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This woman's yoga posts are challenging body stereotypes – and she's winning!

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Credit: Instagram
Credit: Instagram

After injuring her ankle four years ago the 34-year-old was advised by her doctor to lose weight. She heeded the advice and got herself a trainer, but soon got bored of running. 

In one of her Instagram posts she notes that she "started doing yoga to recover from an ankle injury and now it's become a part of [her] life".

Read more: I tried 6 intense fitness classes in Cape Town - how I chose my favourite

She's been receiving flak since last year but continues with her daily practice regardless. She acknowledged the oddity of a curvy woman practicing yoga in India after being featured in a Mumbaikar newspaper.  

Gradually, she started becoming comfortable with embracing her body.

And in December last year she hosted her first body positivity yoga class!

She took it a step further last month by posting videos of her yoga routines, and while she had an army of admirers, according to this article the sea-full of trolls quickly poured in, making her a victim of body shaming.

"Indian men have not been encouraging at all. There are a lot of people who write very nasty comments. They would say something like 'You're just a fat blob, you look just like an elephant or bear, or you're unfit or it's because you're eating so much food," she told the newspaper's website.

Read more: #Hipdips is the new body-positive social media trend – but what is it?

Thankfully, she says she ignores the comments and recognises that people sending mean comments to her make no difference since she doesn't even know them.

"I'm not aiming to have this thin figure but I am aiming to have a beautiful flow and make my body strong through yoga," she added.

And she's not the only one. Valerie Sagun, Jessamyn Stanley and Dana Falsetti have also taken a stand against the notion of a “perfect” yoga body, proving that yoga really is for every body!

A post shared by Valerie Sagun (@biggalyoga) on


A post shared by Jessamyn (@mynameisjessamyn) on

A post shared by Dana Falsetti (@nolatrees) on


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