Dear fat folks.

Hello and welcome to my fat positive, fat loving, fat welcoming, fat friendly yoga classes where you are welcomed and celebrated in all your glory. Every fat roll, big belly, chunky thigh and wobbly bum, is expressly welcome here. I see our bodies as stunning manifestations of our souls and I welcome every bit of you.

These are not weight loss yoga classes.

I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in teaching you yoga to loose belly fat. I am not in the business of encouraging you to shrink to fit ideal standards of health and beauty. I am in the business of making a beautiful classical hatha yoga practice a bit more accessible to folks that may otherwise find themselves excluded or unwelcome due to anti fat bias in the yoga and wellness world.

Gentle Practice.

I teach my Fat Positive classes at a gentle and slow pace. Not because fat yogi’s can’t do strong practice, but to be more accessible to disabled students or students with fatigue or chronic pain who may need that gentler pace, and people who are nervous or new to yoga. If you feel you crave more fire in your practice and you have more experience and confidence I hugely encourage you to come along and join me in my EVERY BODY classes which I teach at a ‘bit’ of a stronger pace.

Actually fat bodies can do wonderful things

I once did a yoga demonstration showcasing some of the more advanced yoga postures. I was approached at the end of the session by someone who said to me that they were very surprised to see someone with my body type doing such dynamic poses. I wasn’t sure how to respond. I realised after giving it some thought, that it is more a case of fat folks being completely underrepresented and stereotyped than it is fat folks being necessarily more or less likely to be able to do what anyone else can do given the same time and training.

Why Fat Positive?

I use the word POSITIVE alongside FAT in my own Fat Positive Yoga offerings not because I think we are all skipping around and loving our fat bodies but because I love the juxtaposition of the words FAT and POSITIVE because it is so contrary to how we tend to find the word fat, publicly used in the mainstream. Usually it is either a forbidden word or used in an attempt to categorise or insult us.

My community goals

My actual wish is to have all of shapes and sizes of folks, all ages, abilities and demographics practicing as a community together in supportive mixed group classes free from prejudices, is this idealistic? Maybe, however it is what I am working on in my Yoga for Every BODY and Body Positive sessions. However as a starting point I have found it really helpful to offer fellow fat folks a safe place completely away from the thin gaze to begin to explore our own relationships with the yoga poses. By creating fat positive classes a community of like bodied folk is forming who have similar experiences of being fat in a fat phobic society. I hope that this might make starting yoga somehow less daunting. My effort goes into making the class environment feel warm, cosy, fun, friendly and full of support. I often notice folk can arrive in the class for the first time very cautious, burnt from past experience, and it can take a while to start to trust me the teacher, the other students, the online environment, and the practice itself. I always invite feedback and am keen to hear what you have to say on how the class could be even more welcoming and beneficial for you. I also offer private yoga and intensive yoga mentoring.

I started coming to Janice’s yoga classes in September 2022 and I try to come to several classes each week. The classes are absolutely lovely and have made a huge difference to my mental and physical well-being, and the more I attend, the better I feel. I even come to the early morning classes, despite not being a naturally early morning person, as these classes are a really positive way to start the day and make my whole day feel better.

Janice is incredibly kind and generous with their time. They hold the space in a way that makes each class a lovely wellbeing experience. The classes are well-rounded, with rests between asanas, which I find means I can put more energy into the next one and make more progress. The guided relaxations at the end of the classes are amazing, and not something I’ve had at classes elsewhere. Janice has the best voice for this, they make the experience feel deeply relaxing and healing.

Janice keeps a close eye on us throughout the classes, making sure we are doing everything correctly and has helped me to push past mental blocks and try new things, which has helped me achieve things I never expected to be able to do. Janice is patient and caring and is brilliant at explaining how to make adjustments in the different poses.

Since I started practicing yoga, I feel better than I can remember feeling, I am much stronger and more flexible; movements that used to be painful and tiring now feel really good. I no longer experience dull aches and pains all the time in my shoulders and neck and other areas, and I’m actually enjoying moving around in my body.

I started yoga for the physical practice, but since coming to Janice’s classes I now love the pranayama and relaxation too. The regular breathing exercises have increased my lung capacity and I sometimes practice the breathing exercises at other times in the week if I am feeling really stressed or anxious, as they bring me back to feeling calm and lower my heart rate

– Hannah Duff

I remember reading about the Light Yoga Space several years ago but didn’t think I would ever make it to a class as I live outside London. Ever late to the party, I discovered the online classes towards the end of lockdown! I was elated as I was looking for a way to be kind to my body and fat-positive classes seemed the perfect environment in which to do that. I wanted to ease some of the mid-40s stiffness and soreness I was feeling as well as the undercurrent of anxiety I had been experiencing for months. 

In spite of my enthusiasm, I almost didn’t make it to my first class as I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to move my body into any of the poses. Thank goodness I did. Janice is an exceptional teacher: clear, perceptive, kind and super knowledgeable. I was able to ‘pin’ a more experienced member of the class and I can’t emphasise enough the power of being able to watch and follow someone whose body looks like mine until I got a handle on what each pose looked like. 

I have been surprised by how much my body wants and needs this practice and the benefits in only a couple of months have been innumerable: I have more balance, I feel stronger, I sleep better, I am calmer and I enjoy a good sweat again. I am much more connected to what is going on for me physically and emotionally; this isn’t always easy but I am beginning to find the compassion to meet and accept myself on my mat, wherever I am.

— Katy Hathaway

“I started attending Janice’s fat positive yoga classes which I enjoyed very much and as I became more familiar with the style and format of the sessions and the postures I was keen to practise more regularly and so started to join some of the yoga for EVERYBODY classes too. I now regularly enjoy both, comfortable that Janice always proposes alternatives and modifications where they might be required - some days it’s all about the relaxation and sometimes I’m surprised by what my body is able to do! ”

— Judith Evans

“As a plus size woman who’d never done any yoga before, I was pretty nervous before signing up for private classes with Light Yoga Space. I needn’t have worried. The space and freedom Janice Kate creates to feel confident, experience growth and peace is just brilliant. I have always felt completely at ease making my body do things I didn’t know it could! I now do the weekly Body Positive classes with her on Zoom. It’s a revelation! The privacy of my own home coupled with the sense of inclusivity with other people and the chance to ensure I keep up my practice. I recommend Light Yoga Space whole-heartedly. My fitness levels have improved and so has my confidence. Win win.”

— Chloe Fowler

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Janice for just over two years now and I am so delighted with my progress. I first contacted Janice because I was looking for a fat positive yoga experience and wanted to work with someone who could help me adjust my larger body when doing yoga. I initially signed up for 1:1 sessions, which for me was the best way to get back into yoga and focus on my unique needs. Two years later and I have kept up weekly 1:1s with Janice in addition to now doing 2, 3, even 4 classes per week online. I am astounded at my improved flexibility, increased strength and ability to just breathe through some of the more difficult poses. I always feel so comfortable and secure working with Janice. They balance being supportive, encouraging and offering positive challenge when I need it. I’m amazed at how not self-conscious I am during classes – I’m just in my body in the moment. I think yoga has helped me to accept my body better and to appreciate it for what it can do instead of what it may be lacking. I can’t recommend Janice and Light Yoga Space highly enough!

 — Tina Strack

I have never enjoyed yoga before - it felt like something that wasn't for my body. In the online 'Fat Positive' classes, Janice creates a space that is welcoming and safe for exploration and I feel able to push myself more than ever. It is a revelation to approach the movement without shame!

— Ruth Yates

There was a long gap since I’d done yoga regularly and in between my body became quite different; having put on a lot of weight. I’d been apprehensive to start yoga again...until I found Janice’s Fat Yoga classes. Aside from a few months living outside of The UK, (Zoom was not yet mainstream) I don’t think I’ve missed a class in over two years.  The regular movement and meditation has added so much to my life - both mentally and physically; Janice’s calming tones, clear guidance, adaptation suggestions & encouraging voice; you are made to feel an individual whilst connected to the group. I feel confident to attend the All Body classes as well. I genuinely look forward to Janice’s classes even after a long/tiring day as I know I will feel refreshed, with a sense of achievement and more relaxed afterwards. I could not be more enthusiastic for these classes… Lastly, if you hear/ glimpse Pearl and Frida – it’s a joyous bonus!

 — Rae Jenkin

I’ve been attending Janice’s fat positive yoga classes for about 2 years. I would never have believed that I would look forward to practising yoga every week or that I would stick with it for so long and yet now I go 2-3 times per week and I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon.

From the very first class I felt a strong sense of community. Practicing yoga alongside  8-10 other fat people is so powerful. I finally feel that I belong, in a world that usually makes me feel that I don’t deserve to exist or take up space. It is so freeing to discover a place away from the judgmental and critical “looks”.

Having spent most my life not wanting to be in my fat body, and feeling that I shouldn’t feel ok until I’m thin, practicing yoga simply to be kind to myself rather than as a weight loss tool, has given me the opportunity to feel safe and to very slowly begin to feel that it’s ok to be present in my body as it is NOW.

This course wouldn’t be the same without the amazing teacher, Janice. They are very supportive and welcoming, always giving lots of alternatives to each posture, so I never feel that I am missing out. But the most important thing for me is that they encourage me to tune in to myself. No matter how busy my critical head is, no matter how much I want to escape my body Janice’s calm and grounding energy helps me stay relaxed and present. 

I would never have thought that I would be able to do things like shoulderstand, or even a forward bend. It hasn’t been always easy. I have learned that my head gets in the way of me practising yoga much more than my body does, but what has made me stick to the course is that there is always “room” to explore and go deeper in a safe environment where I feel accepted and understood.

— Vasileia Chatzaki

"This is one class i wished i had done before! I had not done yoga for a while, and i found it hard to commit to a class. Janice, the yoga teacher, has the most beautiful chanting voice and is a brilliant and very supportive teacher. I leave the sessions completely relaxed, having Janice's beautiful voice in my ears. Highly recommended!"

— Halle Kosem

"I always thought I could only get into a shoulder stand again if I was at my fittest or my thinnest and then I found myself, a month or two into Janice's class breathing comfortably and enjoying the freedom and stretch of the shoulder stand, and I loved it! The Yoga for Larger Bodies Class is really welcoming, thoughtful, stretching, humorous at times and there is a lovely, friendly, peaceful atmosphere to the group. It has really helped me overcome some of my fears about the limits of my body. I look forward to stretching and relaxing my body and mind even more! Thank you so much Janice!"

— Flip