THE FAT YOGINI
  • Home
  • Diary of a Fat Yogini
  • Manifesto
  • About Me

On Why I Call Myself a FAT Yogini

6/22/2011

10 Comments

 
Because... that's what I am, silly!  

Obviously, that's not all I have to say on the matter, of course - otherwise, why a whole new post about it? But, that's really the bottom line, isn't it?

I was a very thin child, constantly underweight for my age even, until I hit puberty. From puberty onward, my body and me started getting curves!  And maybe that wouldn't have been so bad - except that, at that age, it sure feels like everyone had an opinion about the shape of my body (including myself). What hurt me most was not the extra pounds I carried, but the way I felt shamed and ostracized because of it.  

When I tried to participate in sports in PE, or on the track and field team - not because I wanted to lose weight, but because at that young age it didn't occur to me that people might think me incapable since I was fatter than them - I found that I was passed over again and again or picked last for teams. I was an unpopular girl in school. I wasn't noticed, and when I was - it wasn't positive. I was bullied, teased, and ridiculed. If I wasn't being picked on for being "fat" (looking back, I was a size 9 but felt/perceived as fat compared to my peers), I was being picked on for being smart. After all, reading wasn't cool at that age, rock bands, concerts, and dance were. 

A natural introvert, I was never destined to be popular, but I'll never forget the way it felt to be bullied for being fat.   As a teenager, to be called "fat" was gut-wrenchingly painful. It meant "not good enough", "ugly", "unworthy", "gross", "lazy" and dozens of other things... and those other things were often shouted with just as much vigor as "fat" in my direction.  

My mother was a chronic dieter for most of my life. So, naturally, when my self-esteem drooped, I would try "dieting" too. I would make up my own diets by mimicking my mother. And, because she tried them all - I had access to most of it. From meal cards to replacement smoothie mixes to meal replacement bars and drinks that tasted like chocolate flavoured dirt. No matter which one I tried, I saw little results but when I did I would get compliments from family and friends for "trying to do something about it".

The message was clear. It was only okay to be fat if I was actively trying to make the fat go away.

When I wasn't actively trying to lose weight, friends and family would make comments trying to "encourage" me to see the error of my ways. My older sister was constantly trying to make me prettier according to her standards. She never understood my lack of interest in makeup or in spending hours in front of the mirror "playing" with my hair and she sure as heck didn't understand why being fat didn't freak me out the way it apparently did her. I'll never forget the day she pointed at a picture of the two of us, when I was around 10 and said "Look how skinny you are in that picture, you were so cute then!".  She was quick to offer a follow-up "...not that you're not cute now" but I heard the "..." and I've never forgotten the way it made me feel.

Everyone in my life made it glaringly obvious to me that FAT = BAD.   

I really have to wonder if, without all of these outside influences, I would have ever hated my body the way I learned to in my teenage years. I had no reason, otherwise, to think my body was bad. I had tons of energy, was not shy about playing outside, running, biking, skating, or playing in sports. I particularly loved softball and had aspirations to join a team. But the more people treated me as "less than" "incapable" "lazy" "ugly" and "unworthy", the more I started to feel all of those things about myself and my body.  I spiraled into self-hatred and the more I hated my body, the more I mistreated it. 

Until, finally, I reached my breaking point. I was just tired of hating myself. I decided I wouldn't be held back by fear and so I started trying new things. I trained for a 5k charity walk/jog. I started riding a bicycle, or skating. I played Dance Dance Revolution with my Playstation in my living room. And, I began practicing Yoga.  

Now, fast forward to today. After many years of yoga, meditation, hard spiritual work, and learning to let go and PLAY, what do I know now?  

Today, I know that I am a valuable person - in fact, I am just as valuable (no more, no less) than any other person on the planet.  

Today, I know that health is a direct reflection on the way I treat my body.  

Today, I know that I am far healthier now as a fat woman who loves her body, than I ever was as a chubby girl who hated herself.  

Today, I no longer assume that my size determines my level of ability. If I want to learn to do something new and active and fun - I try it. If I like doing it, I keep doing it, no matter what anyone else thinks.

Today, I know just because society seems to be so desperately afraid of fatness , that they now describe it as if it were an infectious disease (read: epidemic), that does not mean I need to be afraid of my fatness.  

Today, I know that FAT is just a word to describe the shape of my body and does not inform the actual state of my health or level of ability.  

Today, I know that there are fat women out there doing things that some people might think we couldn't or shouldn't, because of our size. With one look at my twitter feed, I can see that there are fat dancers, activists, writers, nutrition professors and nutritionists, hoopers, derby girls, fashion models, successful actresses, body-positive artists, athletes, personal trainers, and of course Yoga Teachers out there challenging stereotypes and shaking things up.   

Today, I'm proud of myself and what my body can do and fat is not a dirty word to me anymore. Quite the opposite, I am empowered by my fatness.  


Yeah, that's right, I said I feel empowered by being fat!

If you're asking why, the answer is simple: going through the world as a fat woman has taught me that no one else can limit me. Their assumptions can't limit me. Their fears can't limit me. The only person with the power to limit me is me! 

Sure, society has a long way to go. I might get passed up for promotions to thinner, more socially acceptable-looking women or treated disdainfully by a stranger, a colleague, family member, or friend.  However, the same might happen to me for being queer, and I don't plan to divorce my wife just to make other people more comfortable, so why should I try to be thin just to make other people more comfortable?  

The reality is that people are going to judge me. That's life - and a sign that the world still has a lot of growing up to do. But the the valuable lesson that I've learned is that, these experiences don't have to stop me - unless I let them. So I don't. And, more importantly, by not letting them stop me - I'm helping make the changes I want to see in the world.  

So I call myself a fat yogini, because that's what I am. It is a mantra of sorts, a symbol of my choice to accept and love myself, embrace life with joy, and live with passion.

What do you choose?
10 Comments
daynya link
6/23/2011 05:11:50 am

This is FANTASTIC! I'm so glad you wrote it. I definitely had a similar path. I didn't think anything was wrong with my body, until others started calling me 'thunder thighs' on the school bus. I was 11, and probably 90 pounds. That and watching my mother hate her body, and take diet pills, eat packaged meals, get up at 4 am to work out obsessively, and then pass that on to me, it's all damaging. Not intentionally I'm sure, but when my remarks of saying 'I'm growing out of these pants' result in her saying 'I can help you lose weight' and put me on diet pills as a teenager, that IS damaging, and it still hurts. I'm proud of my body, I'm proud of it's size, and it's abilities. I'm proud to have an amazing community of people like you that I turn to, and share with, and grow with. Thank you :)

Reply
Lisa ~ Fat Yogini link
6/24/2011 03:56:24 am

Thank you so much, daynya!

I think our experiences have been shared by many. I seem to keep stumbling across news articles and personal blogs and stories shared by people who were raised to be obsessed with body size/shape. Parents are worried now for their children who starting as young as three and four years old start worrying about their weight!

I think that the trouble is that we place such value on conformity, on not bucking the system, and in the process, we tend to lose some of our humanity. In my opinion, we were never meant to be clones of one another but unique representations of the human experience.

Seeing my fat as a beautiful part of me is relatively new to me in terms of my lifetime, but I'm so grateful to have come to this place of acceptance at a relatively young age. Just think how many years ahead of me I have to enjoy feeling so great about my body.

It's a fantastic feeling!

And none of it would have been possible without the support and love of a burgeoning body-positive community in the Twitterverse, Facebook, and among my peers.

Times, they are a-changing!

Much love and Namaste,
Lisa

Reply
Anna Guest-Jelley link
6/26/2011 04:54:20 am

Rock on!

Reply
KatarinaMandarin
7/16/2011 01:57:20 am

Certainly to be healthy, like you said, has verylittle to do with weight. Mental health is as relevant and you have that and love yourself so much that you spread the love to others.

For healthier minds....

Peace and Love

Reply
Lisa ~ Fat Yogini link
7/16/2011 08:09:36 am

Thanks, Anna!!

And thank you, Katarina! :) What a lovely compliment.

Have a lovely day!

Namaste,
Lisa

Reply
Maribeth link
4/18/2014 03:36:28 am

I can totally related to being empowered by being fat! Inspired by you and the work of Anna Guest-Jelly I considered calling myself That Fat Dance Teacher for a while because the woman I hope to reach through teaching yoga and dance is the one who feels weak, graceless, or embarrassed by her body. I want them to be able to come to class, see someone they can relate to and think "Hey, if she can dance in front of a room full of people, if she can rock that yoga pose, so can I!" Keep up the beautiful work!

Reply
Lisa ~ The Fat Yogini link
4/18/2014 04:16:13 am

LOVE IT! :D I love love love that you're combining body positivity, yoga, and dance - awesome!

Reply
Diana
4/18/2014 07:15:56 am

I can relate to quite a bit of this post and must say that the more we share these stories with one another the easier it is to realize that my feelings are valuable and validated and shared whih makes the shame of it all less making it much easier for me to accept and love myself. Thanks for sharing :)

Reply
Lisa ~ The Fat Yogini link
4/19/2014 04:10:25 am

I agree with you, Diana. The more we talk about our vulnerabilities, the more we realize just how many of them we have in common with others. We are all made of the same stuff, after all. <3

Reply
Kayla link
4/27/2019 03:27:46 pm

Ha, yogini's are awesome!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Image Credit: Michele Mateus Photography

    Archives

    June 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    May 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    October 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

    Categories

    All
    Acceptance
    Anatomy
    Body Acceptance
    Body Positivity
    Body-positivity
    Body Positivity Yoga Studio
    Business
    Challenges
    Comparing
    Dreams Come True
    Fat Activism
    Fear
    Gender-neutral
    Gratitude
    Haes
    Indd
    Inner Wisdom
    Insecurity
    Inspiration
    Intention
    Intuition
    Journey
    Learning
    My Story
    Patience
    Pose Variations
    Queer Friendly
    Queer-friendly
    Self-acceptance
    Self Care
    Self-Care
    Sisterhood
    Stereotypes
    Students
    Studies
    Teachers
    Thoughts
    Trust
    Trusting Yourself
    Video
    Vulnerability
    Wonder
    Yoga Bytes

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Images of Lisa Papez, The Fat Yogini provided by Michele Mateus Photography (from the Body Love Now photo project - 2016)
Body Positivity Yoga™ and The Fat Yogini™ were created in 2011 by Lisa Papez. 
Teaching Yoga for All Bodies™ was created in 2014 by Lisa Papez
Teaching Outside The Mat™ was created in 2016 by Lisa Papez
The Self-Worth Path
™ was created in 2016 by Lisa Papez
Copyright © 2011-2020,  All Rights Reserved.
Picture
Google+
  • Home
  • Diary of a Fat Yogini
  • Manifesto
  • About Me