Seeing that here is a lot of bias, not to mention downright hatred of people are overweight it doesn't surprise me. Even though I have been fortunate enough to find instructors who really do practice unconditional accpetance of any and all, it is a sad fact that even though there is a lot of messages saying how wonderful yoga is everyone, the unsaid part of that is "but only if you are the 'right' size." Although my understanding is the practice of yoga is supposed to be on acceptance of one self and others, it seems to be more a "warm fuzzy" shallow practice than reality. It will be interesting to see what other comments you may get. I would be surprised if any of it is even remotely supportive of plus size people. It seems people equate weight with value as a human being. I would love to think your readers would prove me wrong, but I doubt it.

Humans come in many different shapes and I've learned that my shape is unique to me, but is called Plus-size by the retail establishment. When I do inversions, I need a lot more support than lululemon gear offers and I choose to wear clothes that I can find at your average sports store or Sears, New Balance or teamestrogen.com, which have great selections of plus sized clothing. There is a certain aesthetic in that trendy yoga gear, but that's not why I do yoga. It is the breathing, sense of calm during meditation, and the physical joy of doing vinyasa that I find so exhilerating about yoga, not the clothing. I want to be covered by comfortable and supportive fabrics, usually in a shade of black and I can find those many places other than lululemon. So what if is not covered in some sanskrit or ethnic print?

Yes, I do think the yoga fashion industry favors smaller thinner bodies. Just look at the ads in the yoga magazines, which almost always feature a small thin yoga practitioner on the cover and as models for the articles, and you'll have the answer.

I took an interest in yoga back in the 80's when Lilas Folan taught an early morning yoga show on PBS. Since then I have seen yoga transition from a healthy spiritual way of life into a big business commercial venture marketed that is in some cases marketed as one of any number of weight loss systems.

BTW, I don't buy the pricey yoga clothes. I wear cotton t-shirts and long pajama pants to class. They're roomy, comfortable, and come in a wider variety of colors and prints.

i hope this article inspires some yogapreneur/fashion designer out there to provide clothing for the yoga market in larger size that is not only flattering to the figure but does the job in a practical-wear-to-yoga class sense. since i am on the petite side (read: short) and understand how disconcerting it can be to go into a store and not find something in my size, i think it would be great to have a yoga-inspired store that doesn't target the skinny minis but average to plus sized yogi/ins, since specific shapes and clothing styles compliment different body types i would like to see a boutiqe targeted towards the rest of the yoga population. if new students feel comfortable in their clothes they will be more likely to show up to class!

When I began practicing at a yoga studio, I was terrified of not fitting in because I couldn't find any outfits that fit me that had any style to them. I finally settled for basic fitness wear and was lucky enough that the studio and instructors I found (as well as the others who practice there) are far more worried about me as a person and my practice than they are about the clothes I wear. It is a bit disheartening that the brands carried in the boutique at the studio tend to fit only the tiny folks, but they are trying to keep larger sizes mora available.
Because of the welcoming nature of my studio, I even feel ok being a little larger than most practitioners when I am there. It is clearly unimportant how big I am to the majority of folks there!

I am sure yoga apparel companies do their share of marketing research and produce sizes according to projected demand. This is not some insidious plot to discriminate against larger people, just a fact of statistics.

Well. If you do yoga, and you exercise and take care of yourself, you're more than likely to lose weight and be thinner. It's really obvious to me that a yoga fashion designer would use thinner models to model his/her designs.

I have searched the Web and cannot find any sizes larger than a 14. Did you know Marilyn Monroe wore a 14-16, and she was considering sexy and womanly!

Back to reality. In this era of "vanity sizing", i.e. the old 6 is now 0, the old 8 is now 2, it is impossible to find yoga clothing. I weigh 300 lbs, 150 of which I gained when I started menopause 10 years ago, along with hotflashes, insomnia, headaches, etc. My friend suggested I try yoga to help with the insomnia (and perhaps the weight). You should see the looks I get when people find out I do yoga! It's insulting and demoralizing, so I do my yoga practice at home with numerous DVDs (my favourite is Baron Baptiste). I'm hoping to join a class once I've lost the 150 lbs. Only then will I be accepted. What a shame that the yoga community judges on looks -- I thought they were above that!

However, what keeps me going is that my dream vacation would be to attend one of Baron Baptiste's boot camps. What fun that would be.

I teach a Voluptuous Vinyasa class and it is heartbreaking when I see my ladies show up in giant size t-shirts and sweats. I encourage them to wear tighter fitting clothing to ensure proper alignment and so that they can move around easier (have you ever tried to do downdog in a huge t-shirt? you'll suffocate!) but their largest complaint is that there are no yoga clothes that fit them. I appreciate that some yoga companies are making size 12-14 but those aren't even plus sizes!! Yoga should enable people to begin a journey to health and feel whole no matter what shape or size but unfortunately the corporate yoga world hasn't caught up with that philosophy yet.

There is a difference between not making plus sizes and not carrying plus sizes. From a business stand point, it doesn't make financial sense for a store to carry sizes that it doesn't sell a lot of. At my yoga studio, they always sell out of the mediums and the large and small size has to be marked down to get rid of it. As long as the sizes can be special ordered, I don't see a problem.

I agree that manufacturers and retailers of yoga apparel should accomodate bodies of all sizes and shapes, and that they are not doing a very good job of that right now. The emphasis on yoga fashion and apparel by many yoginis has always struck me as being at odds with the philopsophy of yoga. It seems so materialistic and deluded. I wish the yoga world would focus a little less on being hip and trendy and more on the core values of yoga.

BTW, I am saying this as somebody who is fit and can fit into the apparel. I wear basic athletic wear from Target. I have been toying with the idea of buying a real yoga outfit. All my yoga outfits have stretched out and become too baggy. I have a lot of reservations about supporting retailers that use yoga to make money. I wish YJ would do an article about this topic.

I'm a bit smaller than average, though not teeny by any stretch of the imagination. I get frustrated because there seems to be an assumption that all women who do yoga are flat chested. Manufacturers, some women have breasts!

I totally agree about Lululemon. When the store first opened I loved their pose top and then they had a top called "may I hold those for you" top, but they changed them. None of there tops have enough support for larger busted women. I've emailed them several times about this. I even bought stock in the company when it first started... I wouldn't now. When I bought these tops if they had several in my size I would have bought a few.

Just yesterday I went looking for yoga pants. I am 5 foot 4 inches and weigh 131 pounds. I kid you not, I tried on at least 10 pairs of yoga pants, fitness pants, running pants, everything they had!

I couldn't even fit into some of the brands LARGE size. and seriously, I am totally normal height and weight. most of the pants were so tight they obscenely displayed the topography of my anatomy.

I have full length bicycling tights (i.e. designed to BE tight) that fit more comfortably and appropriately than most of these yoga pants.

Being a big guy, and hence part of a demographic generally ignored by yoga magazines as well as companies like Lululemon, I find that pretty much everything in the yoga world is made for people smaller than I. Most notably, the standard yoga mat really isn't made for people over six feet tall. And don't get me started on those chair-back things--I realized on my last yoga retreat that they were going to be the death of my back if I didn't stop using them...

It is not just the yoga fashion industry that discriminated against the shapely, larger women. I am a yoga teacher and have a larger body. I have a friend that also teachers yoga and often looks at a certain student and says, "she has got a perfect yoga body"! I do not take this personally, well sometimes. Then I think, what is the perfect yoga body. A skinny body who mind often wanders to how good she looks compared to the bigger woman in front of her? Then there is the larger body that may be not a strong, or flexible, but works at her level, accepts and loves herself and has set an intent to be present and feel. Who in this case has the perfect body for yoga?

A big SLAP to just above everyone here...

Yoga is not a fashion show people.

And for the big people who think everyone is watching and judging, remember that when you love yourself what others think will not matter. Perhaps you're best getting back to the fundamentals yourself instead of acusing all and sundry of treating and looking at you differently.

Peace.

Can we please simply ask that they *expand* the range of sizes, rather than stop making small ones? I'm pretty petite all around, and it's wonderful to have one activity in my life where I don't have to outfit myself in the kids' department.

I absolutely agree. I'm 5' 8.5" tall and large-framed, and I can't find yoga clothes to save my life. I found two pairs of organic cotton yoga pants at Nordstrom in SF, and I make do with Danskin pants because they're light and airy, but the more fancy yoga stuff - the "Be Present" pants for example - are not made for anyone anywhere near my size. Don't get me started on the tops - I have to wear a proper sports bra with tank tops to feel comfortable and adequately covered, but if I could even fit into those teeny little fitted tanks, I'd be falling out of them the minute I took my first down dog.

I am not plus-size...but I actually don't find much of the yoga apparel comfortable at my size! I feel that even if it fits, I feel 'awkward' wearing tight, 'trendy' clothes to practice in and that I'm getting dressed up for class almost! I actually prefer a waistband-ed pair of loose capris that don't hug my thighs and derriere and allows me room to move and breathe...and feel comfortable in. That way when I'm in Downward Dog I'm not worrying about my underwear showing....
I recently started a blog about my foray into Yoga as I have started Teacher Training and have muchhhhh to learn. Any comments/advice are greatly (immensely!) appreciated :) Take care.

Yes, I think most yoga clothes (and I resent the term "yoga fashion") are simply designed for women with no curves. I would love to see a line of yoga wear come out that's more flattering to women with hips and thighs and I have yet to find that.

I have been going to yoga classes for over a year and am obese. I love yoga and need the peace that it brings to my life. I often rely on Eddie Bauer's clearance section or Danskin to order yoga clothes. I have even had people tell me to take a look at the clothing the studio offers not realizing that I can't fit it. I guess that is a good thing. Most people seem to thing that I am a 16 or 18. However, I am a 24 so there is no other choice for me besides stores with a larger selection. I do think it would be more encouraging for yoga stores to have 16s or 18s in house but would not expect my size to be there. As for yoga helping me lose weight, I am stronger and have more muscle definition in my arms and legs. But I am still fat and very happy and peaceful.

I have been practicing yoga for about 15 years. I have seen the amazing changes that have occurred in my body and mind through diligent practice. I am strong and healthy and can do many advanced poses and I am also a size 14 to 16.

Until the past year or two, I made no effort to buy "yoga wear" and practiced in a pair of loose fitting yoga pants from old navy and a tank top or snug t-shirt that allowed me to do downward facing dog without having my shirt fall in my face. But, maybe because I am pushing 40 and getting vain, I started to look around for some of that cute yoga-wear in my size. I was embarrassed that I could not fit into most yoga gear of any brand! The sizes really do run small and do not seem to be made for a womanly figure. I really cannot find a flattering pair of yoga pants anywhere. It was a very disheartening experience.

At the Iyengar studio where I take classes, we have students of all ability levels and ages and all shapes and sizes. Our teachers accommodate all kinds of people with challenging and carefully crafted sequences. Sometimes I think it would be nice to show up in something other than recycled pajamas, but until Lulemon and the other companies start making clothes with me in mind, I will save my money.

As someone who spent the first 25 years of her life being "plus size", I have to say, for the most people, suck it up and stop lying to yourselves. Yes, the fashion industry is evil. However, you doctor isn't. Research has shown that if you are even 5lb overweight, it is a strain on your heart. I'm not thin because I want to be pretty. I thin because being overweight is unhealthy.

That being said, yoga is a great way for everyone to be healthy! There *should* be plus size clothes. The last thing pluses need is one more excuse to work out. I speak from years of excuses. :/

I love clothing and I love yoga-why shouldn't I want to wear cute yoga outfits that do no expose my tummy when I do Downdog???

I am a 12-14 and I find it challenging to find the correct size and comfort level. I have practiced yoga for 30 years and I have learned to love my body-tummy pooch and all. The world would be so boring if we were all the same!

I understand that yoga isn't a fashion show, especially when I am doing it alone in my attic, and yes, sometimes I do it in my pajamas and baggy shirts, but like a poster above wrote, it is hard to get into positions and postures with lots of extra fabric bustling about, or do an inversion when your tee shirt falls down over your face, showing off your belly roll.

I understand that mainstream yoga clothing manufacturers can't make clothes for every size, and that marketing to plus size women might not be part of their business plan, but that just means there is a market for a niche manufacturer, one free from competition, who can come onto the scene and design a line that covers and controls my belly and makes me look good doing it.

I am a 500hr RYT teacher. I also am a 14-16. although I can find yoga pants. I am busty and can"t find tops that are longer enough not to mention modest enough. So if anyone out there is interested in designing clothes for me let me know. Yoga is for everyone not just the slim models, so designers of sport clothes are really missing a big part of the market.

Thanks to yoga and lots of biking, I can fit into size 12 yoga gear -- usually. But I find the local retail outlets, Lululemon included, do not stock many articles in size 12. I've hardly ever seen size 14 except online -- and then it's the rare exception. And like some of the other writers here, I'm busty and no yoga apparel manufacturer makes any tops that are appropriate. If you're more than a size A or B -- forget it!

Based on the classes I see here in the Seattle area, there are lots of women who are size 12 or larger. Generally the women who are Baby Boomers and no longer as thin as when they were younger.

I find it surprising that the yoga gear manufacturers haven't identified this market segment as a lucrative business opportunity. Despite all the wonderful principles of yoga, if the yoga gear manufacturers don't believe they can make money by designing and selling a particular product in a particular size, they won't do it.

I teach yoga in a rural farming community in the midwest. I have students of all shapes and sizes. One lady wears bib overalls as she comes directly from helping her husband get the crops in-it's that time of year.
Many here are overweight, many are living at poverty level, many are unemployed. I have never heard 'yoga clothing' discussed ever. I am humbled that these people come to my class each week and pay me to share yoga with them.
What do I wear? Right now I have on 10 year old yoga pants that used to be 'black' and a tshirt my daughter made me. It works.

Seriously isn't it more sad that there IS a yoga "fashion" then what size it comes in? Ins't yoga about movement and breath not what you are wearing do that?

I'm a plus size woman doing bikram yoga. I went to old navy and found yoga tops that I layer for support. oldnavy.com has yoga pants. I wear leggings from walmart. in the true spirit of yoga practice, while i'd love to wear pretty yoga tops and shorts, my body is not the same as my instructor. There is no is no competition and where I practice accepts me without prejudice. There is no special class, we just do our individual best.

I think it was super interesting to read all of these comments. This is a huge topic in the fitness industry in general and yet yoga's spiritual aspect brings a new angle to it.

I am personally a fashion designer and also practice yoga every day. I have been doing yoga for nearly half of my life. I have always been interested in creating my own yoga brand and definitely want that to be part of my life someday. I also am looking into teach training.

As to the topic of Fashion VS yoga- as a fashion designer I have to say that you be an avid yogini, be non-judgemental, and still want to wear and buy "trendy" yoga clothes. For me, it's not about what I look like to others in class, but what I feel like in my clothing. I want to lok in the mirror during dhanurasana (Dancer) and see me as I want to see me. If that means wearing a yoga outfit with calming colors or eye-catching prints, then that's what I'll buy! because it makes me feel good, and it makes my practice confident and buoyant!! TYoga and fashion are not mutually exclusive!! Judging someone for wearing or liking trendy yoga clothing is just as anti-yoga-philosphy as judging someone for NOT wearing it. GO YOGA FASHION! :)

I am lucky enough to have been born with "skinny genes" although I have been through the freshmen 15 (or shall we say, 25) as well as the "first-job 15" (or shall we say...30...) Yoga has ALWAYS been my method to come back from these tough parts of my life. I have, by a long stretch, never been fat (although an ex boyfriend once called me fat, and I will never forget it...this was when I was in college and 5'8" 140 lbs...) I also am lucky enough to have been born with boobs. I hated them all through high school and most of college because they can really be an uncomfortable asset...but I have learned to love them! But it does make finding a good yoga top nearly impossible. I just wear sportsbras.

In my many years in yoga I have always (as a skinny girl who has pretty much always been THE skinny girl) been amazed at how much the larger yogis can accomplish. I am not trying to be insenstive or judgemental but as someone who grew up doing dance and gymnastics I was conditioned from an early age to believe that the thinner you are, the more you can do. It's just the way gymnasts and dancers are taught most of the time (sadly). Yoga taught me to completely open my mind from this assumption. I remember coming into a yoga class thinking I was all that because I could do the splits and handtands and have always had a lot of natural flexibilty. And then i was shown up by someone much larger than me!! I have noticed that a lot of yogis who are very devoted to their practice, including a lot of teachers, often have a certain softness to them physically. Of course there are those that are tense with muscle and thin as a whipchord but they are not the majority.

Anyhow, as a fashion designer I would love to start a yoga line that welcomes larger sizes. However, I dislike the idea of a plus size only yoga line, or a plus size line of any kind. I think the larger sizes should be included with the smaller. I think maybe the larger sizes could have extra details that provide better support, but should be sold at the same price point and with the same fun deisgns as the smaller sizes.

While I try hard to be accepting and non-judgemental, and I know that every person is different and has different physcial traits working for or against them, I do think that each person is responsible for the most part for their weight and I have a hard time identifying with people who do not respect their own bodies. Eating Healthy, practicing regularly, and being fit all go hand in hand. Each one encourages and magnifies the other. If you are truly committed to having a healthy mind, body, and spirit, then you WILL obtain those things through yoga! I think people of every size should be able to be comfortable doing yoga and being in their yoga clothes. Only offering clothes in smaller sizes does nothing for the people who are larger in an unhealthy way and really have the desire to CHANGE that. I absolutely respect those people and admire their motivation and courage. While I may not be able to identify, I am able to encourage. EVERYONE should have yoga!!!! And everyone should be able to look in the mirror in a yoga class during their favorite pose and be proud of what they see. If that takes pajamas and a teeshirt and a smile, then GREAT! If it take 100$ lululemon printed yoga pants, then GREAT! If it takes wearing nothing at all, then GREAT! (ok...maybe that one is only ok at home ;))