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This article explores issues related to body image.
If you had told me several years ago that the size of my yoga pants wouldn’t define me or determine the quality of my life, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.
Like so many of us growing up in the ’90s and before, my fashion influences were mostly models and actors who were celebrity thin. Through yoga I learned the practice of ahimsa, which relates to non-harming in thoughts and actions, although for a long time I remained completely in violation of that when it came to my insistence on appearing as thin as possible.
Somehow I thought that cramming myself into yoga pants a size smaller than was comfortable would also help me squeeze into my unrealistic expectations of what I needed to look like. That thinking and behavior continued until several years later, when I learned that wearing too tight pants was actually constricting my breath, which is sorta an essential component of yoga.
How Wearing Too-Tight Yoga Pants Impairs Your Breath
When most people think of their core, they typically picture the abdominal muscles. But your core also includes your lungs, vital organs, and diaphragm, the muscle that resides beneath the lungs and above the stomach which plays a huge part in your breath. When there is restriction around the diaphragm, it makes it harder to breathe.
Think of your core as a tube of toothpaste. The plastic sleeve consists of everything external to your organs, including your bones, muscles, and connective tissues. The toothpaste contained within is your vital organs, with the top of the tube consisting of your lungs and diaphragm and the bottom part your pelvic floor.
Since the tube, or your core, is basically a pressurized container, when you squeeze off a part, the contents from that area are redistributed elsewhere.
When you inhale, your diaphragm contracts and shifts downward, creating more space for your lungs to expand and allow air to enter. But because your rib cage can only expand a certain amount, some of the pressure also moves downward. When this happens, everything else also needs to shift around, making it highly likely that your belly needs to expand.
When you’re wearing yoga pants that squeeze your lower abdomen and don’t permit expansion, the contents of your core will keep moving upward. This means your diaphragm is constricted, your lungs can’t expand, and your inhalations are shallow AF.
Why Your Breath Matters More Than Your Size
In yoga, it’s believed that prana, or life force, resides in the breath. If you’re not able to deeply breathe throughout the practice, you’re unable to move vital prana throughout your system.
In addition, there have been numerous scientific studies that indicate taking a full breath is extremely beneficial for your overall physical and emotional well-being. Conversely, shallow breathing has been shown to cause an increase in anxiety as physical exertion needs to ramp up—namely, your heart working harder—to distribute adequate oxygen throughout your body. Even when you’re not practicing yoga, wearing too-tight leggings (or pants of any kind) limits your ability to experience a relaxed and complete inhalation.
Admittedly, I have an extra struggle. I was born with a life-threatening genetic condition called cystic fibrosis. It’s most commonly known as a respiratory disease, but for me, it presents more as gastrointestinal distress. So nearly every day, I’m uncomfortably bloated and in pain. When I was younger, I tried to hide this with compression clothing, especially during yoga. I made myself even more miserable in the very practice I turned to for relief.
What Happened When I Finally Sized Up
If I’m being radically honest, the self-love and acceptance thing that’s a tenet not only of yoga but a larger movement is still challenging for me. But I’ve come to understand the importance of owning the space I occupy in this world, and that includes choosing clothes that fit me.
There are still times when I forget. There are also times when I experience resentment that fighting unrealistic expectations for our bodies is a struggle for so many of us. But deciding my worth isn’t tied to the size of my pants is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I am proud to take up the space I deserve. And I feel empowered to no longer restrict myself to things that will only shrink me.
Now when I shop for yoga pants, I no longer obsess about the number written on the tag. Instead, I check to see if I can take a deep breath without my waistband cutting into my belly. If not, I grab the next size up or skip that style all together. Besides, a size is just an arbitrary number that isn’t even consistent among different brands and styles. There are so many options out there. I opt for what’s most comfortable, whether it’s a fabric with a “naked” feel or a more compressive style that comes in an array of sizes.
I no longer let my clothing size make me feel any less magnificent. I am NOT required to shrink myself. And I deserve to wear clothes that fit my body without worrying about how much space I take up. I finally understand that.
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