Mary and I met when we were undergraduates at Arizona State University and we immediately clicked. To this day, we can talk continuously from topics that range from theory, immigration laws, social justice, past lovers, and sex so good our toes still curl up from the memory! Our friendship is born out of mutual love and respect for each other as mujeres, colleagues, and comrades.

When Mary stepped into her first yoga studio, it changed her life and she immediately signed up for their teacher training. It was a summer intensive program, but with her massage therapy and Pilate’s background, bachelor’s in Public Health, and studying for her American College of Sports Medicine exam, she felt she could handle it. She is a super woman! She loved feeling her body and mind changing and getting stronger. However, as a Chicana she felt slightly out of her element in this environment. Even though Mary is petite, naturally flexible and light skinned, similar to her yogi peers, she felt uncomfortable with the lack of diversity around her, not only in race, skin color, class and ethnicity, but also in body size. While she was learning that yoga is for all body types, she couldn’t help but notice the environment around her was void of diversity. Mary could walk in a studio, fit the mold in some ways, yet still feel somewhat out of place, so how would someone feel that didn’t fit that stereotype of a yogi?

While conversing with Mary, I shared my painful experiences as a large bodied woman in yoga studios dealing with annoyed yoga instructors and students who did not have the patience to deal with someone needing help modifying poses. I tried doing yoga at home, but none of the online resources featured yogi’s that looked like me and when a thin body verses a large body does a pose, it looks completely different making it difficult to grasp the poses. The contradiction in the absence of visual representations of mujeres like me is that dominant society demands that fat people MUST exercise, yet whenever fat people are moving their bodies in public spaces we are called names, shamed, humiliated, seen as a giant eye-sore and a nuisance.

Mary and I decided to begin collaborating to make yoga accessible for women of color and women of size. This is where our concept of The Big Girls Code Rasquache Yoga was born. We named it Rasquache because we want to demonstrate that yoga is accessible without any special type of Lulu Lemon yoga tights or even a mat. We want to reach people that wouldn’t be considered typical yogis and show the world that despite what the media, the public, and the yoga studios put out, yoga truly is for every-BODY. We want to challenge fitness & health paradigms that shame people with large bodies engaging in physical activity and believe it is empowering to see mujeres who are large moving their bodies.

Yoga should be about loving yourself and enjoying where you are in that moment. Mary has taught me “doing anything with attention to how you feel is doing yoga”. I’m embracing my body, paying attention to my breathing and that feels really good. We believe that no matter your size or experience level with practicing yoga, you can try these poses at home and build off them according to your endurance. Currently, Mary has found a home teaching at Sutra Midtown in Phoenix and she is happy because their mission aligns with hers: doing community outreach initiatives that introduce all types of people to yoga. Although we live in different states, Mary and I look forward to collaborating more and continue demonstrating that all bodies are beautiful and regardless of size, it feels good to move.

Lots of Love,

La Chica Mas Fina and Mary Canisales

Please note: Practicing yoga is a choice and wether or not you chose to engage in physical activities is entirely up to you. Regardless of the choices you make, I want you to know that you’re a diamond baby! The intention of this post is not about advocating for a particular lifestyle, fat shaming or body shaming, it is about celebrating our self-determination and the freedom to make choices with our bodies as women of color and women of size. Every now and then, I still enjoy my cheeseburgers, pupusas revueltas, and tacos de asada and feel guilt-less because nobody has the right to tell me what to do with my body or how to live my life! I have the right to self-determination and so do you.

Watch Video Here:

List of the Poses: