3 Yoga Props & How To Use Them
Have you been dipping your feet into the wonderful world of yoga? If so, you are, no doubt, discovering the wonderful physical and mental benefits of this ancient practice. Maybe, you have seen people making use of yoga props to enhance their practice but you’re not sure how to use them yourself. In this article, we take a look at three of the most popular yoga props and show you how to use them.
Yoga Blocks
A yoga block is a foam block that is about the size of a brick. It is used to provide a platform for your limbs or torso when you are doing specific yoga moves. It will allow you to enhance your flexibility, strength and range of motion. Blocks will also help you to get the proper alignment, balance, proprioception and biomechanics. If you have a muscle group or a side of the body that is weaker than others, then the block can also help.
The benefit of a simple foam block is that it provides both stability and rigidity. You can use yoga blocks to enhance poses that you are doing. Here is an example of how you can use blocks with the Cow Pose.
Squat down on the block with your toes touch and your knees apart.
Hold this position for a count of 8-10 breaths.
Then place your hands on the floor in front of you.
Bring your core down to your knees.
Lift one foot at a time
Step off the block
Yoga Straps
A yoga strap is a six to nine foot long strap that is usually made from cotton or hemp. You can pick up a good strap for less than ten dollars. Straps usually have a buckle to allow you to connect the two ends together for certain poses.
Yoga straps allow you to extend a pose beyond what you can achieve on your own as well as supporting you in some difficult poses. Some beginners to yoga find it difficult to maintain the forward sitting bend pose. This pose has you stretching forward with straight legs and your back straight. The problem for most people is that their hamstrings are too tight to allow them to get very far forward.
When you use a yoga strap, you will be able to get a deeper stretch on this pose. You simply loop the strap over your feet and grab the end of it in your hands. This will help you to get a deeper stretch on the pose.
Yoga Bolster
A Yoga Bolster is a firm cushion that is used as a yoga accessory. It is usually circular or rectangular in shape. It is used to compensate for poor yoga form and for people who have limitations in their strength or range of motion. Yoga Bolsters are also beneficial for people who have a pre-existing injury, making the exercise more comfortable.
A Yoga Bolster can be used in a large number of traditional yoga positions. The most popular and recognized yoga pose is the crossed legged meditative sitting posture. A Yoga Bolster can help to make this pose more comfortable. When you perform the Corpse Pose, which has you lying on the floor on your back, with a Yoga Bolster between your legs.
Summary
Adding these three Yoga Props to your workouts will help to make your sessions more comfortable, more effective and more biomechanically sound. All three of them are low cost and easy to implement. Give them a try and reap the benefits of a more enhanced yoga practice.
