How to Use Props (rolled-up mat or block)

Props are amazing. Everyone deserves the luscious feeling of a prop changing a pose from okayIseewhatthisis to ohmygoshthisfeelsSOgood. In this three-week series, I will talk about my experience in using props and how they can seriously rock your practice!

A rolled-up mat or a block can be used to give your arms and legs length (e.g. triangle, pyramid, low lunge, forward fold, crow), to enhance the feeling of gravity, and to intensify any pose. I say rolled-up mat OR block, because I began practicing yoga using a rolled-up mat. That’s what Forrest yoga uses, and I love that it has a little give while being extremely solid. To make a rolled-up mat, use an old mat you don’t practice on anymore or buy the cheapest one you can find, fold it into three long sections and fold each section into the middle and roll it up like sushi. Secure tightly with rubber bands. It should look similar to a block. The other option is an actual yoga block.

My favorite way to use this prop is to place it in between the thighs right up against the pelvic bone. Squeezing the prop between the thighs strengthens your inner thigh muscles (which are difficult to target) and gives the lower back space so you can tuck the tailbone and create length in the lower back in poses like bridge, chair, any abdominal pose, or even mountain pose. It can be used in boat pose (laying the belly on the ground and lifting arms and legs up) in between the thighs to strengthen the lower back muscles even more. Or you can hold it out in front of you like you’re a superhero flying through the sky and light up the upper back muscles. This prop is also perfect for placing underneath you in any position that requires you to lie on your back. Place it under the knees, the sacrum, under the middle back, upper back, anywhere that feels good.

Embrace the power of props!

By Fae Leslie Hoffman; All Rights Reserved @2019