It's lovely how yoga has grown and become even more mainstream in recent years. It seems like so many more people are coming around to how truly dope of a practice it can be. It's no longer some little-known thing kept confined in small circles. But unfortunately, with great popularity comes potential for a lot of less-great stuff that yoga lovers have to deal with. (Isn't that what Gandalf said? Dumbledore? Maybe just me.) Namely, a lot of yoga practices have, however unintentionally, perpetuated the idea that "yoga bodies" are exclusively one that fit into certain restrictive body standards. Like, are you not thin and white? No yoga for you! Luckily, even this terribly misguided stereotype is changing, as demonstrated by these amazing body positive yogis of Instagram who strongly embrace every body and its capabilities, proving that truly, all bodies are yoga bodies.
I talk to a lot of people who don't practice (though, to be fair, I hardly ever do myself as I am a sloth person) and many admit part of their hesitation to ever join a class stems from fear of being judged. That is such a bummer and frankly, not a thing you hear too often in even more comparable classes like spin or...I don't know—is Jazzercise still a thing? Anyway, there's a growing slew of badass yogis singing praise of the body positive gospel, proving via Instagram that there is no such thing as a "yoga body" as seriously any body can do yoga with proper practice. Here is solid evidence:
Amber
Amber started practicing yoga a decade ago and with her training and social media presence, she says she hopes to empower "fat bodies, old bodies, stiff bodies, or just bodies that get ignored by the yoga world." Preach.
Valerie
Bay area yogi Valerie posts uplifting body positive messages and images under the moniker Big Gal Yoga. She also uses her account to celebrate other "untraditional" yoga bodies stretching in all sorts of tough poses.
Ashley
Here's a highly dope account with recommendations for practice while stuck in the office because meetings should never get in the way of keeping that yogi flow a-flowin'.
Jessamyn
Y'all already know how we feel about Jessamyn (LOVE HER).
Rosemarie
Rosemarie knows how to deal with Mondays, among other obstacles (like some incredibly challenging poses).
Gina
Gina says she's new to yoga, but she's already won us over with her persistent 'tude.
Joshay
Joshay went from Zumba to yoga and as far as we can tell, it was a flawless transition.
Omega
This Northeast yogi is a proverb-quoting QUEEN.
Dana
Dana practices on her own in New Orleans, inspiring lots of other women who thought at their first class, "Yeah...so I will NEVER be able to invert like that! These are HUMAN PRETZELS," that all humans can pretzel with practice.
Image: amber_karnes/Instagram
