Archive for the ‘Yoga Props’ Category

By Suza Francina

When I began teaching yoga in the early 1970’s, the term, “yoga props,” was practically unheard of. When we sat on the floor to practice seated forward bends, people who could not touch their toes simply held onto their lower legs. Then someone had the bright idea to wrap a sock, towel, belt or an old neck tie around the foot to hang onto while stretching forward. While not as versatile as the modern prop known as a yoga strap, these early around-the-house props actually worked quite well!

At the time that I began teaching yoga, I was also working as a home health-care provider. I befriended and cared for many people up until the last years of their life. My main job was assisting people who were unable to take care of themselves independently with their daily activities. Many of these people had arthritis and other common health conditions that restrict movement. Back then, people with joint pain, swelling, heart disease, shortness of breath, etc., were generally advised not to move. So they became increasingly weaker, stiffer and incapacitated.

My background in home-health care showed me how important exercise is for all ages, but especially the older population. When an older beginner comes to my yoga class with pain and stiffness in their body, one of the first things I generally teach them is how to practice yoga’s challenging weight-bearing standing poses safely with the support of props such as a wall and chair.

What is a yoga prop?

In the world of yoga, a prop is any object helps you stretch, strengthen, balance, relax, or improve your body alignment. Props include yoga mats, which are sticky, nonskid mats essential for providing stability and preventing your hands and feet from slipping, blankets that provide padding and support, long yoga straps and belts that are used in dozens of innovative ways to help you stretch further and prevent muscle and joint strain, bolsters, blocks, chairs and benches that support the body in various ways, wall ropes, sandbags, back benders, and many other objects designed to help students experience the various yoga poses more profoundly and safely.

Many common features of our homes or work place can also serve as props: floors, walls, doors, doorways, stairs, ledges, tables, desks, chairs, windowsills and kitchen counters. When I teach people at home, I show them how to use these common household objects to improve their posture, maintain balance and stretch, strengthen and relax.

By providing support, props help you to extend beyond habitual limitations and teach you that your body is capable of doing much more than you think it can.

Props are used to teach specific actions such as lengthening the spine and opening the chest. For example, the student in the photo at right, a beginner in his mid-seventies, is practicing the Triangle Pose with the back of his body against a wall and his lower hand on a chair, rather than straining to reach the floor. This helps assure that his body is in good alignment which is especially important to prevent injury if we have joint problems (or hip or knee joint replacements) or weak bones that are susceptible to fractures. People who have scoliosis (curvature of the spine, rounded back, or other chronic postural problems can significantly improve their posture by stretching with the help of a wall and chair.

Props can be used to make postures more challenging; to safely stretch farther; to work in a deeper, stronger way; and to expand, open, and blossom in a pose. In yoga we are asking the body to “work against the grain.” We are asking the body to let go of the death grip that habit and conditioning have on us. Props help us to accept this revolutionary (and evolutionary) process.

Using yoga props makes postures safer and more accessible. Most older people are quite stiff by the time they start yoga, and props allow them to practice poses they would not ordinarily be able to do. Older students also frequently come to yoga with problems, ranging from back and neck pain to knee problems to old injuries. The more problems a student has, the more useful yoga props are.

Props allow you to hold poses longer, so you can experience their healing effects. By supporting the body in the yoga posture, muscles can lengthen in a passive, nonstrenuous way. By opening the body, the use of props also helps to improve blood circulation and breathing capacity.

One of the greatest benefits of yoga as we grow older is that it offers exercise without exhaustion. Yoga replenishes our precious energy reserves. Supporting the body with props opens the door to what is known as “Restorative Yoga”, which not only allows you to exercise without exerting any effort but simultaneously relaxes and reenergizes you. This is critical during times when we find ourselves feeling too tired to exercise and then feeling even more tired because we are not exercising.

By using props, students who need to conserve their energy can practice more strenuous poses without overexerting themselves. People with chronic illness can use props to practice without undue strain and fatigue.

Props are adapted to each student’s body type and flexibility. They are especially helpful to anyone who may avoid certain poses because of fear, problems with balance due to loss of hearing and eyesight, pain, or other limitations.

Props help all practitioners-including both the most advanced students and those of advanced years-to receive the deep benefits of postures held for sustained periods of time.

Eight Reasons Why Props Are Beneficial for Older Practitioners

Props help us conserve and replenish energy, which becomes increasingly important as we grow older and also during times of illness.

Props make difficult poses more accessible and safe. They allow even those who start late in life to hold poses for a long time, without strain.

Props help prevent injuries and help old injuries to heal.

People tend to stretch from their more flexible areas and rely on their better-developed muscles for strength. Props encourage weak parts to strengthen and stiff areas to stretch, thus balancing and realigning the whole body.

Props allow us to stay in poses long enough to release tension and experience deeper levels of relaxation.

Props help create space in the spine and the joints, ever more important as we grow older and cope with issues such as osteoporosis, arthritis and joint replacements.

Props allow older practitioners with balance problems to practice the weight-bearing standing poses, helping them to remain independent and out of wheelchairs.

Props allow us to practice inverted poses safely and to reverse the downward pull of gravity, slowing down the aging process.

SUZA FRANCINA, the former mayor of Ojai, California, is a writer, animal advocate and Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor. She has taught yoga since 1972 and is a pioneer in the field of teaching yoga to seniors. Her first book, Yoga for People Over 50, was published in 1977. She is author of The New Yoga for People Over 50 (Health Communications, Inc., 1997); Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause (HCI, 2003); and The New Yoga for Healthy Aging (HCI 2007). She is currently completing a spiritual memoir, Autobiography of a Yogini. Her writing has appeared in numerous other books, magazines and publications worldwide. Born in Holland in 1949, she emigrated with her family to Ojai, California at the age of seven and has made the Ojai Valley her home ever since. To learn more visit  http://www.Suzafrancina.com

By Sam Clarke

The Acupressure mat also called Shakti Mat can also be used as a tool to deepen your yoga practice. Experiment with your mat to see which poses you can perform, starting with the basic routine outlined below.

You may wish to place a thin cloth over the acupressure mat to make some of the poses more comfortable to hold. As you become used to holding poses on the mat, you can perform them directly on the spikes.  Let’s begin our energy boosting, meridian clearing Acupressure mat yoga routine.

Tadasana

Step onto your Acupressure mat, lowering your weight evenly onto the acupressure spikes. Inhale and on the exhale stand up tall. Balance your weight evenly across the balls and heels of your feet. Tuck the pelvis under and draw the shoulders back and down. Take five deep, even breaths. From here, we will move into our next pose.

Uttanansana – Standing Forward Bend

Inhale the arms up above your head. Exhale and bend forwards from the hips, bringing the hands to the mat. Inhale as you look up and lengthen through the spine then exhale your head back down. Remain here for a few breaths then slowly inhale back up to standing.

Vrksasana – Tree

Ground down through your left foot, finding your balance. Inhale the right leg up, bringing the right foot to a comfortable position somewhere along the inside of the left leg, or in half lotus if you are advanced. When you feel balanced here, inhale your arms up above your head into prayer position and focus on a point on the floor in front of your acupressure mat. Stay here for as long as is comfortable.

To come out of Tree pose, inhale and on the exhale bring the arms down, releasing the right foot back down to the Acupressure mat. Repeat on the other side.

Pascmottinasana – Seated Forward Bend

Sit up tall on your mat with the legs straight out in front of you, lengthening the spine. On an exhale, bend forward from the hips, drawing your head towards your legs. Keep the back straight, spine long, Place the hands on the legs or, if you can reach, the feet.

Draw the head closer to the legs with every exhale. Feel the spikes of the acupressure mat energising the meridians along the backs of your legs as you draw deeper into the pose. Inhale to come back up.

Salabasana – Locust

Lie with your lower abdomen on the spikes of the mat. The legs are straight out behind you, arms by your sides, chin supported on the floor. Inhale and lift the legs, arms and chin off the floor, holding the pose as long as is comfortable. Exhale down and repeat for three sets.

Continue from here into Dhanurasana, bow pose. To finish this routine, come onto your back, rocking backwards and forwards on the mat, then perform your favourite spinal twist and come into Savasana, corpse pose for relaxation and meditation.

There you have it, a basic 15 minute yoga routine to use with your Acupressure or Shakti Mat. How fantastic do you feel after that? The energy is pulsating through your meridians, enlivening and energising your body and mind. Build on this routine by gradually adding in your favourite poses and when you’re ready to increase the intensity of the practice, remove the cloth to perform the poses directly on the spikes. Namaste!

Discover what are the other benefits of the Acupressure Mat at – http://www.acupressuremats.com.au/acurpressure-yoga-mat

By Brett Pullen

The use of a block is essential to anyone practicing yoga. The purpose of the block is to allow more comfort during practice and at the same time improving the bodies natural alignment. Some people think that yoga blocks are only used by novices. This is not true because often times the more experienced the person practicing the more poses and meditation techniques using a yoga block. There are some very advanced poses that require yoga blocks to act as an arm extension.

Were going to go through several ways to use your yoga block. They can help for stability and sometimes as an arm extension for one footed poses. The half moon pose is a basic yoga pose where using yoga blocks is helpful. Although ardha chandrasana pose is not dependent on a block, it is great to use at first when trying to improve your endurance confidence. If your trying to improve your core strength while at the same time increasing your overall flexibility than yoga is for you.

Having a block is great for meditation. Some peoples hips are so inflexible that while trying to sit criss cross apple sauce their thighs don’t come close to laying flat on the floor and their knees point up to their head. Try using a block to allow your hips to open up comfortably while trying to lengthen the spine. Sitting a few inches higher makes it much more comfortable. Try out the easy pose, hero pose, and spread leg forward fold on your yoga block. Yoga blocks are generally used for someone to sit in a position for a longer period of time. Mediation helps clear your mind so this is why so many people love their yoga blocks.

A yoga block is the first yoga accessory you should buy. Whatever your skill level having a block will help out flexibility. Sun salutation is the first pose that yoga teachers use a yoga block to show their students the right position. It is important to flex inward and upward lifting the yoga block just slightly while tightening your core and trying to lengthen your back.

http://yogablocks.org/