When I started yoga I remember there was a shelf inside the studio that held all the props needed for a yoga practice. I remember staying away from that shelf for a long time because to me it seemed like only the injured or  older students needed support. I thought I was flexible enough to not  need one of the props needed to go deeper in the practice. I could naturally touch my toes and it wasn’t hard for me to place my hand on the ground in trikonasana or triangle pose. It was my ego telling me that I was better than the foamy blue block or the purple strap.

The only time that I would use  the support were the classes that my teacher brought out props to take us deeper in a pose. We’d spend the class using the props for  learning restoratives or inversions. I remember going to a class and my teacher giving us each a chair so that we could go deeper in scorpion pose. Did it help? Of course it did, but it didn’t mean I was going to fall in love with props.

My suggestion is don’t listen to your egos desire to be to good for props. Using props doesn’t mean that you aren’t good enough or incapable of doing a pose. In fact, it’s the opposite. Props are a yogis best friend. It’s the buddy that is always by your side  in class waiting to take you deeper. It’s the buddy that encourages you to be better and to take the pose to a deeper level.

If you are someone who is resistant to using props then think about reconsidering why. You may find that by resisting props you are in fact resisting going deeper into your own body or even exploring the different possibilities that your body can do amazing tricks.

To learn more about yoga props and when to prop or not to prop check out this link  http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/989

Namaste!

mary breath