What would it be like to be a "heavy" yoga teacher? That's what one Texan woman, Trina Hall, set out to explore in an "art project" where she intentionally gained 40 pounds in four months, then blogged about the experience.
Hall explains that she began the project after listening to the fears of one of her fellow yogis — her friend was desperately afraid of becoming the "fat yoga teacher." So, Hall decided to explore what that meant, what it would feel like to gain weight in the yoga world. Now, the Internet is abuzz over whether this project explores weight gain and loss in a healthy or unhealthy way.
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While it seems Hall's motivation was to explore our culture's obsession with size, there's something a little off-putting about about eating tons of junk food — which is how she claims she gained the weight — to experience life as a heavier person for a brief period. Weight gain happens for a variety of reasons, not necessarily because someone binges on junk food.
Hall is candid about how the weight gain made her feel: "Suddenly, my self-worth was proving to be connected to how good I looked wearing spandex – something I completely denied giving a shit about before this experiment – and that pissed me off."
Our culture's relationship with weight and size is so complex. While this particular project has its problems, it does open up a conversation around sensitivity, expectations, and so much more. But, what do you think? Is this project intriguing or annoying? (Treenuh Yoga)
Photo: Via Treenuh Yoga.