As a larger person, recently I’ve gotten VERY involved with yoga………….and there was a lot I wish I knew before I got started.
Because of this, I decided to write this article. After reading this you will know everything you need to know to get started with yoga! (Most people anyways, not all people)
Table of Contents:
Can overweight people do yoga? –
The types of yoga (You need to know this) –
Which type of yoga is best for plus size people –
The benefits of yoga for plus size individuals –
There are beginner friendly and gentle yoga options –
You might not need to do beginner yoga –
There are ways to modify almost every move –
If you’re worried yoga will be too hard for you try this:
THE BEST Plus Size Yoga instruction IS FREE –
Can Overweight people do Yoga?
The short answer? Yes, absolutely. The long answer? Personally, I’ve been able to do almost every yoga pose I’ve come across. The ones, I wasn’t able to do there are modified options available. (If you’re unable to do any particular yoga move, the best thing to do is try a modified option -these are easy to find online- or make up your own!)
You Should Know: Most yoga moves aren’t that difficult for larger people, but some are definitely going to make you sweat and really will give you quite a workout. It’s best to not push yourself too hard if you can, because people do hurt themselves doing yoga.
If you’re truly interested in starting yoga yourself, I definitely suggest you start with a beginner plus size yoga video. Rather than going somewhere and taking a class. Then, from there you can advance based on how hard you thought the video was for yourself. You might have found it to easy, and want to go straight to a moderate yoga video. Or, you might find out that the easy one was slightly difficult for you. Which you can then try modified poses.
Whatever you do, don’t give up! You got this!
The Types of Yoga (You need to know this)
Kundalini Yoga – Basically, this is the type of yoga that involves chi. Which is your energy. There is a lot of chanting, mantras, and meditation involved. This is a very feel good type of yoga practice. It definitely works, if you’re interested in making yourself feel good. (aren’t we all?)
Hatha Yoga – This is basically a hodge podge of different yoga styles all put into one. I know I know, that sounds like a terrible way to describe a yoga routine……but that’s really what it is. Hatha is about balance. Balancing your energies and your physical self. I looked into a lot of Hatha Yogo videos, and while many claim to be for a beginner, they did look very physical and difficult for most larger people.
Ashtanga Yoga – This is a very repetitive style of yoga. Basically, you are supposed to do 6 different yoga poses repetitively until you get them perfect. Once perfect, you can move on to the next 6. Definitely do not recommend this to a beginner plus size person.
Iyengar Yoga – Very high level yoga, that utilizes tons of equipment. Not recommended for beginners.
Yin Yoga – This is a very slow paced yoga. While at first that sounds great for larger people, it is not. If you’ve ever held a yoga pose for a minute plus you’ll understand. It is better for larger people to have more movement during their yoga routine.
Acro Yoga – This type of yoga does look like a ton of fun. It does involve a partner. I haven’t been able to try this style of yoga yet, but from what I’ve seen online it looks good for larger people, but you’ll have to modify many of the exercises because some are not possible for larger bodies.
Power Yoga – A quicker pace style of yoga, that is great for larger people. While many of the exercises are hard, most of them are able to be modified so you’ll be able to do them. I definitely recommend trying this style of yoga. Even if you can’t do certain exercises, you can always skip over them! This style is a lot of fun.
Vinyasa Yoga – This is the most common style of yoga, and it is the BEST for beginners and PERFECT for larger people. This is the style of yoga you want to be doing. Most of the exercises are not to hard, and they move at a not to slow, and not to fast pace. There is a focus on breathing throughout the exercise that makes it very very relaxing. I highly recommend this to be the go to yoga style for larger people.
Which type of Yoga is best for Larger People?
Hands down, the best type of Yoga for larger people is called Vinyasa. You’ve probably heard it called “flow” yoga before.
Why is Vinyasa the best for larger people? It’s the best for a variety of reasons. It is not to fast, or to slow. It’s not to hard, but most importantly all of the moves are modifiable. Meaning that almost every single move there is a way to make that move easier. Some moves have multiple modifiers, so you can go at whichever difficulty you choose. Also, Vinyasa is VERY beginner friendly. You can pick up how to do the moves as soon as you see them. This is probably why this is the most common form of yoga for most people currently.
Now, just because Vinyasa is the best doesn’t mean that other forms of yoga aren’t great for larger people. They’re just not the best in my opinion for beginners. You might personally like other forms of yoga such as power yoga which moves very quickly. Some people enjoy a quicker pace in general. If you read the section above you can read through the different types of yoga (most common listed above) and see which ones appeal to you!
The Benefits of Yoga for Plus Size People –
There are a TON of benefits from doing Yoga. Most people don’t know this, but there are studies that show Yoga can do everything from improving brain function to improving cardiovascular health to even digestive health. The amount of different things that yoga can help with is absolutely staggering. Not to mention it helps you lose weight!
There are beginner friendly and Gentle Yoga Options –
What may surprise you, is there are a TON of videos out there to help with beginner plus size yoga.
Everything from videos on how to modify different poses, to different levels of yoga intensity. There are videos that show you how to do the poses, and how to breathe. All the ins and outs can be found online.
This really surprised me, because I didn’t think there would be that much information out there for doing yoga when you’re larger like myself. But there really is quite a bit of information, and training videos specifically for larger people.
You might not need to do Beginner Yoga –
When you’re searching for plus size yoga videos, you might find that some of them might be a little to easy for you. Me personally, this wasn’t the case……but I definitely did see that for other people online, they were able to go straight into intermediate yoga classes online. This really depends a lot on how strong you are physically, and how athletic and flexible you already are.
There are ways to modify almost every move –
I know I talked about this a little bit before, but their really is a modification that available for almost every yoga move. Not only this, but often there are multiple modifications that vary in difficulty. If one modification isn’t working for you, there usually is another! Many times, I make up my own modifications if a particular one isn’t working for me.
If you are worried Yoga will be too hard for you – try this:
There is a simple sun routine, that is short and sweet. It is one of the simplest yoga routines. It’s fun and simple, and refreshing.
This routine only lasts a few minutes. It’s very short, but don’t underestimate it! Please try this, and see if yoga is right for you!
If you are able to do this routine, you will be able to do yoga. All yoga exercises can be made to be as easy as this exercise is.
THE BEST Plus Size Yoga Instruction is FREE –
I know this might sound crazy, but honestly after looking at websites that offered paid yoga instruction…….they just didn’t seem to understand the issues that plus size people have with exercising.
Now, not all of the paid instruction seemed bad. Some of the paid instruction, did seem like it would be okay…..but I was completely blown away by some of the videos I found on youtube for plus size yoga instruction. They were very helpful.
I think the only time where it would be a good idea to pay for yoga, is if you’re looking for some one on one help, other than that…….I definitely think that youtube videos will be more than what you’ll need.
Here are my three personal favorites:
This one is medium intensity, with a good flow. It’s ten minutes of exercise. You’ll work your whole body with this one.
This one is low intensity, but it still works everything. It goes at a light pace. The instructor does a great job in this video. If you like this video, but want to up the intensity……….she has more videos on her channel as well.
This one is medium intensity, but it goes on for thirty minutes. Making this one much more difficult than the others. If you’re up for a challenge…….definitely try this one out!