Jessamyn Stanley, a yoga teacher, author, and advocate, has become a prominent figure in the body positivity movement. With a significant online presence, including a large following on Instagram, Stanley challenges conventional beauty standards and promotes self-acceptance through yoga and her writings. Her journey and teachings offer a refreshing perspective on fitness, body image, and the pursuit of well-being.
A Shocking Revelation
Stanley's rise to prominence began when she started sharing photos of her yoga practice on Instagram. She was surprised by the reactions she received, particularly comments expressing disbelief that a "fat person" could perform such poses. This realization highlighted the pervasive societal bias against larger bodies and the underrepresentation of diverse body types in the fitness world.
One comment on a photo from 2014 encapsulates this sentiment: "I am so glad you have this page and I found you. Before seeing you in these pictures I didn’t think this was possible. Thought I had to lose 100 pounds before doing anything like this. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Stanley had never considered her body a barrier to physical activity. While she had personal insecurities about her size, she never believed it should prevent her from practicing yoga. This experience fueled her passion for creating an inclusive and body-affirming space for others.
Body Positivity in Action
Stanley's approach to yoga embodies the principles of body positivity, which encourages people to accept themselves as they are and believe in their ability to achieve their goals, regardless of their physical appearance. For Stanley, yoga is a physical expression of this philosophy.
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"I feel like yoga is body positive because it’s saying you don’t need to be concerned about what other people think of you," Stanley said. Yoga has shown her she’s strong and capable - both tenants of body positivism.
Stanley emphasizes that while yoga can be a tool for boosting self-esteem, it's not a complete solution. She believes that individuals need to address deeply rooted issues within themselves to achieve true body positivity.
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, a professor at the University of Minnesota’s school of public health and a certified yoga teacher, agrees that yoga can be a vehicle for improving self-image. “There is some research that suggests that individuals practicing yoga are more aware of their bodies and less likely to objectify their bodies,” she said.
Challenging the Status Quo
Jessamyn Stanley has joined other women fighting the idea that only people of certain sizes can do things. Like Tess Holliday, who became the first size 22 model to be signed by an agency, and Roslyn Mays, who has proven there’s no such thing as too fat for fitness through her award-winning pole dancing, Stanley is dismantling expectations about what a yoga body looks like and encouraging more people who don’t generally see themselves reflected in the yoga space to come along.
Stanley's popularity stems from her relatable and refreshing teaching methods. However, she has also become an accidental figurehead for body positivity. Stanley added that while she considered herself an advocate for body positivity, she didn’t set out on this path intentionally. “I’m just out here living my life, doing yoga, experiencing ups and downs,” she said.
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More Than Just Poses: A Holistic Approach
Stanley believes that true yoga extends beyond the mat and permeates every aspect of life. She emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and addressing internalized biases, including racism and cultural appropriation.
“I realized, once I actually started practicing yoga, that the most intricate and all-consuming yoga doesn’t happen on the mat. It happens in every other part of your life,” Jessamyn Stanley says. It’s pouring rain in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Stanley’s sprawled out on the floor of the RV she’s driving around the country with her partner. Between sips of water, the author and yoga teacher is explaining why she wrote her new essay collection, Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance. “So the book is really for anyone who has ever struggled with themselves,” she continues, “or felt like they don’t deserve to exist exactly as they are.”
In her book, "Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance," Stanley encourages readers to confront their own biases and strive for self-acceptance. She calls out the overwhelming whiteness that’s become a hallmark of yoga in the West, opens up about her own imposter syndrome, and advocates for living like no one’s watching. If her first book, Every Body Yoga (2017), is the practice, then this one is the theory. Don’t expect simple platitudes or easy resolutions: Yoke is more of an experience in witnessing Stanley grow and question herself on the page than it is straightforward self-help.
Stanley emphasizes the need to accept internalized racism, the complexities of capitalism, the aftereffects of colonialism, our cultural appropriation, sexism, and slut-shaming as parts of our society. “We need to start accepting… our internalized racism, the complexities of capitalism, the aftereffects of colonialism, our cultural appropriation, sexism, and slut-shaming as parts of our society. I definitely hear the argument of wanting to hold people accountable, but along with the calling out [of others], there has to be a calling out of ourselves. Calling out and calling in. I think people want to have a witch hunt; we don't want to actually see ourselves as the ones that could be hunted. But if we’re able to see ourselves as part of the same systems of inequity, it makes it a lot easier to be compassionate toward other people and actually seek resolution.”
Body Image Struggles and Self-Acceptance
Jessamyn Stanley openly discusses her own struggles with body image and how photography played a crucial role in her journey toward self-acceptance. By taking photographs of myself for my yoga practice, I really came to see the hateful things that I say and think about myself, and began to take responsibility for them. Accepting the way that I see myself has helped me have a deeper relationship with myself.
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She realized that she was often critical of her own body, and taking photos helped her confront those negative thoughts.
"There are whole years of my life where I don’t have any photographs because I was so afraid to look at myself," Stanley says.
Redefining Fitness
Stanley challenges the notion that fitness is solely about achieving a certain body shape or weight. She views fitness as a holistic practice that encompasses physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
"To me, fitness is just taking care of yourself," says Stanley. "There are so many different ways to be fit, and so many different parts of our physical bodies, our mental bodies, our emotional bodies, our spiritual bodies, that need to be kept at peak condition."
Stanley emphasizes that fitness isn’t about proving yourself to other people, she reminds us. It’s about learning your own strength and resilience while feeling your body move, shake, spin, sweat, and work so hard you’re panting joyfully.
Moving Away from Body Positivity to Body Liberation
While Stanley is often associated with the body positivity movement, she is increasingly advocating for body acceptance as a route to body liberation.
Ultimately body neutrality and body positivity, it’s all getting to the same idea that you’re okay today exactly as you are. I’ve always found that body positivity really, truly, is a much bigger concept than just positivity. The idea is that you’re okay today. Everything about you is perfect. Everything about the physical body is exactly where it needs to be. And now that you can stand in that place, where can you go from there?
The idea is to free yourself from the idea that anyone else owns you, [and] acceptance is the first step toward liberation. [And] I do find body neutrality frequently coming from a function of supremacy, wherein some people are allowed to feel like they are [getting a body deemed culturally attractive], or something and you want to get to a place where you’re always feeling like you’re the one.
Stanley believes that accepting every single part of oneself, including aspects that may be stigmatized by society, is crucial for achieving true liberation. "Like my fatness, my blackness, my queerness all these different things are imperative," Stanley said.
Lessons from Fitness for Daily Life
Stanley applies the lessons she learns from fitness to her everyday life, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and resilience.
Just keep going. Any kind of physical activity reminds you that you can endure. You can sustain. You have the stamina. You can make it.
She also highlights the joy of experiencing the body's capabilities and moving for the sake of feeling good, rather than for external validation.
The Importance of Inclusivity in Fitness
Stanley stresses the significance of visibility and inclusivity in the fitness industry.
It is powerful whenever you can see someone who looks like you doing something that you thought that you weren’t able to do.
She emphasizes the importance of accessible exercise clothes and environments for people of all sizes.
Advice for Beginners
Stanley offers encouragement to those who feel they don't fit the typical mold of a fitness enthusiast.
My advice is: Just do it. You are perfectly capable of doing it. Everything is exactly where it needs to be. Just start from where you are today.
Challenging Diet Culture
Stanley is critical of diet culture and its focus on external validation.
Diet culture is at its best when… you think that you’re deficient in some way. But with body acceptance, you’re saying, “This is my body, and I’m going to honor it by taking care of it.” [Everything] diet and wellness culture allegedly seeks can be found through acceptance of the self, not some magic potion.
She encourages individuals to prioritize self-care and body acceptance over restrictive diets.
Jessamyn Explains It All
Stanley's podcast, "Jessamyn Explains It All," and her upcoming Web series tackle taboo and politicized issues, further demonstrating her commitment to open and honest conversations.
The Underbelly Yoga App
Stanley’s new yoga app, The Under Belly, will launch early this year, helping to make her classes available to anyone with a smartphone or computer. Stanley realizes that this alone requires a certain amount of privilege, but she says she’s doing the best she can. She’s got bills to pay, too.