Friday Q&A: Larger Women

Q: Do you know if Baxter is going to talk more about teaching to larger women? I had a class at Piedmont Yoga Studio for larger women and I think one problem that was overlooked was that larger women “seemed” to be more flexible in certain areas where they oftentimes were hanging on their ligaments from bearing the weight. I remember at the beginning these women were so “proud” that they were able to do certain things but we had to work on containment. At the time I was one of the larger students and so I learned this firsthand.

Briefly it happens most in poses that require external rotation in the legs as many larger people are already overly externally rotating. The solution is to make them consciously aware of this and start to work on not going to the extreme in these rotations and then working on internal rotations (oftentimes using straps and blocks) to build those muscles up so there’s more balance.

This happens both in standing poses as well as others, such as Supta Padangusthasana and even Child’s pose. The knees in Child's pose are so externally rotated that it’s no wonder there are so many knee problems. Baxter can probably address the knee problems too as I've seen many larger people hyper-extending in the knees, again putting so much stress.

A: Thanks so much for your helpful comments! It’s always great to get feedback from someone who has worked first hand with a particular group and who also has personal experience. Yours are very accurate observations. It seems to me that people with larger body mass in the lower belly and thighs, either because recent weight gain or a lifetime of being heavy, tend to push the belly and thighs apart through external rotation. The result is a “functional” imbalance (overly externally rotating) that can be brought back into balance, as you have pointed out.

But I would also like to add that I’ve also observed among the larger students that, just like any group of students, there are some people that have the opposite problem: very limited mobility. This is due to stiffness in their muscles, as it is for the general population, and is not related to their weight. So until we have more evidence about trends for larger people, it is best for all of us not to make assumptions about any individuals or ourselves. Instead, always start with your own observations about yourself (or your students).

—Baxter