Suburban Instructor Out To Prove Yoga Is For All Shapes And Sizes

(CBS) -- A suburban yoga teacher is working to change perceptions of what yoga is, and who it's for.

Rachel Townsend teaches plus-size yoga in Lisle and Elmhurst. The classes are for those who have larger bodies.

She tells WBBM that the classes, "do a lot of the very same things (as traditional yoga classes) but in a slightly different way and a slightly different pace so that everyone can enjoy the body that they're in."

Townsend says the classes are, in part, a reflection of the fact that many people who want to take yoga don't have perfect bodies.

"As part of the population becomes larger, they can't always find a place to go that feels comfortable," she said.

And, she says the classes fight back against old stereotypes of perfect bodies and perfect lives.

"What media has done to everyone, but especially to women and especially to plus-size women is incredibly toxic," Townsend said. "We're told that no matter what we're doing is not enough...I'm me and I'm ok the way I am and I'm going to live my life the way I want to and not let that change my view of myself. And I think that that movement can only make a better life for women, and people, everywhere."