Traci Barnes took yoga classes for years, trying to find one that didn't make her feel like an outsider because of her curvy figure. The other students seemed so skinny and wore tight yoga clothes that showed off their figures and flexibility.
When the Sandy Springs resident saw a flyer for a "curvy girls and big boys" yoga class two years ago, she decided to give it a try.
Before finding Atlanta yoga teacher Stacey Shulman, "I stayed in the back of the class and felt a little less than because I didn't look like the teacher and my poses didn't look like the teacher's poses," said Barnes, 36, a structured settlements coordinator at MetLife. Now a regular at Shulman's class in Chamblee, "I feel like I'm a part of yoga, too. Even if I'm doing the pose halfway, I'm getting the benefit of the pose. I'm doing what my body can do. I feel like I'm a full participant in my yoga class."
A curvy woman herself, Shulman knows how intimidating many yoga classes can be for larger men and women. That's why she started teaching her inclusive classes two years ago (http://curvyyogini.com). "People with larger bodies can be just as active as people with smaller bodies," said Shulman, who teaches at Jai Shanti studio in Candler Park, ZenTea in Chamblee and elsewhere. "My class is a safe space for them to enjoy movement as well."
Shulman's classes are part of a burgeoning movement across the country to make yoga more inclusive for all body types and sizes. Plus-size model and yoga teacher Megan Garcia, who pioneered plus-size classes in New York City, has been working for over a decade to make yoga welcoming for everyone. She even produced a video six years ago to teach larger people how to do yoga poses (http://www.megayoga.com).
"Yoga is a great exercise regimen for heavy people because it is no-impact, strength building and flexibility building," Garcia said. "It can also lessen the effects of stress by teaching the student meditation and relaxation to cope with tension in a positive way that really works."
Decatur resident Karen Adler couldn't walk comfortably because of severe knee and shoulder injuries and extra weight. She thought surgery might be her only option.
"I started noticing after two months of taking Stacey's class that I was walking better and without pain and that my arms were functioning better," said Adler, 59, a magazine editor.
To be sure, people doing yoga for the first time should start with beginner or restorative classes. New students should talk to their yoga teacher in advance about any medical conditions to allow the teacher to help them practice yoga safely, said Dr. Timothy McCall, medical editor of Yoga Journal and author of "Yoga as Medicine" (www.DrMcCall.com).
"In people who are obese, poses like headstand may not be appropriate," McCall said. "The heavier you are, the more stress is placed on the joints. Jumping from pose to pose, and sometimes even balancing on one leg, may be too much."
Snellville yoga teacher Pat Cail, 64, helps larger and smaller people get the most out of her classes. She demonstrates several different versions of a single pose, from the simplest version to the most complex, depending on what her students need. Cail also uses props like cushions, blocks and straps.
Shulman and Cail don't promote their inclusive yoga classes as a weight loss program. They say their students feel healthier and stronger and have a better sense of how their bodies move in the world.
Still, weight loss comes as a kind of by-product, said Dayna Macy, who documented her obsession with certain foods in her new memoir, "Ravenous: A Food Lover’s Journey from Obsession to Freedom." She found some peace from her food cravings by focusing on her decades-long yoga practice.
At first, Macy thought she could work her way through emotional issues around food in her head, instead of being in touch with her body. When she practiced yoga regularly, she became more aware of what and when her body needed nourishment.
That knowledge can transform lives, Cail said, who started taking yoga classes after her younger daughter left for college and quickly decided she wanted to teach yoga.
"Yoga has made me more accepting of other people and their ideas and values," Cail said. "It's softened my heart and made me way more aware of feelings and of not reacting so quickly to things."
~ By Katia Hetter, for the AJC
