Thread: Yoga is changing my body shape... not sure I like it...

I have been doing yoga for a year and a half...really getting into it now, going twice a week and really focusing on the moves in my level 1 class. I have started to notice, though, that my core area.... below the navel and above the pelvic bone, is getting wider... my upper hip has grown almost an inch, while my belly is getting a little flatter.... am i doing something wrong? I was hoping to loose some inches around that area, not gain. Anyone know what's up? Thanks!

Oh, ya, and my butt is getting perkier! Which is a plus... but is it all related? Hubby says I'm getting "wider" in the hip area...

Maybe your muscles are getting larger?

I know that I rarely lose weight in the thigh hip area, it just gets more toned. :) I have never had hips smaller than 40" at my smallest.

Originally Posted by bdaddiction

Maybe your muscles are getting larger?

That's what I would think. You're thin enough that your body is probably beginning to pack on the muscles. Depending on how your body is naturally built, you may just end up with a wider hip/waist area (from the core strengthening).

I definitely got perkier butt when I did yoga, so I do think it's contributing. Dang, perhaps I should go back to doing it...

I forgot to add, you looked *fantastic* at Saqra's! (and I want that costume when you're done with it!).

I'm a yoga teacher, and I've never heard this from a student before, but I believe you that it's happening, and if your gut instinct says the yoga is causing it then I'd trust that instinct to a certain extent. If that's the case, then maybe it's a bulkier muscle.

There could be other causes, though. The pelvis widening is, of course, part of a woman's body preparing for childbirth, so it could be something your body was genetically programmed to do at a certain age, like growing wisdom teeth, and nothing you do with your muscles or diet would prevent it. I don't know your age, but if you're past your mid-20s I'd think that's an unlikely explanation.

You might talk to your yoga teacher. She may be able to identify a change in the way you do certain poses that might help lengthen the muscles in question rather than create more bulk. The image that comes into my mind is Trikonasana (triangle pose). If you're not tilting the pelvis at the top of the thighbone but rather tilting at the base of the spine you'd be using that top-of-hip-area muscle to support the weight of the upper body rather than stretching it.... hard to explain in writing but a yoga teacher should be able to show you.

what kind of yoga are you doing?

I keep thinking about this... it's so puzzling!! It really sounds like your pelvis is widening. Is anything happening hormonally? (change in birth control, etc?)

Hey Lauren, thanks so much for being curious, I've been meaning to contact you. I know you are the yoga expert! So no, nothing I can think of hormonally... although I just turned 45 :) and no kids... I practice vinyasa yoga.... my friend who is a rolfer says I have really tight hip flexors so maybe they are opening up and causing this? Maybe it's related to muscle building above the butt (top of the butt)?

I wish I knew, Jewels. I think muscle bulk seems likely -- those buttlifting gluteals attach up high, and the smaller ones do wrap around to the sides.

Hmmm... flat belly, wide hips, high tight butt.... sounds like a good bellydancer body to me!

Hi Jewelsdance,

I know this post is about 2 years old, but it looks like no one ( at least back then in mid 2009) could really account for why your pelvis/hips was widening. I had a few questions to ask because I desperately would like to broaden my pelvis and/or hips by a couple inches (ideally 3+ inches) to give myself a curvier appearance. I was wondering:
1)Did you ever find a probable reasoning for the hip growth?
2)Do you think it was a combo of the belly dancing and the vinyasa yoga?

3) If you think it was mainly yoga that caused the widening pelvis/hips, can you pinpoint the yoga pose(s) /exercise(s) that attributed to this change?
4) and lastly, have you incurred any more changes (more hip growth) since your initial posting of this question (and) was the pelvis/hip widening permanent? I read somewhere that muscles may grow or expand when starting a new exercise regimen, but may eventually revert back to initial size with long term continuation of exercise.
I know these questions sound really strange, but I have man-ly broad shoulders, a wide rib cage, and a wide back that look like a football player. I look like a man playing dress up when I try to wear any clothing that is soft and feminine - even when I was skinny. In addition, I have an abnormally small pelvis (as confirmed by specialist...maybe that's why I never had a flat stomach,), narrow hips, and chicken legs - literally,145 lbs (mainly in my shoulders, back, and rib cage), sitting on 5 lb legs (2.5 lbs a piece). Sometimes I feel like I am too old to worry about such craziness (I am in my early mid 30s), and I probably should be at a stage of life where I am happy with and accept who I am, but I guess I am not that evolved . I always longed to have an ultra feminine body and face since I was 6 years old. It is so funny that I am the polar opposite of what I longed for, even being mistaken for a man every one in a while. I really would like to feminize my body shape by making it more curvy and balanced. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure about your practice, but I can tell you that the muscle right at the hip, on most people, is rarely developed to its best condition. This muscle is called the Tensor Fascia Latae, or TFL. When this muscle is more toned, it gives the hip a leaner look, but it would add a bit more bulk. I don't know what specifically you're doing in your practice, but if both the TFL and the external hip rotators(the tiny horizontal muscles under your glutes that make for that perky look that yoga, dance and gymnastics give the butt) have been consistently used for the past couple years, it may well account for it. I'd be happy about it, frankly... if that is what's causing this growth, it's also giving you more stability, which can help prevent injuries.
Though that's just me.

Originally Posted by jewelsdances

Oh, ya, and my butt is getting perkier! Which is a plus... but is it all related? Hubby says I'm getting "wider" in the hip area...

Um - this is a problem?

I have so many students who are jealous of folks with hips!

Plus - think of how people tuck their skirts into their belts to make the hip area look wider - or Tahitian skirts - hips on a belly dancer are not a bad thing!