Props to You: A Guide to Props in Yoga

Nuff Props!

If you’ve ever been to a yoga class, it’s very likely that you’ve seen an assortment of different props in the room being used by other students. Props in yoga have a long history of making yoga more accessible to all levels and are a great way to build your practice and your confidence.

There is No Ego in Yoga

One of the main reasons we’ve seen people avoid props in class is that they worry it will make them seem less capable, less balanced, and therefore less of a yogi. We want to start this blog today by debunking that thought process as it’s one derived from the ego rather than the truth.

The concept of having to do yoga asanas perfectly without assistance is not yoga. Yoga is so much more than the postures, which is why when you make it harder or more painful on yourself by refusing props, you’re only taking yourself out of the actual yoga. At that point, you’re simply exercising and not necessarily getting the mental and spiritual benefits that most likely brought you to your mat.

Props Can Be Used to Increase or Decrease Difficulty

Once you get past the ego of comparison, you will see that props can be used to both make certain postures more accessible and invite ease into the pose as well as create more of a challenge for practitioners who want to push themselves further in their practice.

Ease

A few examples of how you can use props to help you build poses include:

Placing a block under your hand to shorten the distance to reach the earth
Using a strap or towel to stretch if your hands are not yet able to reach
Setting a bolster or block under your hips during bridge to allow your muscles some release
Laying a block or bolster under your head to allow your neck muscles to soften

Challenge

Here are some alternative examples of how props can be used to create more challenge in your practice:

Squeezing a block or ball between the knees in squat or bridge to activate your glute muscles
Wrapping a strap or resistance band on your ankles, above your knees, or on your wrists to create more tension in various movements
Stacking blocks or a bolster high underneath your hips or shoulders during heart opening poses to increase the bend in the spine
Doing balance postures on a block to increase the amount of focus and stability needed in the pose