To The Fat Girl I Saw in (Dance) Yoga Class

This blog post was shared by my fabulous student Arya Pretlow earlier this week.  It really moved me and reminded me of thoughts I have had (and maybe you have had, regardless of your size or shape) when I take classes--be it dance, yoga, or any other kind of movement or fitness class.  I thought you would enjoy it, too.  It reminds me as a dancer and as a teacher how important it is that all sizes, all shapes, all fitness levels should be welcomed and encouraged. The dance is for all of us. Movement is healing.  Enjoy!

(PS Be on the lookout for a series of yoga for bellydancers workshops Arya will be teaching at Deep Roots Dance this year. More info coming soon!)

"Is it wrong that I am half in love with you? For being fat and at Hot Yoga? For shaving your legs and getting a GOOD pedicure and putting your big ol’ ass into yoga pants ? For unrolling your mat and claiming your space, a rounded duck standing defiantly on one squatty leg among flamingos.

Were you as happy to see me as I was to see you? I think you were. You kept PEEKING at me, under your armpit and between your thighs, when you should have had been looking at your Drishti, only to find I had abandoned MY Drishti and was misaligning my spine to peek at you.

We both tipped over out of tree because of it. But it was okay. We were a secret club of Fat Girls at Hot Yoga. We understood each other."

The full blog post is HERE.