Amber Karnes started practicing yoga in 2004. Her yoga journey began after she heard people at her local gym talking about the benefits of yoga. Amber decided to take the plunge into the unkown and decided to go to a yoga studio in town.
I was terrified. I suspected that fat people didn’t do yoga – and still to this day, I am usually the only fat person in a class. However, my courage has paid off. From the first time I stepped onto the mat, it began to transform my relationship with my body.
Amber quickly became a fan of yoga and was encouraged by the support of her teacher. She realised the many benefits yoga had to offer her and her lifestyle, so much so that she enrolled on a yoga teacher training course.
I decided to go through yoga teacher training with the goal of deepening my own yoga practice. However, I discovered my passion for sharing the gift of yoga with other “misfits” who think they don’t belong in a yoga studio. I teach yoga to other large bodied people, those with creaky joints, beginners, and people who don’t consider themselves “yogis”. I am loving the ongoing challenge of learning how to help others make peace with their bodies, and make asana work for them.
Whatever your size or fitness level, you can do yoga.
Your ability to do yoga isn’t about the size of your body; it’s about the size of your yes.
Make this your year of saying a big YES to yoga!
