[GreatPerhaps]

I'm fairly new to yoga and have a lot of questions about practicing yoga with a plus size body. As much as I love the teachers at my studio, none of them are really equipped to answer my questions--I've been to a bunch of different classes and I am consistently the heaviest one (by far)!

I was wondering if there are any more advanced yogis on here. If so, how are you able to do challenging poses (like crow pose or scorpion pose)? I feel like being overweight would make that extremely difficult, if not impossible...did you have to lose a substantial amount of weight before you were able to do them?

Also, I apologize if this is a stupid question, but how quickly is it normal to advance in yoga? When will I no longer be a "beginner"?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Ekicna]

For me, yoga is 98% mental. As long as I breathe and relax I can do any pose I want. Sure, it takes strength to stay in poses but in my opinion, it is definitely mind over matter. Once you believe that you can do a pose and you focus and put all of your energy into it, you will see a huge difference.

Advancing in yoga is all about what you are comfortable with. I'm technically still a beginner since I haven't been practicing for long but I can do intermediate/advanced poses.

I hope I helped some.

[ncuneo]

I don't think I have any weight specific advice, I didn't start yoga until I'd lost all my weight. But all I can say is it's challenging regardless and only continued practice will gain you improvement with your poses. I'm still working on crow

[indiblue]

I consider myself advanced but I am not plus-sized.

I would imagine if you carry a lot of weight in your belly, crow pose would be difficult. If you're pear-shaped (like me!) I don't think it would be as much of a barrier. Scorpion... I think that one you could do.

Most of these poses (and others) are way more about strength and training your muscles to do things they haven't done before. That's what makes up the bulk of yoga. I would bet at higher weights you could still absolutely have an intermediate or advanced practice!