to the big girl.

Of course, everyone should do yoga. But here’s why I want to see more big, rounded curves in my own or any yoga classes really. Like the beautiful girl who was in my class last week…

There are various studies showing, that physical activity improves fitness and health. No news there.  Where it gets interesting is that physical self and overall self-esteem are strongly related. Physical activity improves self-perceptions. If I perceive myself as looking fabulous, then I feel fabulous. And at the other end of the spectrum there is social physique anxiety (SPA; Hart, Leary & Rejeski, 1989). SPA is “a subtype of social anxiety that occurs as a result of the prospect or presence of interpersonal evaluation of one’s physique” (Hart et al. 1989, p.96).

When you leave your house, you expect people to pull out their score cards. Or actually: you already pull out your own score cards as you check yourself in the mirror. And if you don’t feel like you look your best, you’d rather not leave the house. Even without social physique anxiety, we can all relate to that feeling. So if you think you don’t look like you belong in a yoga class, you will think that others believe you don’t belong in a yoga class and… you won’t go.

It get’s worse…

Because in addition “people will strategically reduce the importance affixed to life domains where they feel inadequate” (Horn, 2008, p. 60). It means people who are uncomfortable with their physique won’t come to yoga class because of the fear of being judged and… they will also think it’s not important to do yoga.
Total disaster.

The same could be said for I’m-not-flexible-enough-men, even though thankfully this image is slowly changing. But all in all this may well be why you currently have primarily good looking, white women in the average yoga class.

It is so important for people to join yoga or other physical activity, who do not fulfill the photoshop standard of perfection. Show off your wide hips, broad shoulders, freckles and bellies. Nothing will ever make your body perfect according to media standards. But physical activity will improve your physical self-perception which will improve your overall self-esteem. So it will make you beautiful in your own eye, no matter what you look like. And what else can you ask for?

Tear down the standard for beauty! Get your curves onto the mat. Bring along everything you feel insecure about, lay it out there and endure the anxiety. It will fade. The day will come that you will sit on your mat, in your own beauty and you will smile.

References:
Hart, E.A.; Leary, M.R. & Rejeski, W.A. (1989). The measurement of social physique anxiety. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11, 94-104.
Horn, T. (2008). Advances in sport psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.