While Stanley has since grown comfortable with all the attention, she admits that staying grounded is a daily struggle.
“One of the things I’ve been critical of is the reasons why you’ll find yourself in the spotlight, and I think that we all tend to lean toward ego and it’s something that I definitely struggle with,” she said. “I’m being very, very conscious of that because the attention is blooming at the same time that my book’s coming out and the Bai film is out and it’s a weird balance.”
In April, Stanley dropped Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body, a book she believes breaks all the stereotypes – specifically how we define the term “fat.”
“The use of the word fat is absolutely a reclamation technique. It’s very much like the word has been used as a weapon against me, and I hear people still using it as a weapon toward themselves, toward one another, and then it doesn’t mean large, it means stupid, it means ugly, unworthy to exist. To me, to use the word fat with its designated meaning of large is not an insult, it’s just a statement of truth. I’m saying I’m fat because I am fat is the same thing as saying I’m black because I am Black.”
Of course, it’s important to Stanley that all forms of discrimination in the yoga community be addressed, especially ageism, which she feels is often ignored. “
“I think a lot of older women are very upset about the fact that the entire conversation of women’s health is really centered around young people, especially in the yoga world,” she said. “Then people associate being able to move quickly with these younger bodies because there’s so much strength and power and age. I wondered: How much of a role can I play in this and still be on the younger side?”
For more info on Stanley, her book or her services, check her out on Instagram @mynameisjessamyn.