Tackling Body Fears in Yoga

In this post, we’ll tackle body fears.

We’ve been closely examining people’s fears about yoga, specifically concerns related to faith, body image, and flexibility.

Part I: Everyone Deserves to Feel Good

We’ll start simple: everybody deserves to feel good. Healthy looks different on everyone. Your body does NOT have to look any particular way to practice yoga.

Many of us spend too much time on our mats worrying about what others think of our appearance. The truth is, the people next to you are likely too absorbed in their own practice to notice. They might be on their way to Nirvana or wrapped up in their own concerns—either way, they’re not judging how you look.

The idea of a “yoga body” being long and lean is a misconception. Yoga may shape some in that way, but it doesn’t for many. Every body comes to yoga in a unique shape. There is no definitive “yoga body.” The shape of your body is not a permit required for practice.

Part II: Embracing Your Body

One of our owners, with a background in dance, was focused on maintaining a specific weight and avoiding curves. After struggling with weight gain, she took up running, trying to ‘annihilate’ the shape she disliked. But running didn’t provide the acceptance she needed.

Yoga was the first time she truly connected with her body, embracing its shape and presence. Yoga taught her to let go of control and appreciate her form in every pose—realizing that her body’s shape is beautiful just as it is.

Part III: Observations from Teaching Yoga

Most yoga teachers spend hours observing different classes during their certification process. This observation reveals a lot: every student arrives with a unique combination of balance, strength, flexibility, and form, and these attributes rarely align with expectations.

We’ve seen lean students who lack strength, larger bodies with incredible flexibility, and strong individuals with no sense of balance. The concept of a “yoga body” is thus meaningless—what matters is practice.

Remember: you are like a sunset, impossible to capture in a photograph. A yoga body is defined by how your body moves in yoga and how you feel during and after practice. The true beauty of yoga lies in its acceptance of all bodies, just as they are.