om body om body
Yoga teacher Becky Varey explains why she decided to take a stand on body positivity
and arrange a special photoshoot to inspire others. By Jane Lambert
O
xford-based yoga teacher
Becky Varey considers
herself a passionate body
positive activist. Along with
her photographer friend, Kim
Williams, she recently came up with an idea
to organise a photoshoot to highlight thelack of representation in the yoga world.
“We decided to stop moaning and to do
something about it,” she tells OM. “There
are only so many photos of very tiny white
women doing advanced postures on a beach
we could look at before we felt that we had
to do something. We just wanted to put
something super positive out into the world.”
Varey has been on her own body positivity
journey: “After years of dieting and not
feeling good enough, I decided enough was
enough. It’s an ongoing journey of course,
but my own yoga practice has really helped
me to make peace with myself and my body.
And not just making peace but learning
to love what I’ve got going on. Sharing my
experiences through blogging and social
media has helped hugely and reminded me
that I’m not alone on this journey and that
there are so many women out there feeling
the same.”
And so the idea for a photoshoot,
celebrating all sorts of bodies, was born.
“By capturing these gorgeously real women
practicing yoga we hoped we could inspire
everybody out there to feel like they could
give it a try. We didn’t care about perfect
technique or advanced poses; we just
wanted to celebrate these women and their
confidence and how truly great it feels tomove, and I think we did just that.
“Kim is an amazing photographer, and
everyone else gave their time and energy.
Everyone had a story and a reason for
being there. Seeing it all come together was
incredible. All the yoga gear we wore was
donated by body positive brands.”
Every day, Varey sees the struggle that
people have with learning to love their
bodies. “Societal pressure has a way of
making us feel that we are not worthy or
not enough. And, of course, if we only see
images of a certain type of person and a
certain body-type everywhere then we are
going to think there is something wrong
with our own bodies. I wear a UK size 12-14
and teach yoga, and I certainly don’t feel
represented by many yoga brands, which is
actually ridiculous.”The Body Positivi+y Blog
Girls on film