Yoga is for Every Body - Where Size Doesn't Matter

Yoga Is for Every Body, regardless of body type or age. Being plus sized and living in Asia where most women’s bodies are the size of my thigh, my journey with yoga has been one of extreme enlightenment. I enlightened people that even "big girls" can do it.

I’ve always been a big girl, right from the time I was born, but that never stopped me from doing all the things in the sports arena. I was a good swimmer and swam competitively in school. When I was in school, I so badly wanted to be swimming captain for my house but no one would vote for me, I got used to the sneers and the jeers, which made me even more determined that when I got on that starting block, I was going to win. And win I did! And I finally became captain for the remaining four years I had in school.

I am blessed to have a loving family, who never made fun of my size. My husband never once thought of me as fat, and it used to drive him crazy when I decided that I needed to be thin and started fad diets. Society seems to have a problem with people who are size challenged.

I have enjoyed the practice of Hatha Yoga and recently Kundalini Yoga for many years and have had wonderful teachers who have helped with adjusting the poses. My first experience with doing a shoulder stand was terrible. My breasts fell over my nose and smothered me. Needless to say, we were all laughing so much, my pint sized yoga teacher said she would love to have a ”problem” like that. During the Sun salutation, I would have difficulty with the lunges, my belly got in the way. I enjoyed my yoga class so much that I would not let these things get in my way. Despite having done sports competitively, like swimming and judo, this was the first time I could feel centered and focused and very much at home in my own body. What a great feeling to feel every muscle in your body and to enjoy that feeling. Yoga was definitely something that I wanted to pursue.

Yoga gave me peace of mind, it made me feel good about myself, and the more I practiced, the better I got. I now do a shoulder stand without smothering myself. A few years ago I attended some Kundalini Yoga classes and was enthralled by this practice. The teachers were visiting teachers, and I was not able to find anyone locally. One of the Guru’s came to me at the end of the class and said, “You would make a good teacher.” So began my journey to become a Kundalini Yoga teacher.

The first module of my teachers training was rather difficult for me, but I persevered and it became easier and easier. My body was able to flow. It was able to move with surprising ease. I started being able to live life with so much more ease, my self esteem boosted. I began liking who I was. I stopped getting offended at the pencil sized girls in the shopping malls offering me slimming treatments. I began to glow. I started living “Ang Sang Wahe Guru” (God is in every cell of my being), and I became happier and best of all, my joint pains lessened. Due to a sporting injury, I had both the cartilage of my knees smashed and they were removed. Until I took up Yoga seriously I struggled to sit on the floor with my body weight on my legs.

Many larger people, both men and women often feel intimated to join a yoga class. Being large does bring problems with stress on the joints from the excess weight, but with a regular practice this can all be overcome. Carrying extra weight means every joint in the body has to work harder. A yoga practice will give you the strength and flexibility in order to live pain-free. Plus sized people feel ashamed of not being able to “compete” with others in the class. Yoga is non competitive and never has been, nor should it ever become! Most people coming to a yoga class are already fit and are looking towards enhancing their own flexibility, which most traditional exercises are not able to provide. So when one is size challenged it is easy to feel intimidated and discouraged in such an environment. Many larger people are also health challenged with hypertension, heart conditions etc. and feel afraid to start a practice because of this.

No matter what type of Yoga is used, an experienced teacher will help a student to cope with the activities of daily life. A yoga practice does not just end in the class, it carries on with us in our daily living. Methodology should be inclusive of all facets of a yoga practice. i.e. understanding of how to perform a posture and adapt it to an individual, how to safely build up an asana practice, the concept of counterpoise and how to breathe and importantly when to rest. Yoga is a vast ocean of knowledge of which there are innumerable methods available for obtaining results.

Kundalini Yoga is suited perfectly for all shapes and ages. Done mainly with the eyes closed, it focuses inward. It focuses on your own awareness. It is about listening to your body in a gentle and accepting fashion. Yoga is a combination of conscious breathing, conscious movement and deep relaxation, all of which we need in our daily living.

Yoga is all about learning to respect and honour one’s body for what it can do and where it can take you. Yoga begins by working with the body on a structural level, helping to align the vertebrae, increase flexibility and strengthen muscles and tendons

So how does one get a programme started? All Yoga begins with breath, with Prana. Anyone who is breathing can begin a yoga practice. As a Kundalini Yoga instructor, here are some basics to get one started. If a student has never done a physical programme, it is best to start with mastering Pranayama. The powerful breath of fire is as good as doing vigorous sit-ups.

Breath (Prana) Why is breath so important?

Oxygen enters the human body through breathing. It enters the lungs and goes to the alveoli, where the blood flows past and attaches up to four oxygen molecules to each hemoglobin molecule (hemoglobin molecules are found within red blood cells). The circulatory system works to transport this oxygen-rich hemoglobin throughout the body to every cell. There you have Cell Food and it’s not packed in a little bottle that costs a lot of money but comes from within!!

Pranayama is the science of proper breathing. We work on deep abdominal breathing which can increase the flow of vital energy to the various organs. The Kundalini Yogi employs a range of pranayama techniques, using the rhythm and depth of breath to effect and manage different energy states of health, consciousness and emotion. The mind follows the breath. The key to controlling the mind is the breath.

Types of Breath to use

Long Deep Breathing or yogic breath and the all-time Kundalini favourite Breath of Fire (Agni Pran)

The benefits of Breath of Fire are many but I would like to highlight 3 :

• Releases toxins and deposits from the lungs, mucous linings, blood vessels and other cells

• Increases physical endurance and prepares you to act effectively.

• Reduces addictive impulses for drugs, smoking and bad foods.

Many size challenged people have bad posture with much stress on the lower back, and they tend to slouch. Chest opening exercises combined with breath are gentle but effective. Opening the chest develops the intercostal muscles which lie in between the ribs. Developing these muscles helps to pull up the spine and the whole rib cage. Gentle spine elongation exercises are also introduced in the beginning stages. Kundalini Yoga focuses a lot on spinal health and there are many spinal flexes that are done as warm-ups even before a class.

When one has better posture and can stand tall, one’s self-esteem grows.

One of my students commented after a class of breath work and chest openers that he felt so much slimmer. Just after one class it had made such a difference. He has been practicing with me for six months. He says he feels taller and that he has dropped a size in clothing because he does not need to eat junk food, and best of all, he has stopped smoking.

When you are living your life in union with body, mind and spirit, you then have a wonderful life experience, despite the hurdles of size, health or weight put in your path. You learn to overcome these.

A good teacher is essential, but a deeply interested student is even more essential. A student will always find their teacher. Find a skilled teacher, which you are comfortable with and can resonate with. You must feel confident and trust that your teacher can help you accomplish your goals. A teacher that has the same problem as you will know the path of recovery and healing. Whilst books and video tapes are useful, they cannot replace the sensitivity, the direct transmission and guidance of a teacher.

Sat Nam (Truth is my identity). Yoga is for Every Body. Everybody is a beautiful, bountiful and blissful soul.

Fezia Tyebally

Fezia Tyebally also teaches Yoga for the mentally and physically challenged children. Furthermore, Fezia is a cranioasacral practitioner. She resides in Kuala Lumpur and frequently teaches in Hong Kong. For more information, go to her website: www.craniosacralmalaysia.com/amirsgym.

Note: If one is size and health challenged, it may be advisable to seek a doctor’s opinion prior to beginning a Yoga programme.