Today’s post and challenge are from wholehearted and inspirational Anna Guest-Jelley of Curvy Yoga. She is wise and wonderful and has so much to teach about life in general and yoga specifically. I am honored to host her here today!
I know, I know; I know what you might be thinking: “Yoga as a way to love my body? It’s hard to imagine how that will happen when the svelte girl next to me in class has her foot wrapped around her head!”
I’m totally with you on that — or, at least, I was for a long time. I spent years (years!) practicing yoga, surreptitiously glancing over my shoulder, waiting for someone to come tap me on the shoulder and point at the (nonexistent except in my head) bleachers: “You: you’re out.”
Fortunately, I never did have to fully relive those bad middle school gym flashbacks. But I did spend entirely too much time waiting for it.
What’s interesting, though, is that while I did, something else happened — yoga itself tapped me on the shoulder, with love and not a reproach – “You. You’ve found the right place.”
Body Appreciation 101
To be honest, I started practicing yoga because I wanted to change my body — I wanted less pain from my migraines, and I wanted to lose weight. The latter had been an ongoing goal for at least a decade, so it wasn’t particularly new.
But what was new was me beginning to slowly admire my body. “Whoa; I did that forward bend?!” Or “Wow; I can really feel myself getting stronger!”
I’d never given myself these kinds of compliments before. I’d viewed my body in a black/white dichotomy of good/bad, where good = thin and bad = anything else. (And I was always in the anything else category, at least in my own mind). So when positive thoughts of strength and flexibility crept into my mind, I was surprised — mostly pleasantly.
The part of me that was unpleasantly surprised was the part that wanted to hang onto that either/or thinking. The part that felt that if I ever “let go” of my weight loss goal, all h-e-double-hockey-sticks would break loose.
Turns out, though, that the opposite was true.
How Body Awareness Can Lead to Body Love
The more I noticed these small and gently accruing benefits of my yoga practice, the better I felt about my body — on many levels. I physically felt more alive, energized and calm. And emotionally I felt buoyant after class — nearly floating out, flushed with endorphins and the stretchy relaxing goodness of Savasana.
Over time, those benefits began to last longer and longer, and they also began following me off my mat and deeper into my thoughts and feelings. As I noticed and appreciated my body on the mat, I was slowly able to apply that process off the mat.
From my body to my thoughts to my feelings. From external to internal.
Today: Do some yoga. In my experience, this shift happened slowly over time. But as a teacher now, I believe the process can be more deliberately facilitated. To give it a try yourself, here are my top 5 tips:
1. Begin with movement. Find a yoga practice you love. You might do this by taking a class with a local teacher. Or if you’d prefer to practice at home, there are many great resources. If you’re practicing with a curvy body, you might like experimenting with my videos on YogaVibes (which you can give a test run for free), check out some of my free podcasts or grab a copy of my new book with 60+ pose options for curvy yogis. As you practice, see if you can bring your attention to what you’re feeling – overall or in a particular part of your body. Developing your body awareness is an essential step on the body love journey (it’s hard to love what you don’t know!).
2. Take a deep breath. As you begin to connect more with movement, noticing your body, you can also begin noticing your breath. The best way to do this is to take one slow, deliberate breath. You could do this in a pose or throughout your daily activity. It is awareness of body and breath that can lead to awareness of thought and feeling, creation of gratitude and love.
3. Get on the ground. In order to really connect mind and body, I like to sit or lie down on the ground. As you feel you body settle into the earth, feel yourself slowly relax. If coming down to the floor isn’t comfortable or accessible, sitting on a chair with your feet on the ground (or as close as they can come) will create the same result.
4. Place a hand on your belly and a hand on your heart. From this laying down position, place one hand on your belly and one on your heart. Touch is powerful — especially gentle, loving touch of your own body, on a body part that many of us have been socialized to minimize or ignore.
5. Draw some appreciation to mind — and body. As your hands rest on your belly and heart, cultivate an attitude of appreciation and love. Thank your body for something specific, creating a pattern in your own mind, heart and body that you aren’t separate — that you are one whole, glorious self.
Yoga can be a powerful tool in the journey of body awareness ßà body acceptance ßà body love. Because it is highly adaptable, we can all find a way to practice, regardless of our shape, size or ability.
1. In what way did you practice yoga today? What did the practice give to you? What did you learn?
2. Can you see yoga begin a part of your continued self-acceptance journey? In what ways?
Remember your comment here about your participation in toddy’s challenge gets you an entry in the giveaways!
♥
Anna Guest-Jelley is the founder of Curvy Yoga — a training & inspiration portal for curvy yogis & their teachers. As a writer, teacher & lifelong champion for women’s empowerment & body acceptance, Anna encourages women of every size, age & ability to grab life by the curves. And never let go.
To stay up to date with all things Curvy Yoga, be sure to sign up for the newsletter – it’s free! You can also connect with Anna on Facebook and Twitter.
I recently really delved into yoga! I have been drawn to it a while! I have done some yoga, on my own….using books, the computer, or DVDs. BUT, I really wanted to go to a class. I felt it would be better in a community. I thought the energy shared in a room would build the practice. I was nervous to go because….well, I’m curvy. But, I decided (and Anna and Curvy Yoga was a HUGE inspiration) to go to the class. I was pleasantly surprised when the teacher was a bit curvy, too!
So, when I don’t go to class….I try to do some poses at home. If I only do one, I do Downward Dog because I LOVE this pose!!!
Because the yoga class is a fairly new to me, I am excited to see how it becomes a part of my body acceptance/body love! I do enjoy waking up to a few poses (again, even if only one)!
I took a yoga class for six weeks a few years ago and have yearned to go back. I am going to start looking for classes again.
Yoga is what started me on this body/self-acceptance journey. I was participating in an intense pastoral care education experience and one of my colleagues in the program introduced me to practicing yoga. I fell in love after one class! I too had the weight loss goal and discovered that the more I practiced, the more amazed I was with what my body could do instead of what it looked like. The weight loss became a bonus instead of the focus. Yoga has helped me to accept myself just as I am, with what I can do that day, letting go of comparisons and finding joy in celebrating the successes, large or small.
Today I did a few sun salutations. I learned that those few minutes make a huge difference in how I go about my day! I have a more positive outlook and approach frustration and concern differently than if I don’t take the time for a few deep breaths and center myself.
I want to recommit to a more regular practice and this might be the jumpstart I need!
Yoga is one of my favorite things to do for my body. I haven’t been able to get to a regular class because I live pretty far out. When I practice, I feel more in touch with my body, prouder of my body, stronger–all good things. Today, I’m breaking out my yoga deck here in my office and taking a yoga mini-break.
This was an easy one for me: I do loads of yoga, and Monday is Iyengar day. But I was extra attentive during my class, and worked just a little bit harder!
1. In what way did you practice yoga today? What did the practice give to you? What did you learn?
I took an Iyengar class with my favourite teacher. I was very pleased with myself, because I managed to do 2 minutes headstand away from the wall, for the first time ever. Apart from that, the practice gave me what a good practice always gives me: joy about what I can do with my body. It may not be exactly the way I want it, but I am strong and flexible, and it is great to be aware of that.
2. Can you see yoga begin a part of your continued self-acceptance journey? In what ways?
It already is. I go for 4 or 5 classes a week, and they are moments of relaxation and enjoying my body for what it is. Well, the Iyengar classes are – the Bikram classes are challenging, but that means I enjoy the progress I make.
I have never done yoga. It isn’t really something I ever even thought about. But as I’ve started this journey of learning to take care of myself and of learning to love myself, I’m considering learning yoga. I enjoyed reading the post for today, and I am going to check into the resources offered.
Love it! Will add yoga in this week!
Yummm – yoga. But sadly, my lower back is out of whack – an entirely new phenomenon for me. My personal practice has consisted of laying flat, sending reiki to myself and moving through very small twists and spinal movements and breathing breathing breeeeeeathing.
1. In what way did you practice yoga today? What did the practice give to you? What did you learn?
Over the last year I’ve developed a very distorted image of my body and become totally detached from it. Whereas once I accepted and was proud of all the parts that made me unique, I came to see them as something to be eradicated and not cherished.
I am now trying to reconnect with my body; to know it, feel it and like it. I intend to take up yoga but, in the meantime, this morning I practiced 30 minutes of pilates. I felt the incredible tension in my shoulders and back and focused on breathing through it. I focused on my body and nothing else and tried to feel my body and accept that it is ok for me to care about myself and nurture myself. Afterwards I felt, quite literally, stretched and awake!
2. Can you see yoga begin a part of your continued self-acceptance journey? In what ways?
Absolutely! I want the practice of yoga/pilates to allow me to slow down and feel my body again. I want to recognize the aches I have and not see them as suffering which I deserve to feel but rather my body’s way of telling me that it needs to be cared for, that I’m asking too much of it.
I’m always keen to rush around and push myself further and harder. If I want to continue to do this then I need my body on my side! I need to nurture it and listen to it so that we can go forward equally rather than me trying to dominate it.
I love how receptive all of you are to yoga. it really is an incredible practice– especially when you keep the idea of everyday being about the practice in your forethoughts. Go kick some asanas, ladies!
Yoga has been so helpful for me in learning to appreciate and tune into my body. I love classes but often can’t get to them so have a hatha yoga dvd for stress relief by Hala Khouri that is an amazing video. She’s all into body awareness and deep breathing. I try to do a 10 or 20 minute segment every day. I feel so much more relaxed after doing it. Yoga is helpful for me with self-acceptance because it helps me be IN my body rather than outside judging it.