Yoga for plus-sized students a growing market

Have you ever walked into a traditional yoga class and found a plus-size woman trying to fit in? Her mat is usually set up in the back of the room where she won’t draw attention to herself, embarrassed by her voluptuousness and extra pounds. Yet she deserves to be there just like everyone else. Unfortunately, the problems faced by plus-sized women in traditional yoga settings aren’t addressed in a class full of 20-something skinnies able to swing their legs into downward facing dog or bend forward without breaking out in a sweat. And there are many yoga teachers out there who just won’t give the plus-size woman the time of day, unfortunately, and continue to teach class as if she doesn’t exist. Yes, this happens.

Enter the new yoga class for the plus-sized woman, a growing market that needs more and more teachers. And the time is right, because over 60% of women in the United States are overweight, and it would be a sad thing if they weren’t allowed to embrace the practice of yoga, where they could tap into their inner consciousness and learn new ways to love their bodies and embrace their uniqueness.

This past weekend I attended a 10-hour teacher training workshop in Scottsdale, Arizona geared toward adapting yoga and modifications for the plus- and super-sized woman taught by Lanita Varshell, owner and founder of A Gentle Way Yoga Center in San Diego, California, the oldest and most respected yoga therapist and hatha yoga instructor for the plus-sized population. While Lanita is also an expert in stress management and an inspiring speaker and yoga teacher, she is also known for her Gentle Yoga Meditation in Movement Style, working primarily with people who are overstressed, in chronic pain, or who are seniors, plus- and super-sized looking for a way to change their lives for the better in a safe and nurturing environment.

Thirteen yoga teachers at various stages of their careers gathered together in a room for two full days at the Hilton Garden Inn and shared their stories, soaked in knowledge and filled notebooks with helpful tidbits about how to teach and modify poses for plus-sized women. We learned how to use chairs, blankets, bolsters and straps to make yoga more accessible to someone who has just a bit more rolls than the average yogi to someone who’s extremely obese. Lesson plans included sun salutation modifications to deep relaxation sequencing on the floor covered with cozy blankets and bolsters to rest weary oversized legs. The second day rewarded us with actual students who graced us with their large presence while Lanita guided them through some relaxation poses that gently moved their bodies in ways they never thought possible, opening up channels in their minds that will hopefully send signals that tell them to keep coming back for more.

Although I’m not a plus-sized woman myself, I went to this training because I want to help plus-size women practice yoga in a safe and comfortable environment. More studios need to open classes specially targeted to the plus-sized women, because they need their own space and their own modifications to enjoy the practice without fear of being made fun of or not being able to reach their goals effectively. Yoga for plus-sized women is a very focused niche, and someone who aspires to teach plus-sized women must have a specialness about her that demonstrates caring and understanding uncommonly found in traditional yoga classes where the focus is mainly on the perfect pose and the perfect body. Understanding how to modify to certain poses and what props are essential for a safe and effective practice is paramount to its success, and Lanita’s style of teaching is something that should be broadcast all over so that more and more studios offer classes geared toward the plus-size woman.

Lanita Varshell offers a 200-hour teacher training at her studio in December and July of every year, as well as various workshops and retreats throughout the year. If you’re interested in breaking out of the traditional style of yoga and advancing toward a more rewarding and specialized niche, consider teaching yoga for the plus-sized woman and let your heart sing with joy as you share your wisdom and love with women who are just a little plumper and who need a little extra dose of tender loving care while they explore their own unique yoga journey.

Judith Lasater coming to Salt Lake City

Do you want to become a restorative yoga teacher and need training? Do you live in or near the Salt Lake City area, or are willing to travel from a neighboring state? Here’s your chance to train with renowned restorative yoga guru Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, P.T.

On February 6-10, 2010, Judith will be in Salt Lake City offering her Relax and Renew Learning to Teach Restorative Yoga Teacher’s Training at the Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. Cost is $600 if paid by December 1, 2010. A deposit of $300 is required to reserve your space, so don’t hesitate! Make an investment in your teaching career and add restorative yoga to your valuable experience.

Judith Hanson Lasater

Judith Lasater, the author of Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times, is an internationally-known yoga teacher and has taught since 1971. She is a founder of the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco as well as Yoga Journal magazine. Judith is the author of several books including A Year of Living Your Yoga: Daily Practices to Shape Your Life (2006), and writes frequently on yoga and health for several nationally recognized magazines.

In Salt Lake City, Judith will team up with Charlotte Bell, a Salt Lake City yoga teacher and author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice, to conduct the training.  Charlotte has been practicing yoga since 1982 and began teaching in 1986. In 1989 Charlotte became certified in the Iyengar style of yoga, and received her 500-hour certification from the Yoga Alliance in 2000. She currently teaches a restorative yoga class at Avenues Yoga in Salt Lake City.

If you would like to register for the Relax and Renew Restorative Yoga Teacher Training in Salt Lake City, email Charlotte Bell at charlottebell@earthlink.net.

On becoming a yoga teacher

Students in child's pose

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you already know that I’m still an aspiring yoga teacher, but most importantly, I’m still a student and always will be. There’s so much to learn that every journey I take is one step closer to my dream.  I’m always learning, always growing, and my Wednesday evening students teach me more than I teach them.  I like to tell my students, “yoga is a journey, not a destination.” I’ll be saying that when I’m 80 years old, I’m sure.

Becoming a yoga teacher takes strength and courage and also an inner wisdom.  I still have so much to learn, and I’ve planned some pretty amazing trainings in the next several months. On October 16th I’m flying to Scottsdale Arizona to attend a Gentle Yoga & Modification Training being taught by Lanita Varshell, a leading expert in yoga for the plus size and health challenged populations. She is the founder of A Gentle Way Yoga & Joyful Movement Center in San Diego, California, and I’m overjoyed to have the opportunity to train with her, even if it is only for a weekend. I want so much to be able to help my students who have health or weight issues to become more comfortable in their yoga practice and I believe Lanita will show me how.

In February 2010 I’m going to train right in my home town of Salt Lake City with Judith Lasater and Charlotte Bell to become a Relax and Renew Restorative Yoga Teacher. I’m overjoyed and excited for this opportunity, as becoming a restorative yoga teacher is one of my dreams. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t rest and relax in one restorative pose or another. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of restorative yoga and learning with Judith Lasater and Charlotte Bell is going to be the icing on the cake. I can’t wait to lug armfuls of blankets and a big bolster to the training to have the time of my life becoming the yoga teacher I’ve always wanted to be.

If you’d like to become a yoga teacher but don’t have the financial means to travel to an extensive teacher training, train at home in your spare time with a home study yoga teacher training course.  Learn more about Yoga Teacher Training at home.

Yoga teacher is also a student

I’ve been teaching a basic hatha yoga class at my local church for over three years and I’m grateful that I have a very loyal following.  My students think I walk on water when it comes to teaching them yoga, although I walk into class every week with a slight bit of stage fright because I feel like I don’t have enough experience to effectively teach.  I should be patting myself on the back because I teach at all, and that is something.  I actually love to teach, and I can’t wait to get more experience. Sometimes I get tongue-tied or I can’t remember the name of a part of the anatomy when I want to describe how to get in or out of a pose.  Or, when I don’t know what to do for a larger student who trying to get into a pose the rest of the class is doing.  That needs special training, and I’m not there yet.  But I will be.  I’ve had no formal training except for classes and workshops I’ve attended at the Yoga Journal Conference last year, or other classes and workshops I’ve attended locally.  I’m planning a couple of yoga teacher trainings in the coming year and they can’t come fast enough.

But, the questions my students and even other people who have never done yoga before ask me make me pause.  “You’re a teacher and you still go to classes? Why?” or “Well, if you teach, don’t you know everything?”  I don’t understand those questions, but I guess I’m also glad that my inexperience doesn’t show.  My students feel honored that I take the time to teach them. I know that I’m qualified to teach, because in the United States, one doesn’t need a certification to teach yoga, but I’d still feel better if I had one or two of them.  I’ve been told that teaching yoga is my “calling,” and I’m seriously working on that.

What do I say when someone implies that I know everything?  I say that yoga is a journey, not a destination, and as far as I’m concerned I’ll be studying, practicing, and teaching yoga for the rest of my life and I probably won’t know everything in the end. And that’s okay.

A heartwarming yoga experience with Charlotte Bell

I indulged in some quality time a couple weeks ago when I took a vacation from my day job and set some worthy goals for myself. My husband was on a river rafting trip in the Grand Canyon, and because we don’t have any children, I had glorious alone time to do what I wanted, and I was in heaven.

One of the things I rewarded myself with was to attend a yoga class taught by Charlotte Bell, author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life, a book that graces the shelf  in my yoga room. I’ve always wanted to go to her classes, but  because they’re at 5:00 in the evening, my work schedule keeps me from doing so, and I’m sad about that. I’d so much love to be one of her regular students.

I was a little unfamiliar with the location and I arrived just a minute or two late, and I was upset with myself. Luckily, she and her students were still engaged in conversation while stragglers (me) wandered in, so I didn’t feel so bad. I don’t like being late to any yoga class. I believe in settling in and meditating for a few minutes, and getting comfortable in my surroundings.

As I was setting up my mat, Charlotte came by and welcomed me to the class and told me that I looked familiar, although I don’t think she’d ever seen me before. She also said she was honored that I wanted to come to her class, and I felt really, really special. The pleasure and honor was all mine.

I wish I could attend Charlotte’s classes all the time and learn from her and teach with her. Her class was easygoing and engaging, and she was a real person, not someone I only imagined from afar or from the words in her book or from her photo on her web site.

Child's pose

That won’t be the last time I’ll see Charlotte as the Universe has lined up opportunities for me in the future and I am very grateful. I’ll be signing up for a Relax & Renew Restorative Yoga Teacher Training next February with Charlotte Bell and Judith Lasater, right here in Salt Lake City, and I’ll get the opportunity to get to know Charlotte and Judith, and learn what I really want to teach in my ever-expanding yoga teaching career. Judith Lasater is the author of the acclaimed book on restorative yoga Relax & Renew, Restful Yoga for Stressful Times.

Charlotte is also offering a restorative yoga class on Monday evenings at 7:15 p.m. at Avenues Yoga. Click here for more information.

Photo Credit: www.inneridea.com