![]() Lift your hips to the sky to come into Downward-Facing Dog Pose. Place them at the top of your mat.Ĭome to a Tabletop Pose (Bharmanasana), and then walk your hands toward the top of your mat about the length of one handprint. Grasp the other block with your free hand. Rise onto your knees and grab the block out from under you. How to Use Blocks in Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana) Take 5 to 10 breaths, and longer if you’d like and have the time, building a full and fluid breath. ![]() Note what it feels like to have the support that the block offers. Check-in with what your body is telling you. If there’s any pain in your knees, you can add another block (or a blanket, if you have one handy) underneath your hips.įeel a rooting in your seat, with the sturdy support of your block, as well as a rising of your spine out of that stable foundation, from your pelvis up out through the top of your head.Ĭlose your eyes, if it’s comfortable for you. Gently hug your heels into the block.Ĭheck-in with any notable sensations in your legs, and your knees in particular. Sit back onto the block, bringing your torso to an upright position. Separate your feet hip-width apart so that your ankles are on either side of the block and the tops of your feet are on the floor. Place a block on its lowest height, the “wide” way, its short edge parallel to the long edge of your mat.Ĭome to Tabletop Pose (Bharmanasana). If you jump right into the practice, proceed cautiously and pay particular attention to any messages that your body might send you at any point. ![]() If you have time, warm your body up prior to practicing the following sequence with a few sets of Cat/Cow Pose (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana) and a few Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). Have two blocks within reaching distance. Let’s jump in! How to Use Yoga Blocks for Strength and Ease All you need is two blocks, a mat, and 10 minutes. The following is a short sequence highlighting some of the ways so that you can try them yourself. The student is learning all of the wonderful ways that blocks can enhance asana practice, no matter how long they’ve been practicing or how “good” or “not good” at yoga they are-qualifiers that aren’t quite fitting when it comes to yoga practice, but that’s a complex conversation for another day. Yet another teacher shows them how to create space through the spine in a challenging pose, such as using a block under the lower arm’s hand in Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana). Another shows them how to use blocks to experience proper alignment and muscular engagement kinesthetically, such as holding a block in between the palms to experience proper engagement and placement in Upward Hands Pose (Urdhva Hastasana). ![]() Perhaps one teacher shows them ways to use blocks for strength building, such as holding a block in between the inner thighs in Boat Pose (Navasana) and Fierce Pose (Utkatasana). Blocks can also help them advance in practice, the student learns. But blocks can also support even the most experienced students whose anatomical structures make executing certain poses without props unstable and potentially injurious. The student learns that yes, blocks can support beginning students. Even while intensely curious and learning more with every class, they resist using blocks out of not wanting to seem like a “beginner.” As they delve deeper into practice-the nuances of asana, pranayama, philosophy, and meditation-they come to see that blocks are in no way just for beginners. Before long, they are coming to the studio and soaking up all of the knowledge about the practice that they can. Those first few yoga classes-there’s physical discomfort, maybe even pain, but also a curiosity or just some mysterious force that keeps a beginning student coming back for more.
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