Buddha Boy stretches yoga limits

With yoga proving a stretch too far for some heavier bodies, an enterprising New Yorker has weighed in with a plus-sized take on the ancient art.

“What we do at Buddha Boy Yoga is a different, yet also effective, class… No boot camp atmosphere or feelings of embarrassment,” Buddha Boy owner and operator Michael Hayes says.

“We are also calmer and quieter and, eventually, more mindful. Our interest is in the journey to the destination, not how quickly you arrive… Isn’t that better than sweating and grunting?”

“When I tell 55kg people they can’t come [to my classes], they get very offended, which I find fascinating.”

At 109kg himself, Hayes says he grew tired of taking yoga classes and not making the progress he wanted.

Buddha Boy regular Beth Garner says she felt completely out of place in regular yoga classes, where she was usually the biggest person, but this is not the case in Buddha Boy sessions.

Given our older and heavier population, perhaps there’s a chance to introduce other services that are typically associated with the young and virile

Dancing classes or dating services are just a couple of ideas that might appeal to less obvious markets if they’re tailored the right way.