Episode Details
Back to EpisodesRole of Body Image and Feminism in Yoga with Melanie Klein
Description
Growing up in India, I noticed a culture of body shaming, an obsession with thinness, & fair skin being the ideal standard to be considered beautiful. While my own household luckily never endorsed any of this. Body image hit me like a rock when I became a professional Bollywood dancer at the Shiamak Dance company.
Often if not always we were shamed, bullied, insulted, ridiculed & threatened with consequences if we didn’t remain or become thin. It is then as a young woman, I developed an unhealthy relationship with my own body image. It was also a big reason why a practice like yoga resonated with me SO STRONGLY.
On the podcast today, I chat with Melanie Klein about body image, feminism & yoga. I can’t think of a better expert to have this conversation with. She’s a professor of sociology, & women’s study. A thought leader, an empowerment coach, author & co-founder of Yoga & Body Image coalition
Tune in if you’ve been keen to understand this topic more! Tune in if you’re a yoga teacher who gets questions about weight loss often. Tune in if you think you need to be thin to do yoga. Tune in so you can have a healthier relationship with yourself & more…
Some episode highlights…
- How Melanie became such a thought leader in the yoga world
- How Melanie’s body image evolved and enhanced over time with her yoga practice
- Resisting the system of oppression and educating ourselves
- How do we as women take control of our own narrative?
- Where are we today in the yoga world in terms of representation of body image
- Tokenism for POC yoga teachers
- How Melanie interprets yoga
- What does it mean to be a feminist in the yoga world today?
- How do men & male yoga teachers get involved in the conversation about feminism?
- Melanie shares the first time she heard the term yoga body
- The woman who have impacted Melanie’s life
You can find all the resources mentioned in this episode in the show notes at https://letstalk.yoga/
Connect with us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/arundhati_baitmangalkar/
Join our exclusive Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/letstalkyoga
Join our mailing list: https://www.aham.yoga/instagram-2021 for all episodes.
Pranayam Teacher Training 2026
Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
Find all the resources mentioned in this episode
Subscribe to Aham Yoga on YouTube
Let’s Talk Yoga Podcast on YouTube
Leave us a review and share this podcast with your friends!