Every year around this time, I see workshops for special “Burn the Bird” yoga practices on the day after Thanksgiving. Sometimes the title of the workshop is seemingly just meant to tie in with the aforementioned holiday (or perhaps the yoga studio or instructor in question doesn’t recognize the connotations of the phrase); but often there is either a subtle or sometimes not-so-subtle insinuation that the focus of the yoga class is to burn off those extra calories you indulged in the day before.
Take these “burn the bird yoga “workshop descriptions for example:
“cleanse your body and spirit”
‘Holiday season leave you feeling full? Glutinous? Do you need to rinse, twist, and detox? This class is for you! Join us for 75 minutes to burn off the bird.“
“Ate too much turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie? No worries! We got you covered! Come and burn all that extra sludge off and get your weekend started off lighter!“
All of these yoga class descriptions reinforce feelings of shame that many people have around food, eating, and body image. Our yoga mats are supposed to be a refuge from our worries and the epidemic of body shaming that plagues our individual and collective psyches; however, often yoga studios and western yoga culture actually exacerbate existing body issues through images of particular body types in yoga magazines, yoga instructors who focus on practices to create a “yoga butt” or “tone your core”, and comparing our bodies to the bodies around us in yoga class.
If you are going to yoga to burn off extra calories, I am here to tell you that you are in the wrong place. Yoga is not supposed to be an exercise class, and it’s certainly not supposed to be a punishment for enjoying delicious food and experiences with friends and family.
In fact, yoga philosophy teaches us that we are not our physical bodies. Our physical bodies change - they get larger, they get smaller, they get taller, they get shorter, they get healthier, they get sicker, they get weaker, they get stronger, they get wrinkled, they get older (the one thing they don’t get is younger)! Our physical bodies are constantly changing. As therapist and eating disorder specialist, Jennifer Rollin, eloquently states, “even if you love the appearance of your body - it’s going to change.” And eventually, our physical bodies die - a moment that we practice for at the end of every yoga class when we rest in corpse pose.
The practice of yoga is not designed to make our physical bodies thinner, it is supposed to help re-connect us to our own true nature - to help us remember the goodness and wholeness that is already inside of us, whether or not we ate an extra helping of stuffing or mashed potatoes the night before.
Our physical bodies are too often the focus of yoga practice in the west - from yogis needing to wear the latest Lululemon pants, or enviously watching the person across the room do the “perfect” headstand or crow pose (spoiler alert: the only “perfect” pose is the one you do on your mat without comparing yourself to others or wishing you were meeting some arbitrary physical goal - the pose where you are perfectly content exactly as you already are).
Western culture teaches many of us, especially women, including myself, that we need to be smaller, and thinner. But instead of using our yoga mats to try to get smaller, what would it feel like to take up MORE space on our yoga mats and take up MORE space in the world?
Instead of “burning the bird” this Thanksgiving, I invite you to offer gratitude to your self and to your body for all of the amazing things it can do, and all of the unique experiences you are able to have because of your amazing, beautiful body.
If you’d like, you might choose to offer thanks and gratitude to your physical body with one or more of the following affirmations:
my body is beautiful
I love myself exactly as I am
I am whole, perfect, and complete
my body is a blessing
You might also remember the miraculous things your body can do that we often take for granted. I’ve listed some below as a guide (note: these are my personal remembrances of gratitude for what my body can do; everyone’s body is different and unique so yours might be different from mine!):
I am grateful to my lungs for filling with air, allowing me to breathe
I am grateful to my heart for pumping and moving blood all around my body
I am grateful for the ability to sleep at night and feel rested
I am grateful for my brain’s ability to think clear thoughts, and my fingers’ ability to type them and share my words with others
I am grateful to my stomach and intestines for their ability to digest and process the food I eat
I am grateful to my skin for protecting me from diseases in the environment
I am grateful to my legs and knees for allowing me to walk and run with ease
I am grateful to my vocal chords, mouth, and tongue for allowing me to speak and sing
If there is something amazing your body can do (of course there is!) or an affirmation that you love, please comment and share it below!
Wishing you a happy, healthy Thanksgiving filled with food, friends, family, and an extra helping of body-positivity!!
~ Andrea