Lets Get Real about Yoga, Body Shaming and Objectification of Women

I was exclusively selected to present at the UNCG Fit Expo in February!!! UNCG (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) has a huge Fit Expo each year and this years theme was about pushing limits. A fellow yoga teacher and I submitted a presentation around yoga and body shaming.

Lets be real, this shit happens. You step into a room and immediately size yourself up with everyone else in the room. If you say that you don't you are either lying or you are lying. I even do it as a yoga teacher. Over the last 2 years I have worked tremendously on breaking down these walls. There is actually a lot of research behind this concept of body shaming and objectification in the yoga world.

Take a look at these stats, a brief overview of psychological research on objectification, body shame, and physical activity.
--Women internalize idealized cultural representations of the female body, reporting dissatisfaction with their own bodies as a result (Striegel-Moore & Franko, 2002)

--This has resulted in a phenomenon of self-objectification, which is associated with myriad negative physical and psychological outcomes, from disordered eating to depression, appearance anxiety, and body shame (Fredrickson et al., 1998; Greenleaf & McGreer, 2006; Noll & Fredrickson, 1998; Slater & Tiggemann,2002; Tiggemann & Kuring,2004; Tiggemann & Slater, 2001).

--In young women, motivation for physical activity that is rooted in physical appearance was related to higher levels of self-objectification than other motivations (Strelan, Mehaffey & Tiggemann, 2003)

--Women with high levels of self-objectification tend to engage in less physical activity than those who tended not to view their bodies as objects (Greenleaf, 2005)

The proof is there, when we feel unwelcome, objectified or shamed in the fitness room or the yoga studio our motivation to come back diminishes. Why must we compliment each other on their 'yoga body' or aim to do a 15 days 'yoga sculpt'? Why do we have to call classes beginner, advanced etc... why can't we move from that language and towards class titles such as "love yourself candlelight flow" or "shakti rising"?

As yoga teachers, can we shift our words from... "advanced version of this pose" to something a bit more inclusive and in line with ahimsa (non-violence) such as, "Listen to your body, let your breath be your guide, perhaps move here, the choice is yours"

Can we embody our own experience on the mat, in a fitness class, and in life. Can we compliment each other on our qualities not our clothes or how we practice yoga. By shifting the language AND our intentions we can become even better yoga teachers and contribute to meaningful change in the world!

I am so excited to present this topic at UNCG next month!! It is such valuable information that gets pushed to the side! So I ask you, how can YOU create physically inclusive, non-shaming yoga/fitness experiences that allow women specifically to engage with the practice as an intrinsically enjoyable physical activity?