Reintroducing Myself

As my husband and I fiddle with the blog and give it a fancy new makeover (with which we are about halfway done), I think it's a great time to reintroduce myself!

Here are 20 things you may not know about me:

1. My name is Grace Breedlove, and yes that's my honest-to-blog name, not some hippie moniker I made up for myself. I dropped my given first name when I was 18, because I really never liked it and started going by my given middle name, Grace. Then I met and married a dude with the last name Breedlove. It's pretty awesome.
2. My little brother is 8 years younger than me, and he is my favorite person. He's kind, funny and cooler than I'll ever be, and I would seriously do anything for him.
3. I freaking love cherry pie and I order it whenever it's available. I think it's because that was the only pie my mom didn't make when I was a kid and so I'm not like, "Oh, my mom's is better," as is the case with every other pie.
4. Also on the topic of pies, my pumpkin pie is actually better than my mom's and way better than any pumpkin pie I've ever had at a restaurant. When I get 150 followers, I will tell you my secret.
5. I am really into having adventures, going orienteering, trying new food, getting lost on purpose and making every new step in life an exciting event worth celebrating. I also love watching adventure shows in the comfort of my warm home, whether it's in the fictional form of Lost or Firefly, or in the realm of reality TV like Man vs. Wild or Out of the Wild, though Survivorman is my favorite. Les Stroud is my hero, because he is so zen about everything. Even Giardia.
   
6. I met my husband when I was miming at a carnival-themed party. He was the only person at the party who didn't try to talk with me, but mimed instead. When he called me the next day and left me a message, it was the first time I had heard his voice, though we had "talked" for hours the night before.
7. I have two chronic, severe digestive disturbances that I let control my life for five years, but traveling to Asia and dealing with them abroad earlier this summer gave me the confidence to not let my diseases define my experiences. Getting sick while traveling was not the worse thing that has ever happened to me.
8. I have three favorite books that I love equally: Love in the Time of Cholera, Life of Pi and The Name of the Rose. Those three books shaped my morality, faith, philosophy and my navigation of the world more than any other personal, religious or cultural influence.
9. I have absolutely no desire to run a marathon.
10. I also have absolutely no desire to give birth.
11. Before this winter, I hope to hike across Lassen Volcanic National Park alone.
12. Since I was in middle school, the number one place I wanted to visit was Angkor Wat. I finally got to fulfill that dream when I visited Cambodia in June and it was indescribably awesome.
13. My new number one adventure goal is scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro. Followed at number two by prostrating myself the entire way around the base of Mt. Kailash in a traditional Buddhist pilgrimage.
14. I love to sing, but I despise karaoke.
15. I feel most at home in places where no one knows me and I don't speak the language.
16. My husband and I have really exciting plans for starting an NGO. For now it's just an idea, but when it sprouts legs, you'll be the first to know.
17. I have a photographic memory.
18. I have a photojournalism degree from one of the best journalism programs in the country, and I used to get extremely discouraged by not having the investment capital to start a mainstream photojournalism career. Now I am so ridiculously thankful to be free to photograph what I want on my own terms and with my own ethical compass, to serve humanity, not the almighty dollar.
19. I believe the true moral value of a society is judged by how it treats those who are weakest: animals and children. Tangential to that belief, I hyper-focus on protecting children and animals.
20. I've been through some pretty brutal tragedy in my life, but I am so blessed to have this life and to be aware enough to recognize its blessings.

*****

I am reminded of a story from the life of the Buddha. Soon after the Buddha attained enlightenment, a man came across him meditating under the tree, and the man asked him who he was. The Buddha answered, “Imagine a red lotus that had begun life underwater but grew and rose above the surface until it stood free. So I too have transcended the world, and attained the supreme enlightenment." "Who are you, then?" the man asked again.

The Buddha said:
"Remember me as the one who woke up."

Sending My Love to You

Last night, I decided to add a site traffic widget to see just how many people check out my blog, and to my surprise, dozens of people from all over the world visit every day! So, for all you mystery visitors, please leave a quick comment telling me how you found my site and what topics you would like me to address in future posts. Namaste and thank you for stopping by.

Why "fat?"

I'm Grace, the Fat Yogini, and I welcome you to my new cyber-home.

The name of a blog is very important, so why did I choose such a polarized and loaded adjective as "fat" to describe myself and brand my blog? Because, well, a little fat isn't a bad thing! In the West, we have been trained through our socialization to recoil from "fat," to be repulsed by even a few extra pounds and associate it with laziness, gluttony, and any number of other moral failings. The cultural fixation on thinness (not to be confused with healthiness) promotes the idea that there is but one paragon of physical perfection, and it doesn't involve any extra padding. Instinctively, we all know that every person has a different body, with a different metabolism, different needs, and different physical manifestations of "healthy," yet that doesn't stop us from buying into the idea that we should be thin, no matter the cost. We can see the psychological repercussions of this toxic social pressure in the epidemic of eating disorders, rates of cosmetic surgery, and the fact that the sale of anti-aging products and diet "tools" are a multi-billion dollar industry.

BUT WHY?! Fat isn't bad. We need fat to survive and to procreate. BMI is an antiquated arbitrary calculation that has been proven an inadequate measurement of health, seeing as it does not take into account bone or muscle mass. What is important is not some arbitrary ratio or pant size, but instead eating to live at the ideal size for YOUR body, not someone else's standard.

What is shocking to me is that this unhealthy obsession with healthy-equals-bone-thin is leaching into the American yoga industry. Yoga is being advertised more and more as this awesome "new" weight-loss trick, the magic bullet for fitness and the fountain of eternal youth. The popularity of Bikram Yoga, despite embodying a philosophy wholly antithetical to yoga's purpose, only highlights the industry's wholesale embrace of thin and "pure" by any means necessary. Is it that the wider American audience is not interested in a yoga that is meditative and welcoming to people of all sizes or is it that we just don't know what to do with a physical pursuit that isn't thin-driven? (I don't have the answer to that, but please feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section.)

Full disclosure: I am a yoga instructor and I have been practicing various types of yoga for almost 13 years. I am technically overweight (say it with me now, screw you, BMI!). When I am at my healthiest, which means nurturing my own yoga practice, teaching yoga and/or working out moderately 5 days a week, practicing poi, running after my nephew, and eating a low-fat, vegan diet, I am consistently 5-15 pounds "overweight." I'm not going to lie and say that I'm entirely okay with my naturally stocky build, trying to thrive in an industry chock full of naturally lithe and beautiful women, but really, what the heck am I going to do about it? I can't change my body type. I can't change my passion for yoga and my desire to help people. I can only work to be the healthiest, most energetic version of me possible and to help others do the same. This is what this blog is about: to promote, in the spirit of the yogic philosophy of non-harming, an embrace and a love of our bodies at all stages, working towards a goal of health that is not wrapped up in how thin we become. We are here to be strongest, healthiest version of ourselves, mentally, physically and spiritually, and yoga is an invaluable tool in that pursuit. Thanks for reading and I hope you stay.

Be well.