As we settle into Minnesota winter, and there are no more outdoor classes to attend in-person, you may be thinking about starting up (or re-starting) an at-home yoga practice. Which is a great idea! But, your space may be small, you may not have all the props a studio has, and you may feel restricted by this.
I started my journey of practicing yoga by watching Youtube videos in my tiny apartment. This is how I learned all the basic poses. I started going to in-studio yoga classes when I became friends with a yoga instructor. She is big on using props in classes, and this made me become a big user of props in class. Can’t reach the floor in Triangle Pose? Bring the floor closer with a block!
In March, when everything went virtual and I went back to practicing in my yoga-mat-sized home practice space, I had to improvise--I didn’t have a single prop at home!
I used books and water bottles instead of blocks, any old pillow instead of a bolster, and a necktie that I actually had listed for sale on Poshmark (shh, don’t tell) as a strap. For balancing poses like Warrior III or Half Moon, I’d rest my hand on the middle ledge of my bookshelf. For Legs Up The Wall, I’d run my legs up a pile of clothes stacked on a chair (I weirdly don’t have a great open wall space option, though later I realized a door would work).
There are many ways to practice at home without traditional props, either by doing different variations of poses or by using random objects as the props. What creative adaptations have you tried?
Useful props are just one way we can create a regular and successful home yoga practice. To learn more essentials of cultivating a home practice, join Ben Vincent for a workshop on this topic on November 14. For more information and to register, please visit: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=10757&stype=-8&sTG=26&sVT=45&sView=day&sLoc=1&sTrn=100000007&date=11/14/20
- Stephanie, Development and Marketing Director, One Yoga
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