Four Ways to Use Yoga Blocks to Elevate Your Practice
Yoga props are tools — plain and simple.
When you use them, it doesn’t mean that you’re less of a person. Period. So, I want you to toss out the idea that you’re not good enough the next time I or another teacher invites you to use blocks for a supported warrior three or triangle pose or any pose for that matter. There are a variety of reasons why we’re encouraging you to use them. Let’s explore four different ways to use blocks to support your yoga practice:
1) To Move Safely Into a Posture
Let’s start with a supported warrior three pose. For many of us, our hamstrings are extremely tight. If this is the case for you, using blocks to bring the floor to you allows you to get safely (this is key) into supported warrior three without pulling or straining your hamstrings. By choosing to use blocks, you’re taking responsibility for the health and well-being of your body. That speaks volumes for how you treat yourself and others — with respect, compassion, and acceptance for where you are right now — on your yoga mat and off of your mat too.
2) To Establish Proper Alignment
Another benefit of using blocks in a supported warrior three pose, especially for those new to yoga, is that you’re better able to find proper alignment. In doing so, you’re more than likely engaging the correct muscles to stabilize the joints. And once you’ve found what feels like proper alignment for you, you’re better able to repeat that feeling the next time you’re offered a warrior three. It’s a win-win all around! I encourage you to also explore using a block when in a half moon or triangle pose. Give it a try and see if you notice anything different in the position of your torso in relation to your legs, and if so, does it feel better or worse?
3) To Build Strength, Mobility, and Body Awareness
Blocks can also be used for drills. Drills are used to create body awareness, strength, mobility, and more. If you’re working on jumping to the top of your mat or for more advanced yogis working on finding a pike position while jumping to the top of their mat, adding blocks will help. The jumping forward motion requires us to lift our hips above our shoulders (just a little or a lot depending on what you’re working on) in order to clear the distance from the back of the mat to the top of the mat. We need to engage the shoulder girdle, core muscles (front and back of the body), and legs to make our way there. Hopping forward can be extremely scary at first, especially for those that have never explored going upside down, and that’s perfectly ok.
Start with small jumps or hops and slowly increase the length of them. Once you feel comfortable hopping from the back to the front, add a block just below your stomach when in downdog. You’ll want the block on the shortest height to start. Now, starting in downdog, aim to hop over the block. If you land on top of it, that’s ok. Try, try again. Repeat this drill until you’ve cleared the block. Then, challenge yourself some more by either changing the height of the block so that it’s taller or adding a second block on top of the first one. Repeat the drill until you clear that block.
4) To Support Therapeutic Practices
Yoga blocks are also used for therapeutic purposes like in a yin or a restorative yoga or the floor section of a vinyasa flow class. The three main ways yoga teachers encourage students to use blocks in one of these passive practices are: 1) to bring the floor to you, 2) to offer support, and 3) to create space.
We’ll use wide leg forward fold as an example. For most, this pose is not one that is easily accessible. The addition of yoga blocks helps facilitate a safe exploration of the pose without pushing beyond edges into straining or pulling a muscle. We definitely don’t want that! So, here are two ways yoga blocks are often used in Upavistha Konasana:
a) To Allow for Hinging from the Hips – Placing blocks (a blanket or a pillow) underneath your seat and walking the sitz bones to the front edge, allows the pelvis to hinge more easily forward. This hinging motion facilitates the torso tipping forward, which increases the stretch through the hips and legs.
b) To Support and Connect – Using a block or two under the forehead to support the trunk of the body connects the forehead to the ground, which creates a grounding sensation in the subtle body. By doing this, we’re tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system — the rest and digest side of our autonomic nervous system. When the body feels safe, it’s more likely to open up and surrender, which allows the participant to find the stretch they’re seeking in class. More props would be used to support the body in a restorative yoga class because you hold the position for a much longer time.
Having the Right Tools is Key for Any Job
When we have the right tools, the job or task at hand becomes so much easier. The same principle applies to our yoga practice whether we’re at home or in a yoga studio. Grab two blocks (not just the one) the next time you find yourself on your mat. Have fun exploring how you can incorporate them into your practice. Get creative! Maybe you’ll discover a way to use blocks that you’ve never tried before that creates a more enjoyable experience for you.