![]() Reach the bottoms of your feet toward the mat and press down through your big toe mounds. Lift your hips (and the block!) and broaden through your chest. Press your hands into the mat and straighten your arms as you squeeze the block. Place your hands behind you, shoulder- distance apart, fingers pointing toward your hips. Put a block, with the narrow side pointing up, between your thighs. How to: Sit with your legs straight in front of you. ![]() Photo: Ty Milford Purvottanasana (Reverse or Upward Plank Pose)īlock benefit: Squeezing the block between your legs engages your inner and outer thighs and relaxes the glutes to help release tension in your lower back. Optional: Take your right hand to your right foot or take a bind around your left knee. Keep your left foot grounded as you turn both knees toward the ceiling. Rotate your outer thighs down in external rotation. Stack a couple of blocks beneath your sit bones. How to: Find a wide-legged squat with your feet angled out at about 45 degrees. It also helps the heel of your bent leg remain on the mat without overtaxing your knee. Photo: Ty Milford Skandasana (Side Lunge or Pose Dedicated to the God of War)īlock benefit: Having support beneath you enables you to sit upright rather than lean forward. ![]() Eventually, that knowledge allows us to access the awareness, strength, and poise we need to hold ourselves in the pose on our own. With the support of blocks, we can better understand how to align and engage the body in any posture. 16 creative ways to build your yoga practice with blocks Simple things-in this case, blocks-tend to reveal their inherent value when we think a little less and look a little harder. We can find inspiration in the resources available to us. This is true about anything-including yoga. The moment we release what we think we know is when we begin to learn. In this capacity, blocks allow us to evolve our perspective so we can surprise ourselves with what we can achieve and hold ourselves in the integrity of a pose even when it’s challenging. Blocks provide support as we’re learning how to engage our muscles and our mind-the kind of help that we sometimes struggle to accept. I also rely on blocks to reinforce and refine my and my students’ alignment in poses that we’re working on-even those we may be hesitant to try. This helps them become more aware of their breath. One of the most effective ways I cue students to use a block is to ask them to lie on their backs with a block resting on their lower belly. Blocks can assist even the most quiet and still moments in our practice, including during breathwork and meditation. It’s our nature as humans to underestimate the value of simple things. (Heck, you could even use them as a nightstand.) I don’t cue them to reach for blocks only on an “if you need them” basis. I almost always ask students to take two blocks to their mat. More than a decade later, I rely on blocks in most poses in my personal practice as well as in the classes I teach. My relationship with blocks slowly progressed from pretty casual to sort of noncommittal and, eventually, to utter devotion. Only after I was able to set my ego aside was I able to understand the value of allowing this support into my practice. When I first started practicing yoga, I couldn’t bear being someone who needed blocks. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
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