Yoga Props

Iyengar yoga school introduced props into the modern practice, on account of the correct alignment of the body and to allow all practitioners access the benefits of the postures regardless their body, mobility limitations, age, etc.

For those that share the idea that props are for lazy people, let me tell you that you could not be farther from the truth. One thing is certain, physical and mental availability, frequent and consistent training, as well as willpower combine with the correct use of props is what's going to allow us to progress in our yoga practice and also breaking down barriers that in the beginning our body is not prepared or open to doing or even due to several other physical and mental factors.

It's important to reinforce the idea that the main goal of the yoga accessories or props is to fill the lack of support, giving stability and at the same time the confidence and efficiency to the practitioner in each posture. 

Reasons to use props in your practice:

• Increases confidence and efficiency into the practitioner;
• Promotes stability;
• Helps to develop a conscience and insight of proper alignment;
• Increases the time you can stay in a posture;
• Helps to reach more advanced postures.

It is important to mention, that depending on the style of yoga you practice, you may need more or fewer props, and before you invest time and money in these accessories you might want to ask your teacher or do some research, to find out if you will know how to use them, or are they going to confuse you, or simply do you really need them. So choose wisely and hope this post will help or give you some insight and clarity.



Must-have Props:

• Yoga mat;
• Strap;
• Blocks.

Yoga Mat

The yoga mat is the most important and personal prop in yoga. It should protect our body from the cold, impact and hardness of the ground and it's also the place where we understand, gain a conscience, perceive and develop our relationship with our body.

A standard yoga mat is rectangular with 180 cm length and 70 cm width and usually 5 mm thickness. 


What you should take into consideration when you're choosing a mat:

Thickness - The thicker the mat the comfier it gets. Take per example if you do Yin yoga, where stay on a pose for quite a long time and a major part of the body is in contact with the mat, if this one is too thin, probably you will feel the hardness and cold of the floor. Also if you practice an active style of yoga as Ashtanga, Vinyasa or even yoga flow, and you do a lot of dynamic pose transitions with a lot of jumps and move in a very energetic way, a thicker mat will reduce the impact with the ground. 
Now, there also cons. With a thicker mat, it will probably be more difficult to do standing balancing poses, because it becomes more challenging to maintain balance. So you gain in comfort and impact reduction, but you lose in balance. Also if it is a "normal thick mat", you can also lose the grip, especially if you have a tendency to overly sweet.
When it comes the time to buy a mat, talk with your teacher or take in consideration the thick/grip relationship.

Weight - Once again the weight of the mat could be important... If you are going to move around for a long period of time, walking or in public transportation with your mat, chose a lighter one.

Material - Take into consideration the type of materials used in the manufacturing of the mat. There are a lot of mats on the market made from PVC, being therefore toxic and containing cancer-causing products. Nowadays, you find mats 100% cotton made, with plants combination (like latex and hemp), or even cork mats.

Price - The price is undoubtedly an important and personal criterion to take into account. Therefore, the advice that I can give you is to make a good research on the internet and in the yoga stores comparing well the prices and features of the mats, having as rule the price/quality relationship.

Strap

The yoga straps are an excellent help and allow us to understand and improve the postures. They give us stability to the joints, help us gain more flexibility and sensation on the poses, steady and level up the body (or parts of the body), and produce traction and space in the asanas.

Yoga straps can come in different lengths and widths. I personally prefer a strap between 2,5 to 3 meters long and also a wide one, because this gives me so much more options.

How to buckle up a strap:

If the strap has this type of buckle...

If the buckle is in "D" shape...

Blocks

The primary function of this quite versatile prop is to bring closer the floor toward the practitioner. It's also a powerful ally on the flexibility progression, core stability, alignment improvement and also in wakening the dormant areas of the body. In short, works the balance, strength and suppleness. 

Like the straps, there is also a huge variety of blocks with different sizes, width, height and textures, but I must confess that my favourite ones are the standard size cork blocks, for the reason that they combine the stability, weight and the ability to slide in the floor when needed.

Many practitioners use and prefer the foam blocks because they are lighter, softer and easy to move and carry around, well what they gain in comfort they may lose in stability and balance, when used on certain standing poses like Ardha Chandrasana (Half moon pose), and also e some backbends asanas.
The blocks can be placed in 3 different ways with 3 different heights options:

There are also other relevant props that can help us develop our practice, like:

• Blankets;
• Yoga chair;
• Bolsters;
• Zafus for meditation;
• Sandbags;

and so many more.