Jessamyn Stanley

Jessamyn Stanley recounts her complicated history with yoga as a Fat, Queer, Black Girl in the lily white world of the yoga industrial complex in the United States. She reflects on her ongoing practice of yoga. Filled with short chapters recounting stories from her life, she lays out the history and philosophy of yoga. She does not flinch from talking about race, privilege, or appropriation.

This is a book about why she does yoga.

I savored this book. I ended up reading a chapter every few days, letting the words and ideas swim in my body. I want to love myself like Jessmyn loves herself. I loved her practical, non-judgmental, inclusive approach to doing yoga.

I am going to purchase a physical copy of this book, event though I read it as a eARC.… (plus d'informations)

'Every Body Yoga reminds us of what the ancient yogis knew: You are worthy and capable of starting yoga NOW. You need no special qualification to begin. Jessamyn's honesty and vulnerability as a story teller sweeps you up into the wonders of yoga and the curious way this practice is truly different for each person who is brave enough to enter its doors.'-Amy Ippoliti, yoga teacher, author, and earth activist.

Meet the unforgettable Jessamyn Stanley.

A yogi who breaks all the sterotypes. Jessamyn is a charismatic teacher who shares her personal story in a yoga book that breaks all the stereotypes.

Every Body Yoga is a book of inspiration for beginners, of all shapes and sizes-through her indomitalble spirit, Jessamyn convinces us that yoga isn't just possible, it's necessary, and we can all join in. It's a book for readers already doing yoga, looking to refresh their practice or find new ways to stay motivated. It's a how-to-book, with easy-to-follow directions to 50 basic yoga poses plus ten sequences to practice at home.

But most of all it's a book ta changes the paradigm, showing us that yoga isn't about how one looks, but how one feels. Jessamyn shares deeply personal, emotional stories-childhood dreams of becoming a beauty queen, the sudden loss of a beloved family member-with each one leading to a yoga flow that she uses when she needs to access a certain feeing: 'I want to energize my spirit,' 'I need to release fear,' 'I want to love myself.'

Taken all together, it's a body-positive, personal, accessible, often hilarious; and always emotionally uplifting approach that will help all people weave yoga seemlessly into their lives.

'Jessamyn inspires not only me but everyone she enriches with her message: that yoga truly is for everyone. For so long we've been shown a certain type of 'yoga body' and it's just not a reality-Jessamyn is proof, thank goodness! I'm so grateful for her work.'-Tess Hollliday, model and founder of #EffYourBeautyStandards

'Jessamyn takes a practice that can intimadate some and alienate others...and makes it accessible, inclusive, and extraordinary.'-Jes Baker, author of Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls.

'Every Body Yoga is an honest and empowering book that shatters paralyzing stereotypes...What a liberating call to experience yoga just as you are!'-Susan Moses, celebrity stylist and author of The Guide to Dressing Curves.

Jessamyn Stanley is an internationally recognized teacher, award-winning Instagram personality (@mynameisjessamyn), and body-positive advocate who's been featured on Good Moring America and in New York, Glamour, Shape, and People. Learn how to take a class and more at Jessamynstanley.com

'Jessamyn Stanley is the wake-up call everyone needs. Her message speaks loud and clear, not only to those interested in yoga, but to everyone interested in truly, boldly, genuinely living their life.'-Kelsey Miller, author of Big Girl.

'A yoga body is, quite simply, a body that does yoga. In Every Body Yoga, Jessamyn makes this abundantly, imperatively, and refreshingly clear.'-Katheryn Budig, author of Aim True and The Big Book of Yoga.

'Through her own experience and passion, Jessamyn Stanley invites everyone to join in the healing practice of yoga. Start where you are is the beautiful message of her book. Pass it on!'-Tara Stiles, founder of Strata Yoga.

In a yoga book unlike any other, the irrepressible teacher Jessamyn Stanley shows us that yoga isn't just an exercise. Her school of yoga-yoga for every body, regardless of ability, body type, age, or experience-is about a whole way of life, bold, empowered, and emotionally and physically authentic.

Contents

Why did I write this book?
Part 1: Let's get warmed up
'Hey, Jessamyn, how do I start practicing yoga?
'Is this a cult?'
The elephant in the room
Questions asked by (literally) every beginner yoga student
Part 2: What the hell is this?
The history of modern yoga, in a nutshell
What the fuck is the eight-limbed path?
Which yoga practice should I choose?
What should I buy?
Questions asked by (literally) every beginner yoga student
Part 3: Jessamyn's ABCs of asana
Getting started with asana
The poses-Standing poses; Balance basics; Hamstrings and core; Hips; Backbends; Restore
Questions asked by (literally) every beginner yoga student
Part 4: Okay, but how can I do this on my own?
How I learned my asana ABCs
Bring it on, bitch-Sequence: Sun salutation A & B
The oreo-Sequence: I want to get started
Jessamyn Stanley, pre-teen beauty queen-Sequence: I want to stand strong
A Chick-fil-A bandit walks into weight watchers-Sequence: I need to feel balanced
Tabor City funerals-Sequence : I want to see the world from another angle
A yoga practice grows in Durham-Sequence: I want to energize my spirit
Self-acceptance: The taboo-Sequence: I need to release fear
The scarlet A-Sequence: I need to chill the F out
One is the magic number-Sequence: I need to love myself
Part 5: Is it really that simple?
Index
Acknowledgments… (plus d'informations)

I needed this book. Mainly because every yoga book or DVD or video I watch has a bunch of tiny, skinny, people doing poses I'll never be able to do because I'm fat. I just am. Jessamyn describes herself the same way. Which is why I loved this book. She is frank, honest, and lays it out there in how fat people can still do yoga. You don't have to be thin or fit in to attempt self-care.

Yoga is good for me and I enjoy practicing it. It helps calm me down from a tension-filled day. I'm an extreme introvert and I spend nine hours a day, five days a week at work surrounded by noise and people in an open office environment and then I spend two and a half hours a day commuting to that job. It stresses me the fuck out.

There are days in the yoga class that for the entire 90 minutes my feelings just want to come out. Between the essential oils, music, soothing instructor talk, and stretching there are days when all the feels just explode and I spend the entire time with tears coming out. Not bawling. Just slow tears rolling down my face. I can't explain it. I'm just letting it all go. . . . . especially in the restorative classes. The emotional and physical strength and just plain self-awareness I'm learning will definitely help better me. I feel stronger when I'm finished. More energy. More balanced physically and emotionally. I feel the good it is doing for me. When I don't do it I feel the backslide.

So, I go to a yoga studio near me about 4-5 times a week. I find I hold myself more accountable if I pay a studio a month in advance for unlimited classes. I have all the equipment in my basement but I tend to find other things to do instead of going downstairs and doing yoga. I get lazy if I don't go to the local studio. I also like the actual instruction that if I can't do a pose the instructor will guide me to an adjustment that I can do. Bad knees. Bad shoulders. Some poses are just rough for me for joint and fat reasons.

My basement studio has an old TV and I can't find a DVD player to hook up to it. If I want to watch yoga videos I have to use my iPad and then I can't see the dang iPad on the floor. Geesh! Joys of getting older. And yes, I could go upstairs where the Smart TV is but I don't have much room and it's carpet.

The local studio I frequent and the teachers are enjoyable. Many days I'm actually the youngest one there and I'm in my late 40s. It's a bunch of old hippies and I say that in the nicest way possible because they are great women and super friendly. I don't feel judgment at all unlike some of the intown studios where judgment was everywhere. I wasn't young enough, skinny enough, nor did I have the "right" yoga props/attire.

Jessamyn speaks to exactly this problem. She calls it out. She tells her story a bit and why yoga helped her. There are many stories and many yoga poses. But, what I didn't find in the book was what I needed; changes and adjustments to actual poses for the fat people and people that have joint challenges. She didn't write it for the joint challenged but the fat challenged. So, why I feel her story is good and I enjoyed hearing it I really wanted to see some adjustments to the normal poses and how to work around my fat.

I spent many years playing softball and gymnastics. I'm still quite flexible and my body can still get into deep poses but then my fat belly or my boobs get in the way. How do I work around that? I feel like I need books or videos for fat girl yoga. When I was doing gymnastics the favorite part of it most days for me was the half-hour of stretching and warm-ups before training. I just wanted to do that more. Even back then I realized how much I enjoyed it but it just took most of the middle of my life to forget how good it felt for me to find my way to back to it. Some days all I want to do is to lay on the floor in savasana pose with the music. It calms my ass down.… (plus d'informations)