It's Okay if You've Gained a Little Holiday Weight

And other ignorant things people say

The Titan’s Goblet, Thomas Cole (The Met Public Domain)

This newsletter mentions eating disorder activity in a way that could be activating to some. Please proceed carefully.

I was mid-twist in my 6am yoga class, via Zoom. It was a new studio I’d chosen, lured in by their low rate for the first month. The class was vigorous, closely resembling Ashtanga style, and taught by a man who’d been born in India but now worked at a gaming company here in Seattle. His face peered into my screen, and he gave feedback to everyone he could see, using our names as reference. It was the first class via Zoom I’d been to where the teacher gave such vigorous feedback.

I’d debated whether to have my camera on, knowing that my fat body would be on display. And when he told us, mid-twist, that it was ok if we’d gained some holiday weight, it was okay if the twist was a little challenging, the comment felt directed at me. I was the only fat person in the class.

The weekend before, during my yoga teacher tra…