This North Carolina–based teacher and Instagram star is changing the perception of what a yogi looks like.
JESSAMYN STANLEY IS not a role model—at least, she doesn’t want you to think of her as one. She’d rather be viewed as a best friend who loves yoga. The self-described “fat femme” now teaches vinyasa at Durham Yoga Company in North Carolina and body-positivity workshops from NYC to LA, but she started her practice almost six years ago as a way to break a funk. Not only did taking classes at a hot studio improve her mood and help her manage her back pain, but the photos she took of her home practice made her an Instagram sensation (@mynameisjessamyn had 216,000 followers at press time). Stanley takes an unfiltered, no-nonsense approach to yoga, and life: She tells it like it is, whether it’s sharing her own sweaty journey to Vrschikasana (Scorpion Pose) or her brutally honest takes on current issues.
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