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DIY Yoga Props for Home Practice
Developing a regular yoga practice can bring health and well-being for your body and mind. Yoga is a proven stress reducer. It aids in weight control and builds strength. I discovered yoga a few years ago when someone gave me a Rodney Yee tape and I began to develop a home practice. Yee says, “The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind.” I agree, but I find in some yoga sequences and positions it is good to incorporate yoga props too. Props for yoga include mats, straps, blankets, bolsters, blocks, chairs and walls.
The benefit of using yoga props include:
• Props help conserve and replenish energy.
• Props make difficult poses more accessible and safe.
• Props help prevent injuries.
• Props aid stretches and strengthen muscles.
• Props can make it easier to stay in poses long enough to release tension.
• Props help create space in the spine and joint.
• Props can assist inverted and weight-bearing poses.
• Props help improve balance.
• Props help improve body alignment.
Here are some DIY prop ideas:
• Use a blanket or thick towel as a bolster or temporary yoga mat.
• Cut a small tennis ball in half to use as wrist support.
• Stack small throw pillows under your head, chest, or back as a wedge. I like the inexpensive foam pillows from IKEA.
• Tie two neckties together for a strap or use strong cloth belts.
• Use books of varying thickness as blocks. Tie them together with rope if needed.
• Use a sturdy chair for balancing poses.
DIY Yoga Blocks
What you need:
Tape measure
Wood (cut to 3-by-5.5-by-9 inches)
Saw
Sandpaper
What to do:
1. Cut the blocks so that they are 5 1/2 inches wide, 9 inches long and 3 inches tall.
2. With sandpaper, soften the wood. Sand the corner proportionately.
Yoga mats break down and wear out. Gaiam has some great tips for recycling and repurposing old yoga mats. Interested in making your own fashion-forward yoga clothes? Here is an article that includes yoga props and clothing patterns.
Ronnie Citron-Fink lives in New York with her husband, two children (when they come home to the nest), two dogs and a cat. Ronnie is a teacher and a writer. She has been a contributing writer for Family Fun magazine. She currently writes articles about education and home design. Her writings are in four books including Family Fun Home and Some Delights of the Hudson Valley.
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add your comment »Thank you Ronnie for reading my views and taking the time to reply :)
My mind is always open ............ just hope that some of the info doesn't drop out, hehe
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Hi Poet,
Thanks for your comment. I agree that being properly guided by a yoga professional is optimal. Many people do not have the resources to work with a private yoga teacher. For those who develop a yoga practice at home, there may be benefits to using yoga props.
This article from yoga journal gives a balanced approach about the usage of yoga props: http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/989 . It begins, “The original yogis didn't practice with foam blocks, D-ring straps, or purple sticky mats. But as yoga evolved, many practitioners discovered that props could help deepen their explorations.”
I also agree that yoga is a philosophy and not solely an exercise. The article above says it best, “Remember, the best yoga prop is always an open mind.”
Ronnie
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Hi Ronnie Citron-Fink
As much as I like your idea of props, I can see very little benefits in them. The ones you mentioned are benefits one gets from practicing yoga on a regular basis without props.
I have been teaching yoga since 1985 without any props and have achieved great results.
I do have those probs you are talking about, but they are mainly to gain strength and built up muscle which one might have lost after an illness.
Yoga asanas (exercises) Must Be Supervised by a professional Yoga Guru and should not be taken solely as an exercise. Yoga is a philosophy, and when not properly guided can be more harmful than good.
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