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You might be familiar with the popular refrain “Yoga is for every body.” And this is true…in theory. But in practice, many people find that they’re not exactly represented or welcome in certain yoga spaces.
Although size inclusivity has become a trending topic in mainstream culture, people in bigger bodies are still neglected and, at times, deeply harmed by the yoga industry. Studios and teachers have a responsibility to learn—and perhaps more importantly, unlearn—what it means to be a plus-size person practicing yoga.
7 Ways to Help Make Your Studio More Size Inclusive
After reading the following Instagram post by yoga teacher Lucy Bishop, in which she details practical ways studios can become more size-inclusive, we interviewed her and other teachers to discuss the common challenges people in bigger bodies often face in yoga—and the action steps to help alleviate some of them.
1. Be Honest About What Your Studio Offers
Incorporating size inclusivity into your studio’s ethos means communicating what you do (and do not) provide. For instance, does your website provide accessibility information? Do your class descriptions detail the types of movements to expect and whether the teacher offers variations?
“I say to a lot of teachers, if you don’t think you can hold space for a certain type of person, that’s okay. Just make that clear,” says Bishop. “Don’t write that you’re an inclusive yoga teacher who can hold space for all bodies if you don’t feel confident in that.” That includes if you’re still learning. It’s alright not to be able to do everything yet, says Bishop.
There are real consequences to withholding whether or not your classes are designed to support students with different body types. “People who’ve been excluded will come into that space with an open heart, thinking they’re going to be included. And it’s going to be very painful for them [when they’re not],” explains Bishop.
2. Examine Your Own Understanding of Size
If your goal is to offer size-inclusive classes, ask yourself whether you’re willing to shift your priorities in order to make space for new concepts and new people, says Bishop. As a studio owner or teacher, are you willing to look inward and acknowledge how you’ve been affected by—and perhaps have unconsciously promoted—body-type biases into the yoga spaces you lead?
“People [with any body type] will be welcomed into the practice and seen as the multifaceted people they are if teachers do their own work of dismantling internalized fatphobia,” says Tamika Caston-Miller, yoga educator and founder of Ashé Yoga Collective. “The goal isn’t body positivity—it’s body neutrality. We can observe what the body can do that day and remain unattached to whatever we find.”
3. Be Open to Learning
Seek opportunities to further your education, whether that means hiring a size-inclusive yoga teacher to train your staff on best practices, attending a workshop, or completing an online course. Also, consider how to make these types of trainings available to your teachers on a regular basis. Build upon and fine-tune what you learn, Bishop says.
Keep an open mind, even if what you learn isn’t what you’ve previously been taught. For instance, question whether the cues you use are necessary or limiting. “Removing the unnecessary alignment approach will automatically reduce the shame around not being able to ‘do a pose correctly,’” says yoga Australia-based yoga teacher Angus Knott. “I find having an understanding of tension, compression, orientation, and proportion is in direct correlation with understanding how different bodies practice,” he adds.
4. Hire Teachers of Different Sizes and Help Them Thrive
Each yoga teacher brings their own lived experience to the classes they teach, which is why hiring size-diverse teachers is important—especially if they are expected to lead yoga teacher trainings.
“People will only teach what they know and what they know is largely framed by their teacher training,” says Caston-Miller. “If there isn’t body diversity in the training, there isn’t space for breadth of pose exploration. There’s no way a teacher can learn how to teach to a variety of bodies if a variety of bodies isn’t in teacher training as both students and trainers,” she says.
And when you hire teachers in bigger bodies, ask yourself if you’re simply checking the size diversity box. “I’ve experienced studios that hire me, and that’s all they’ll do. There’s no sort of support making people in bigger bodies feel more comfortable,” says Bishop. “I’ll not be given a peak time to teach. I’ll be given two months to build up a class. Then they’re like, ‘It’s not working.’ But [this] audience can be really resistant to coming into the space that you have to trust so it’s going to take them time.” It’s your responsibility to explore ways you can integrate all teachers into your studio’s culture and set them up for success.
5. Let Your Students Comfortably Take Up Space
Don’t underestimate the power of making students as physically comfortable as possible. Does your studio offer extra long and extra wide yoga mats? What about enough props for every student?
Helping students feel comfortable includes packing studios to capacity. When students’ mats don’t have more than a few inches between them, those in bigger bodies can feel cramped and generally unwelcome in that space.
6. Get Mindful About Your Marketing
Consider how you represent your studio in marketing materials. For instance, using images of people in bigger bodies to promote your business implies you have teachers or students who look like this—which sets some people up for disappointment if they discover that you don’t.
“Some studios tokenize fat teachers by using them in campaigns about inclusion, but not using them in campaigns featuring strength or skill,” says Caston-Miller. “After having been in a video shoot in which [they] had no plan for getting thoughtful angles for my body type, I remember telling [the] marketer, ‘You know that I’m physically strong, too, right?’” adds Caston-Miller.
7. Consider What Your Retail Says About Your Business
If your studio sells apparel, offer an array of sizes. “A studio’s retail will tell you everything you need to know about whether or not they think you exist,” says Caston-Miller. “When the target size is a medium, you’re telling everyone else to lose weight to get to that size or that you don’t care.”
Of course, there’s no end to what you can do to be more size inclusive and aware. “Diversity is more than a checkbox,” as Bishop puts it. “But it’s better than nothing. It’s a step in the right direction,” she says.
