Props:
For newcomers to yoga (or those coming back to it after a time away), some poses may seem confusing or even foreign. Props can help by decreasing the number of things that your body (and mind) have to worry about so they can focus on the mechanics of the pose. In yoga we want to create length, space, and ease for the body that comes with proper alignment. Props help that action and allow the student to stay in a pose long enough to notice the stretch in a back leg or the external rotation of an arm and equally important the rhythm of the breath and the state of the mind. Once that place is reached then you can experiment with extending deeper and breathing more evenly.
This also applies for a more seasoned practitioner, as I will invite those students to use props as a gentle reminder to lighten up, back off, and slow down. Consider using props in class as a way to find more ease in the poses you already do or to work on some you have never done before.
Props help activate the body’s own intelligence. Sometimes I see students just going through the motions, mindlessly doing Surya Namaskars, standing poses, arm balances, backbends, and twists. Take a break, mix things up, and reach for a few props. Props can move us from autopilot to discrimination, according to BKS Iyengar: " the more we learn to discriminate — to hear and feel what our body is telling us — the more we can discard what contracts or harms and embrace what expands and enlivens……"
For newcomers to yoga (or those coming back to it after a time away), some poses may seem confusing or even foreign. Props can help by decreasing the number of things that your body (and mind) have to worry about so they can focus on the mechanics of the pose. In yoga we want to create length, space, and ease for the body that comes with proper alignment. Props help that action and allow the student to stay in a pose long enough to notice the stretch in a back leg or the external rotation of an arm and equally important the rhythm of the breath and the state of the mind. Once that place is reached then you can experiment with extending deeper and breathing more evenly.
This also applies for a more seasoned practitioner, as I will invite those students to use props as a gentle reminder to lighten up, back off, and slow down. Consider using props in class as a way to find more ease in the poses you already do or to work on some you have never done before.
Props help activate the body’s own intelligence. Sometimes I see students just going through the motions, mindlessly doing Surya Namaskars, standing poses, arm balances, backbends, and twists. Take a break, mix things up, and reach for a few props. Props can move us from autopilot to discrimination, according to BKS Iyengar: " the more we learn to discriminate — to hear and feel what our body is telling us — the more we can discard what contracts or harms and embrace what expands and enlivens……"