Big Gal Yoga Instagram Star, Valerie Segan, Proves Flexibility Is Achievable At Any Size

Meet The Woman Proving You Can Pull Off Hardcore Yoga Moves At Any Size
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Valerie Sagun loves yoga.

She is also singlehandedly showing that anyone, regardless of size, can do yoga.

Sagun is the body-positive brains behind Instagram account Big Gal Yoga - an account that has racked up more than 85,000 followers since its inception.

The 27-year-old posts photos of herself performing difficult yoga poses that she's mastered like an absolute boss. Recently, she even conquered the splits.

Writing on her Tumblr blog, Sagun - who is based in San Francisco - says that she first began her yoga journey four years ago at university.

"It was years earlier that I had wanted to try out yoga, but things always came up," she said. "I remember the first class being surprised that doing simple poses was so difficult, but being excited to keep it up and get better at it.

"My yoga instructor was an older man named Lawrence Caughlin and he was very encouraging no matter what. Always being positive and telling us it took even him time to get a pose."

Sagun says that at one point, she hit a brick wall with her art studies and fell into depression. But yoga helped her.

"Doing yoga and traveling was the only thing to take my mind off of overthinking. Yoga has become a personal therapy that has helped me so much," she writes.

"Even though everyone sees me physically, its more of what yoga does for me mentally. I thank my practice for always being the supporting hand on my shoulder when things get tough."

Now Sagun is able to pull off even the most difficult poses.

The yoga fanatic lives by the mantra: "Anything you can do, I can do almost." And while this might not sound altogether that positive, she believes it is.

For her, yoga is all about the journey rather than the end goal.

"I’m trying to keep myself motivated and not think just because I can do a certain pose doesn’t mean I can’t keep working on it and improving myself in a positive way," she writes on her blog.

Her message to those who need a little prod in the right direction: "As long as you have the determination, motivation, and patience - anyone can do yoga."