Thanks for stopping by!  My name is Lisa, and I am a self-proclaimed fat yogini in Vancouver, BC.  And, now, I am also a Certified Yoga Teacher.

I embrace the philosophy that women can be healthy at any size. Yoga in mainstream media is overwhelmed with images of slender pretzel-people and I am here to tell you that yoga can be skinny or fat, short or tall, round or square, "pear-shaped" or "apple-shaped", sweaty or dry, calming or energizing. The point, is, that yoga is for YOU, whoever you are, and whatever you look like.

I do not intend to promote Yoga as a means to lose weight, rather I invite you to experience Yoga exactly where you are - in the amazing body you inhabit.  Incorporating the idea of Health At Every Size into my teaching style, I will show you how amazing you can feel, no matter your size, shape, or level of ability.

From my own experience, I can tell you that when you embrace the practice of yoga, both on the mat and off, there are many physical and health benefits to be gained. I have personally experienced a reduction in body fat, an increase in muscle mass, improved posture, balance, and increased physical and mental energy, and more. I have also experienced a greater love and understanding and respect for my body, an inner beauty that radiates outward into my life, a new understanding of myself and the ways I walk through the world and a deeper connection to self and spirituality.  

The point is, that whatever you hope to gain from yoga, the most important thing you can do for yourself is to respect that your experience on the mat and off in your yoga practice is, will be (and in my opinion, should be) completely, uniquely, one hundred percent yours. 

My goal, in teaching yoga, is to push past common yoga stereotypes and provide a safe space for people who may not feel comfortable in today's mainstream yoga class, so that they may experience the positive benefits that yoga can bring to their lives.  I would like to teach you how to get to know your own body, move it in gentle, strengthening, restorative ways and reap the physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits from a practice that originated over five thousand years ago.

My dream is to show people who don't necessarily realize that Yoga can be for them - that Yoga is for EVERY body!  Yoga has been an amazing blessing in my life and I want to be able to bring this beautiful, empowering practice of yoga to other bodacious, curvaceous people like myself.  Whether you already LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your body, or you want to learn how - this yoga will be for you.  

While you're here, please feel free to read a little bit more about me, or check out my blog, Diary of a Fat Yogini..  

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Om Mani Padme Hum

Namaste,
Lisa
 
 
 ©Lisa Papez February 2011