7 Perfect Yoga Poses for Plus-Sized Women

One of the many reasons that yoga is so amazing is that it’s for anyone and everyone!  It does not discriminate when it comes to age, size, flexibility, body type, gender, etc.

Sure, some people have to work a little harder at it than others.

Some of us were born with a lot of natural flexibility (unfortunately I am NOT in that category). Some of us were born with a lot of natural balance (I missed that boat as well…).

For others, it may be a little more difficult.  But you CAN do it, and you will appreciate it that much more!

Yoga is about the journey.  It’s a mental and a physical one, and it’s about growing as a person throughout your journey.  It’s not about being a certain size or level of flexibility.

You are successful as long as you continue to grow and change. Having a bigger frame can make it a little harder to balance, hold ourselves up, and reach certain places.

These yoga poses are the perfect beginner poses for plus-sized women.

This post may contain affiliate links, which helps keep this content free. Please read our disclosure for more info.

1. Cow Pose

Cow pose is usually performed as a flow or “vinyasa” with Cat pose, below.  They are great poses to start with to warm up the body.

Begin on your and knees, with your hands directly below your shoulders and your knees hip-width apart.  As you inhale, round your back as much as you can. Tighten the abdominals, and imagine that there is a rope around your belly, pulling it up towards the ceiling.

Breathe in deeply and as you exhale, go into Cat pose (below).

2. Cat Pose

Cat pose begins in the same position as Cow pose.

These 2 poses are ones that you can choose to really work the body in or just go through the motions without feeling anything.  Make sure that you are consciously moving your body and feeling the stretch.

As you exhale, arch your back.  Focus on pushing the butt out and the shoulders back to intensify the stretch in the back.

3. Half Lord of the Fishes

Spinal twists such as this one are great for decompressing the spine and improving posture.

We could all use a little better posture in our lives, right?

As you exhale, twist your body to the right.  You can increase the stretch further by putting your left elbow on the outside of your knee and pressing against it as you twist. Make sure you turn your head in the direction that you are stretching so that you don’t put any strain on the neck.

Make sure to repeat on both sides.

4. Bridge Pose

This is a great one for the booty!

Begin by laying flat on your back with your knees bent and your heels just behind your butt. As you lift up, focus on engaging your core muscles and lifting up with your core rather than your hands.

Think of your hands as being very light and just resting on the ground for support.  You should not be using arm strength to lift up, but rather the strength from your core.

Hold this position for 15 seconds, and work on holding it for up to 30 seconds.

5. Tree Pose

Tree pose is a great one for balance, and it’s much harder than it looks.

Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands together at your heart.  Note that this pose can also be done with the arms straight up in the air, but keeping the hands at your heart helps with balance.

Bend one knee, and use your hand to help prop your foot up on your standing leg.

When you feel stable enough, try lifting your hands straight up in the air for an extra challenge.  You can also try closing your eyes because it will also challenge your balance even more.

6. Warrior II

This pose is great for toning up your legs.

The front foot should be pointed forward, and the back foot should be at a 90-degree angle. Try to work towards getting your bent knee at a 90-degree angle.  If you hold the pose here, you will feel it working your quadriceps.

Try to keep the hips squared and facing the same direction as your back foot.

7. Pigeon Pose

Pigeon pose is a great hip opener.  The muscles in our hips usually stay pretty tightened because of our mostly sedentary lifestyle of sitting down on couches and computer chairs all day long.

This pose will help you increase the flexibility in your hips, which will also perform many yoga poses better, including backbends, triangle pose, side angle pose, or anything else that requires a lot of work in the hips.

If you are looking for a little more guidance on what poses are right for you and how to put them together for a practice, our Yoga Fat Loss Bible for Beginners would be a great place to start.

The program is all-encompassing, with 50 fat-burning yoga poses, a complete flexibility guide with beginner modifications, a 6-week workout plan, a beginner’s guide to meditation, and much more.

We designed it so that you can learn all about yoga, which poses are for you, and so that you can go at your own pace with your practice.

Click here to check out the Yoga Fat Loss Bible!

If you enjoyed this article or have any questions, you can post them in the comments section below!