Why Use Blocks in Yoga?

Series Summary

As an all-around fitness regimen, Yoga has many advantages. Many people utilize yoga for its calming and therapeutic nature. Some choose to do yoga because it is a great way to stay limber and in shape. With the rising interest in yoga people have been focusing on specific benefits that can be reaped from practicing certain yoga exercises. And in this series, you will learn how to do several of the most common yoga exercises with blocks.

Yoga has the ability to stretch and strengthen your neck, back, ankles, arms and every other joint in your body. This free video series will cover several exercise examples that will strengthen and tone your whole body so that injuries will occur less frequently and you will feel more energized. Each video is a different pose or stretch utilizing blocks. An experienced yoga instructor will show you how to properly execute each exercise. By learning each pose and doing them on a consistent basis you will see the difference yoga can make in your body.

Video Transcript

"GINA KENNEDY: Whether you're just beginning to practice yoga or you've been practicing for quite some time, it can really enhance your practice to use yoga props. Props such as blocks, straps, blankets and bolsters. When you use props in your yoga practice, it allows you to come into a much better alignment with the poses. What we're doing yoga for is to be able to direct the energy through our body. And if you're using the blocks and the straps, it allows you to come into the proper alignment so that the energy can flow freely. Sometimes this is met with resistance and people feel it's a crutch. But I think if you find that if you just take a few steps back, you can make a giant leap forward in your yoga practice and come into poses you never thought you would be able to do before. If you don't have any blocks, you can always use a phone book or some sort of big dictionary or a big book or just something else that's in this exact shape. Or you could use--for your strap, you could use a belt, a scarf, maybe even a towel to use as your strap. And a couch cushion would work perfect for a bolster and I'm sure we all have blankets. But I think if you just try to use the blocks, what happens is your body remembers the moves and then the next couple of times you try that pose, you're able to do it without the use of props. And in that way, it can really help you move forward in your yoga practice."