My cholesterol is normal.
Thyroid function is normal.
Liver function is normal.
I am not diabetic.
I am not pre-diabetic.
WBC is normal.
The only thing the nurse mentioned when she called me with my results was that I am slightly anemic.
Don’t you try to tell me that you can’t be fat and still be healthy and/or fit.
Slutty Yorick 