OM meets...
Jessamyn Stanley
OM catches up with Jessamyn Stanley, a yoga teacher and body positivity advocate from the USA, who’s now inspiring people from all backgrounds and with all different bodies to explore the practice — a true yoga pioneer
Jessamyn Stanley is a yoga teacher and body positivity advocate and writer, based in Durham, North Carolina in the USA. Now 34, she’s gained a loyal following via her Instagram posts showing her doing yoga as a ‘plus-size woman of colour’.
She’s also a true pioneer, inspiring others and opening up yoga to a whole group of people who might have once stayed away, using high energy vinyasa flow as a way to move past mental and emotional barriers. Her classes provide a body positive approach that celebrates students’ bodies and encourages them to ask “How do I feel?” rather than “How do I look?” when practicing yoga. It’s a refreshing take in a yoga world saturated by Instagram lookalikes.
Here, she talks to OM about how her own practice developed, even after an initial bad experience, and how yoga has helped transform her life for the better.
How did you first get into yoga?
I got into yoga because a very close friend of mine (who now works with me) convinced me to try yoga again, after I had tried it once in high school and absolutely hated it! When I came back to the practice, I was offered an opportunity to be patient and compassionate with myself in a way that I had not experienced prior to that — and it changed the way I saw myself.
Who or what inspired you in those early days?
There were a lot of people I saw on tumblr who inspired me to keep at my yoga practice — one is Valerie @biggirlyoga on Instagram, and also Dionne Bondi. I saw them on tumblr and they inspired me to deepen my yoga practice.
Any tips for others just starting out?
My tips for students who are new to yoga is to start from where you are at right now. Spend as little money as possible on your practice: maybe a work opportunity at a local studio or YouTube videos. Building a home practice means you are always able to retreat within yourself. And don’t worry about what your yoga postures look like at all! Don’t be concerned with that.
What does yoga give you personally?
Yoga offers me a way to be patient and compassionate with myself, and to show love to the world around me, and to really experience the love that is always flowing around all of us all the time.
Who or what inspires you now?
People who are really living their yoga, really being authentic and honest with themselves. And the people who inspire me most are not people who would consider themselves yoga practitioners or teachers, but people who are surviving and thriving even when they are struggling.
Any favourite teachers or studios?
There are many teachers and studios who have fundamentally shaped who I am, and are a huge part of who I am. There’s no way I can do them all justice here but I feel like I can’t say anything without giving a shout out to the studio where I did my teacher training, Asheville Yoga Center (youryoga.com), which I still consider my yoga mothership. When I think of the teachers who impact me right now, I think about Elena Brower, Michael Johnson, and Mooji.
How would you describe your own teaching style?
I would describe my teaching style as trying to be as hands off as possible, so that people can teach themselves.
Yoga career highs so far?
My career highs so far are teaching in different parts of Asia, and also teaching in the UAE.
If you could change one thing about the yoga industry what would it be?
One thing I would change about the yoga industry: instead of talking about the materialism of yoga, let’s spend more time using our yoga practice to dismantle the systemic inequity that exists in our world.
QUICK Q&A
Q: Favourite book?
A: The Four Agreements
Q: Go-to health drink?
A: GTS Kombucha
Q: Most inspiring quote?
A: “Don’t allow the mountains in front of you to distract you from celebrating the mountains you’ve already climbed” — I don’t know who said that, but I wrote it down and put it on my board and look at it all the time! Another quote I like is from Reid Hoffman: “Entrepreneurship is throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling the plane on the way down.” I heard that summarised by Sara Blakely from SPANX (spanx.com), so don’t know if that’s word for word!
Q: Favourite yoga pose?
A: Probably right now, a wide leg seated straddle, because it requires that I submit, which is very difficult for me.
Q: If you could take a class as a student with any teacher from anywhere and from any period of time (now or in the distant past) who would it be with and why?
A: I would love to learn from Swami Satchidananda Saraswati, because he has had a huge impact on the way I practice yoga and I would love to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
