Pear shape and thighs and bikram

wow I was just thinking about this today.
I have lost quite a bit of weight on my legs. i think that is the first step in all this cause now there is no more weight to lose there, and it is starting to really melt off my hips and butt. So keep it up ! And, enjoy!

I go very regularly.
Lost quite a bit over the summer (legs) and was getting nice compliments from my fellow practitioners.
Then during the Fall gained some weight back as I was fighting an infection.
On January 1 started a 30-day challenge, which is when I believe my body pushed itself into this next phase of weight loss.
I would not say I am someone who loses weight easily from the thighs or other parts of the body.
Now I am back to my regular 3 or 4 day a week routine.

Six months ago I gave up body pump, step, circuit training, and aerobics for hot yoga and swimming. I am quite tall and have an athletic build, and I am pear shaped.

Six months on my body weight has not changed but my body looks longer and leaner without the muscle bulk that I had before! Hot yoga really keeps the muscle mass without any bulkiness.

Some of the poses I find difficult because of my shape but that’s life. 🙂

I have a very positive body image and would rather a curvaceous body over a very thin one any day! Sometimes i notice that there is a bit of snobbishness around body shape in classes. Surely you should not be aiming to be thin when practising yoga should you? :-/ It is really important to realise that when you are strong then you will be toned which gives you shape!

I’m having a very similar set of issues/experience -it’s frustratng! Here’s what I’ve been told (both before starting Bikram and now, 5 months of dedicated practice in): for pear-shaped women, it takes a long-term commitment to lose weight/tone the rear, hips, thighs. When we lose weight, our bodies draw from the upper region (not where our concern generally lies) until there is absolutely NOTHING left to lose. Only when we have reached that point where our bodies have taken all they can from the upper half, will weightloss move downward. It’s the opposite struggle for the apple-shaped woman, though apparently, it is harder to lose lower body fat than any other kind. So keep doing what you’re doing! 🙂

Hi yogafan

It has only ever been my experience that regular frequent yogis (and yoginis) lose shape from their bodies, or tone but never in a way that has a longstanding bias! yogafan you mentioned you were concerned about bulking up in your thighs. I don’t think that is going to happen. Not unless you are cycling for miles and miles every week say as part of training for triathlons. Even then if you also practiced hot yoga 4 times a week you would lengthen a lot of those muscles anyway.

I think the thing to remember is that we are all different and although some of us (me included) have a tendency to be more pear shaped, that the overall exercise that you get from the yoga is going to balance you out. It may however take time. I am sure I have mentioned it before, that you can go for weeks and weeks and not see much change (although you may feel better in your clothes) you may see a reduction in overall size and still see your ‘pear’ shape. Then just like magic the change will be obvious and you wondered how you thought nothing was happening for so long.

I have found going 4 times a week and more often can make a difference by making the changes appear more quickly.

The other thing that is worth doing is really focusing on clenching your buttocks in the poses where you are supposed to. Pay attention to this because there are times you are focusing so hard on the pose you let something go – and for you that might be your bottom or your leg locking.

Becks thanks for your points on body shape and body image. The focus may start out being weight and shape change but the longer you go the less it stays that way. Most make the change to aiming for wellbeing and health.

Yogafan – please tell me what poses you are having this tightness in or if it is an overall thing. You are doing 5-7 classes or hours per week right? I have a sneaking suspicion you could do with a little technique tweaking somewhere in there. FWIW I have a student right now who has the same problem. She has switched studios to work with me. She was going to the other one for 8 months and was getting tighter and tighter. In only a couple of classes she is finding her body is lengthening again. May I have some more specifics?

Namaste and thanks to all for an interesting thread
Gabrielle 🙂