Propped up for practice

Yoga students tend to look at props as a crutch for their practice. I know because I was one of those students. If I was in a class where a teacher had props set up, I would use them, but only when the teacher did. When there was a class when the teacher did not have props, I wouldn’t dare get a block, especially if no one else did. There was no need, I believed I was strong enough and flexible enough to do any pose without further assistance.

It was not until years later as I grew to understand alignment in my yoga practice, did I understand the purpose of the props. They weren’t there to lean on or use as a crutch, they were there to deepen my poses.

If you would have told me a few years ago that this twist using a chair would be harder than any twist I had ever done seated on the floor, I would have rolled my eyes. My ego would have silently screamed that chair yoga is for people who could not sit on the ground. However, on this particular day when I was required to demo this pose, I painstaking learned that chair yoga is for all bodies. If you look closely, you can see how hard I am working, how difficult it is to revolve my spine and the chair is keeping me in a space that will not allow me to take the easy way out.

As I continued to study and practice different styles of yoga, I learned how to incorporate all types of props in my practice. In the Iyengar studio where I studied, I discovered props that I had never seen before, but I learned how the props made yoga accessible to more bodies. I was so passionate about all the students getting into poses and finding relief in their bodies that I fell deep in love with alignment and props. I wanted my students to get deep into their bodies and understand how to access poses and places they were not able to access before. So I began to teach with more props. I carried props in my car to in home clients. I became creative with props when I was in atypical yoga spaces. I remembered that no matter where I was practicing or teaching, there were always walls to use as a prop. While my goal is not for students to rely on the props, I want them to experience the pose with and without props so they can understand the magnitude of how they can access their bodies and change their practice. How they can go inside and not rely so much on what they believe the pose should look like on the outside.

And now it's your turn! Grab a block the next time you are the studio and try it, see how much deeper you can get in your poses with some extra support. And if you are not sure where to even begin with props, click on my schedule and come to class!

Yoga students tend to look at props as a crutch for their practice. I know because I was one of those students. If I was in a class where a teacher had props set up, I would use them, but only when the teacher did. When there was a class when the teacher did not have props, I wouldn’t dare get a block, especially if no one else did. There was no need, I believed I was strong enough and flexible enough to do any pose without further assistance.

It was not until years later as I grew to understand alignment in my yoga practice, did I understand the purpose of the props. They weren’t there to lean on or use as a crutch, they were there to deepen my poses.

If you would have told me a few years ago that this twist using a chair would be harder than any twist I had ever done seated on the floor, I would have rolled my eyes. My ego would have silently screamed that chair yoga is for people who could not sit on the ground. However, on this particular day when I was required to demo this pose, I painstaking learned that chair yoga is for all bodies. If you look closely, you can see how hard I am working, how difficult it is to revolve my spine and the chair is keeping me in a space that will not allow me to take the easy way out.

As I continued to study and practice different styles of yoga, I learned how to incorporate all types of props in my practice. In the Iyengar studio where I studied, I discovered props that I had never seen before, but I learned how the props made yoga accessible to more bodies. I was so passionate about all the students getting into poses and finding relief in their bodies that I fell deep in love with alignment and props. I wanted my students to get deep into their bodies and understand how to access poses and places they were not able to access before. So I began to teach with more props. I carried props in my car to in home clients. I became creative with props when I was in atypical yoga spaces. I remembered that no matter where I was practicing or teaching, there were always walls to use as a prop. While my goal is not for students to rely on the props, I want them to experience the pose with and without props so they can understand the magnitude of how they can access their bodies and change their practice. How they can go inside and not rely so much on what they believe the pose should look like on the outside.

And now it's your turn! Grab a block the next time you are the studio and try it, see how much deeper you can get in your poses with some extra support. And if you are not sure where to even begin with props, click on my schedule and come to class!