Let’s talk about something that really needs busting…
The idea that you can look at someone’s body and know how healthy they are.
That bigger bodies are automatically unhealthy.
That thinner bodies are automatically fit and healthy.
It’s just not that simple.
Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. And health doesn’t have a single look.
A bigger body can be strong, flexible, active and well-nourished.
A thinner body can be struggling, exhausted or living with health conditions that we know absolutely nothing about.
And the same goes for every body in between.
You can’t tell someone’s fitness from their clothing size.
You can’t tell their strength from their shape.
You can’t tell their health from a photograph.
We don’t know someone’s medical history, genetics, mobility, relationship with food, mental health or what their body is going through.
And we don’t need to.
So what does this have to do with yoga?
Quite a lot, actually.
I want yoga to be a space where we can move away from the idea that our bodies need to look a certain way to be worthy of care.
A space where movement isn’t about shrinking ourselves.
Where we aren’t comparing our bodies to the person on the mat next to us.
Where we can focus on how we feel, rather than how we look.
Maybe today you’re feeling strong.
Maybe you’re tired.
Maybe you’re working with pain.
Maybe you’re just showing up and doing what you can.
All of those things are welcome.
Your body isn’t a before picture.
You don’t need to lose weight to deserve movement.
You don’t need to be thin to be fit.
You don’t need to be fit to do yoga.
And you certainly don’t need to prove anything to anyone.
You deserve to feel good in your body now. Not just in some imagined future version of yourself.
Let’s stop making assumptions about other people’s bodies.
Let’s make a little more room for compassion, curiosity and kindness.
And let’s remember that health is complex, personal and so much more than a number on a scale.
Myth busted. 🌼
See you on the mat,
Yas x
Yoga with Yasmina