Episode 40: What does Yoga Have to Do With Body Image? A Lot More Than You Think with Melanie Klein

    Melanie Klein is an empowerment coach, professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Moorpark Collect in Venura County, California, speaker, writer and thought leader in the areas of body confidence, authentic empowerment and visibility.  In addition to many other books she's also the editor of the recently released, Yoga Rising: 30 Empowering Stories from Yoga Renegades for Every Body.  She is passionate about the topic of contemporary body image politics and is making waves in creating a healthier, more positive perception of our body image.  She's been featured several times on Yoga International to talk about this topic and co-founded the Yoga and Body Image Coalition in 2014.  YBI strives to provide accessible, body-positive yoga and reflects the full range of human diversity. What an absolute thrill to talk to Melanie!!  This conversation expanded my understanding of how I relate to myself and I even had a breakthrough Aha moment (you'll definitely recognize when this is as you listen...I was ecstatic :) ).  I used to think of body image as a social issue and never considered its relation to yoga.  If I practice yoga, mindfulness and acceptance then surely I have a healthy body image right? No need to extricate this one specific thing from the big picture of accepting the whole self....right?  Turns out I was wrong.  Our body image is not only an outcome of our internal relationship with self but is also a product of the society, politics and history that shapes us.  It's so powerful that it dictates our self-worth.  It can even hold us back from reaching our full potential.  Yoga can be one of the most powerful tools to help us disentangle our distorted body image from our identities.  In this episode, Melanie and dig further in-depth into the topic of contemporary body image politics - what it is, how it affects all of us and what we can do about it, including how an authentic yoga practice can free us from the war we wage against our bodies.  Buckle in.  This one's a good one.  Read More

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