by Madi Eunis
Yoga tools are your friends. They want to support you during your practices, not make you feel like you’re not doing enough. They want to hold you up! They want to help you deepen and even strengthen your practices. They are not meant to make you feel like you’re ‘behind.’ There’s no such thing as that in yoga anyway.
Just like there are different types of friends, there are different types of yoga support.
So, I say this with so much love. Don’t listen to your ego, listen to your body. Repeat after me: Tools are your friends, not an indication you’re not where you’re supposed to be.
Think of it this way. The way we do one thing is the way we do everything. If you don’t use support in your yoga class, then you probably are resistant to allowing support outside of your yoga practice. Yes, I am calling you out, but I used to be the same way.
Blocks: The Solid Friend
You know that friend who is just solid? The one who always has your back especially when you’re not around? Your ‘go-to’ person when you just need a friend to support you in your day to day life? The one that is there no matter what, even if you don’t need them but want them around because they’re just so dang amazing? Blocks. The best friend we all need.
Blocks are not just to bring the floor closer because you can’t touch your toes. They grow your practice. They can be used in your half split variation when your hamstrings are too tight, but they can also help you get your crow pose, or assist you in building your handstand practice.
Blocks are my favorite tool in the world because they ensure stability, sure, but they also can deepen and grow your practice. Want a deeper twist in a lunge twist? Bring the hand to the block and you can actually have more space to twist more. Want to put less strain on your lower back in a triangle pose? Use a block to ensure proper form. Want to start building your handstand practice? Put the block under the standing foot in pendulum swings to get your hips over your shoulders.
Blocks help you with good form! Think when you lift weights and you don’t engage the core you can hurt your back. That example is also the same in yoga with many poses. Blocks help alignment so you don’t strain or pull a muscle. They help to keep your spine straight or your shoulders from curving in. When you have good form, that is when yoga is beneficial–not when you’re trying to reach for the floor in a triangle pose and you hurt your hamstring and back because of your form. A block under the hand would save you from both.
As a teacher who has been teaching for some time now, I have taught a variety of students. The ones who rely on blocks, and those who vehemently avoid them. I tend to notice in more physically advanced classes like hot yoga or a strong vinyasa, the people who need the blocks the most never use them. As a teacher, I don’t look down on people for using blocks, I celebrate them for their awareness. If you go to a bikram class, I can’t say the teacher will be the same.
When we compare ourselves to other people, that is when we distract ourselves from our own bodies and practice. The person you compare yourself to, probably needs blocks too–or is just as insecure about their practice.
The “Right” Blocks
The catch here is finding blocks that support you rather than ones that are too foamy that your hand and body weight sink into. In order to protect the shoulders and the posture, you need blocks that are stable like the ground. If you put your weight on a block and you sink into it, it's time to get yourself a new set. If you’re at a studio that has these blocks, you will have to activate the core a bit more and put a bit less weight onto the blocks.
TulaBala blocks are made for a secure and stable practice. Cork blocks are my personal favorite because of their stability, but they do tend to be a bit heavier. Our foam blocks are just as supportive, but they have a softer appeal to them. I recommend the cork if you’re looking to grow your inversion practices. The foam is also great, but more supportive for deepening your poses.
Bolsters: The Open-Up-To-Me Friend
Ah, bolsters. The pillow of yoga. The love of many lives. The friend you feel safe with–that you can rely on to help you to relax and soften into. This is the friend that gives you a shoulder to cry on, to rest and sleep while moving through your emotions.
Bolsters are great because they are the ultimate yoga pillow. They are supportive and invite all practitioners at every level into practice–especially when we combine the blocks and the bolsters.
Bolsters, similarly to blocks, bring the floor closer. They are used to add additional support and take pressure off certain joints and muscles so the body can soften. Take a simple pose, like a savasana (corpse pose), for example. Laying all the way down on the back with a bolster underneath the knees takes pressure off the lower back. It takes out the slight arch that forms when we lay all the way down. Without the bolster, that strain can sometimes be really uncomfortable on a hard floor, and depending on the state of your back and hips, a bolster can be a lifesaver here.
There are different kinds of bolsters out there. Ones that are really soft that act more like a pillow than anything, and some that are really hard. The ones I’ve worked with that are really hard can be supportive in some cases because they are heavy and can be used for specific poses that you want to add that type of pressure and structure. The harder ones aren’t as flexible, which can be beneficial in some poses.
I find, though, that my favorite type of bolster is the happy medium of both. One that is structured to be supportive in all poses, but also one that is soft and cozy. I’m not just saying this because I’m biased, but the TulaBala bolsters are perfect. They encompass luxury, stability, and comfort, so they are versatile which is what I look for in my yoga equipment.
They’re beautiful too! When you’re not using them for yoga, you can use them when you have people over. They are great for a conversation circle on the floor! Like I said, versatile.
Trapeze: The Fun Friend that always tries to get you to do crazy things
We all need that friend that takes us out of our comfort zone. The friend that gets you out of bed when you’re stuck in your thoughts. The one that connects you back to play, childlike energy, and gives you a new perspective…literally.
That’s the energy of the trapeze. It looks intimidating, but it is so good for your body. Being upside down has so many benefits. One of those benefits is lymphatic draining.
Lymphatic drainage is a way to relieve swelling and inflammation in the body with increasing the circulation back to the heart. Because the center of gravity is changed, you can use the gravitational pull to your benefit and aid in recirculating blood and fluid through the body.
The benefits of this are endless: reduced stress because oxygen rich blood is circulating to the brain, reversing the effects on gravity on the spine and posture, and it doesn’t just aid the lymphatic system, but also the cardiovascular, nervous, and endocrine systems.
Having a trapeze is beneficial because you don’t have to be able to do a headstand or handstand to start gaining these benefits of being upside down. Our trapeze will hold you in place while you play and shift your perspective.
You’ve Got a Friend in Me
When you have a variety of friends that support you, you have a beautiful and successful life. When you have a variety of tools that can aid your yoga practice, you have a beautiful and successful yoga practice that is supportive and expansive. These are tools that can guide you no matter where you are on your journey.
Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help from friends when going through life because sometimes we feel we have to do things on our own not to burden others. But this life, we can’t do it alone, it’s not as fun or joyful. It results in hurting ourselves emotionally to always choose isolation.
You see where I’m going with this. It’s okay to use support in your yoga practices. Blocks allow for good form so you can expand your practice. I’ve been practicing yoga for a long time now, and I use blocks and bolsters all the time. Not because I ‘need’ them in certain poses, but because I know my form and my body will benefit from using them since I tend to be hypermobile and my shoulders like the support.
It’s okay to use support on and off your mat. Your life and your yoga practice will thank you for it.
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