Choosing love, we also choose to live
in community, and that means we do not
have to change by ourselves.
—bell hooks
The conversation on the intersection of yoga and body image has experienced a tremendous growth spurt over the last three to four years. Witnessing and participating in the dynamic evolution of this conversation has filled me with great delight and joy. Not only has there been an increase in the number of people and organizations advocating yoga as a tool to promote the development of self-acceptance and a healthy body image but the depth of conversation has been heartening.
Spouting affirmations of body-positivity and “self-love” can fall flat when they aren’t supported with the depth and breadth of inquiry required to not only encourage individuals to cultivate an inner paradigm shift but also create large scale cultural change. What has thrilled me the most is how profoundly the dialogue on yoga and body image has developed, replete with all its complexities and nuances. Rather than shying away from simple answers, the collective work of innumerable individuals and organizations across North America and many other parts of the world has exposed and challenged the structures and systems that promote body dissatisfaction as a personal trouble rather than a larger public issue that spans the spectrum of human experience (not to mention reaps profits from this discontent and desire to “fix” oneself).
As feminists decried long ago, “the personal is political.” Both yoga and body image (as well as converging issues as in “yoga and body image”), were long considered as apolitical. Yoga has often been viewed as empty navel gazing or a narcissistic preoccupation with self while body image issues have often been defined as “feminism lite.” It has been an important step forward to see the lens of “the personal is political” increasingly applied to these analysis of both yoga and body image (and, “yoga and body image”). Both yoga and the formation of and influence on our body image are not removed from the larger social, political, and economic context that we all exist within. In fact, while individuals create, re-create, and exist within those systems, issues of oppression and exclusivity are rooted within the systems, not the individuals. For example, feminism is often (mis)represented as anti-male when it is actually anti-patriarchy. Recognizing this fact and using it as a new (and increasingly mainstream) way to understand and talk about yoga and body image is nothing short of radical and inspiring.
When I met Anna Guest-Jelley, founder of Curvy Yoga and my coeditor on Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery & Loving Your Body, in 2010, the yoga blogosphere was just beginning to unfold. Despite individual work and the work some were doing with their students, there wasn’t a lot of critical public dialogue around the issues of body image, diversity, inclusivity, and the ways in which a yoga practice can support deep healing from systematic oppression (or, conversely, the ways in which the dominant “yoga culture” often mirrors and exacerbates the cacophony of toxic messaging disseminated by the culture at large). In fact, the few “yoga renegades” who were publicly driving these often confronting and challenging conversations to the foreground in online yoga spaces experienced serious pushback and resistance. It was not uncommon to have this attempt at critical dialogue met with dismissive and condescending remarks as well as claims that those who discussed, confronted, and called out racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, classism, and ageism in yoga spaces were “negative” and “unyogic.” Apparently, you were a “hater” or “jealous” of fill-in-the-blank if you were compelled to dive into deep waters rather than keep your head in the clouds. In fact, in too many cases, the person would be met with exactly the kind of fill-in-the-ism they were exposing and challenging. It was often a frustrating, if not disappointing and painful, experience.
The Unfolding (R)evolution
We’ve come a long way. Eight years later, public dialogue on the ways in which body image intersects with race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, dis/ability, class and socioeconomic status, age, size, as well as capitalism and culture not only continue to grow but also represent an emergent trend both in yoga spaces and the larger culture beyond the mat and the meditation cushion. To sidestep and ignore these conversations has rendered many publications, companies, and individuals as out of touch and, in some cases, irrelevant (if not obsolete). Spiritual practice and social justice are no longer seen as unrelated or counterintuitive. In fact, more and more individuals and organizations are clearly demonstrating the inevitable ways in which they are woven together.
Despite the resistance and pushback, the conversation has not dimmed. In fact, it has grown in intensity and depth. We’ve witnessed tangible results across the board—in teaching practices; shifts in studio offerings; the use of language; content creation; collaborative opportunities; and both live and digital conferences, programs, and teacher training offerings that center to name a few. Individuals often feel powerless to create change, but the changes listed here shine an unmistakable light on the power of the individual as part of a larger wave of collective community action.
While we’ve witnessed a profound shift in the tide, a continued (and deepened) discussion on the intersection of yoga and body image is more relevant than ever. We’ve made change happen, but the potential healing balm of yoga and meditation is still not accessible to all. Countless blocks continue to exist, thereby barring the possibility of personal and collective liberation for too many—and that’s what we’re after in the end, our ability to emancipate ourselves from oppressive thoughts, habits, and systems. Just as I benefit from my own sense of increased peace and increased self-worth, I benefit from yours.
While the stereotype of the “yoga body” and misconceptions about who practices yoga (no, you don’t have to be white, thin, able-bodied, and bendy) and what yoga practice is (no, it’s not a gymnastics course or training for the circus) have been challenged and yoga media has seen increased diversification from magazine covers to feature stories and advertisements, this is still not the norm in yoga culture or the culture at large. In fact, too often diversified content or features on “diversity” are presented as editorial content that exists immediately next to advertisements and media content that undermines these efforts at inclusivity. That is to say, “diversity” is slipped in here and there and the rest of what we see is “business as usual.” Until diverse representation is a norm, meaning it becomes the established and unquestioned standard, the conversation and our work is not complete. Because what is desired is the possibility for everyone and every body to have access to the practice, benefit from its results, and cultivate self-acceptance and, possibly, full-blown self-love.
Storytelling as a Revolutionary Act of Love
There is power in storytelling proclaiming our truth, especially as the culture engine continues to grind out misrepresentations and tired stereotypes. The contributors in this book speak their authentic truth. In proclaiming our own truth, no matter how scary or vulnerable it may be, we also provide the opportunity for others to see themselves reflected in our story and, perhaps, provide the courage for them to proclaim their own.
This book became necessary for many reasons. Because the work of demanding and creating inclusivity and equity is far from over. Because a culture that encourages and nurtures self-acceptance, self-love, and body-positivity is still far from the norm. Because the myth of the “yoga body” is still the number one representation in yoga media. Because there are so many brave and inspiring stories to share. Because we can never learn enough about ourselves and the diverse realities of others. For all those reasons (and more), it was clear from the get-go that Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery & Loving Your Body would only be the first attempt of several to showcase, uplift, and ignite the many stories that need to be shared.
The contributors in Yoga Rising have come from all walks of life and backgrounds. Some of them I have known personally either as friends, colleagues, or allies, and in some cases, all of the above. I have met some online by following their work; others I’ve met in person through shared communities. Some of the contributors wrote to me and shared the ways in which the first book moved them and revealed their unique experiences before I extended an invitation to write for this book. Others were referred to me. There are still others I could not include!
Hopefully, you’ll see yourself reflected in at least one, if not a few, of the narratives contained herein. But, here’s the real gift in reading the lived experiences of others: speaking our truth also creates the unique opportunity for us to identify with those experiences that are different from our own. And, maybe (hopefully!), someone else’s narrative will make us uncomfortable or angry and push us to our current edge. I mean, we’re exploring things that may be painful—not only the -isms as systems of structured inequality, but the pain, shame, and blame that accompany them. Inevitably, these stories will push us out of our comfort zone and challenge our own beliefs and experiences. Can we breathe, listen, and absorb without rushing to challenge the author’s experience or truth? Can we honor and respect their truth without feeling like their experience undercuts or invalidates our own? Can we recognize each person’s process as uniquely their own, often situated at different points in the progression of healing? Is it possible that our own process is bolstered by theirs, even if we can’t recognize it as such in the moment we may be confronted?
Because, in the end, we benefit from this revolutionary act of truth telling. As we connect with our innermost self as well as others through personal narratives and storytelling, our capacity for empathy, compassion, and love grows exponentially—love in every capacity. bell hooks describes love as a radical act of liberation.2 Consider this book as a collection of love songs designed to support your personal journey toward self-acceptance and, possibly in time, self-love while providing you with the support and care from a community dedicated to that same end. Together we can heal, uplift, and grow toward not only the possibility that we may all see ourselves as enough but the possibility of collective healing and liberation.
A Call to Move Inward and Outward
To help ignite your own “yoga renegade” and become an agent of change, I’ve included questions to consider and direct calls to action at the end of each section of this book. No doubt the stories in this collection will bring up lots of feelings and thoughts. Sometimes it’s helpful to have some extra support and guidance in consciously examining our own experiences. The questions to consider are designed to help you ponder the ideas presented in the book in a new, different, or deeper way. The calls to action are small, simple (but not necessarily “easy”) ways you can begin to move your enthusiasm, energy, emotions, and resolve out into the world in a way that is productive, positive, and beneficial to you and everyone you may have contact with both in person and through social media.
By first moving consciously inward and then outward, we can go out into the world with mindfulness, compassion, and newfound clarity to make shift happen. It doesn’t matter how large or small the actions you may take, it’s the movement outward into the world that matters and will create a ripple effect. No matter how you are able to or moved to take action, it’s the engaged and thoughtful intention to do that fuels the fire and helps build on the work of others. Because we’re in this together.
Here’s to connecting to the truth in our hearts and then connecting to the truth in the hearts of others. May we come together and recognize and support our collective growth.
2. bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions (New York: William Morrow, 2000).