Yoga blocks don’t come in all shapes and sizes, but they do come with a multitude of uses. If you’re tired of packing them in your bag and never getting much use out of them, these eight ideas should see you getting them out more often…
Sitting comfortably
First and foremost, yoga should be comfortable with a degree of challenge, but sitting comfortably isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
If you find your hips, knees, lower back or ankles are uncomfortable when sitting cross legged, try slipping a single yoga block under your tail bone or knees, just to give you a little more height or support. You’ll find you can sit more comfortably for longer and can concentrate better on your breathing practise.
Keep your balance
Some people’s bodies just won’t stay upright no matter how hard you squeeze your core and glutes! Make balance easier by having a yoga block to hand. We’re in Half Moon Pose in this photo, which I find imperative to have a block for to achieve a stable result, which ultimately makes the pose far more beneficial.
Or if you want some fun, you could challenge yourself and try your balancing poses while standing on a block!
Challenge your reach
If you’re one of those rare beings that is wonderfully stretchy and wants to increase the effort, try adding a yoga block to your favourite stretches to just give you a bit more range. Be careful though, if you are hypermobile, and build up slowly…
You could pop one under a foot in ‘runner’s’ hamstring stretch, low lunge or under the hands in Child’s Pose.
Get a boost
Yoga blocks are great at giving you a boost! You can place them under the feet to help with headstand, you can pop a slim block under your tail bone to help you roll up in Pilates and you can use two on top of each other to help you maintain good form when holding certain poses.
Maintain good form
I’m thinking specifically about Bridge here… Your knees need to remain the same distance apart as your feet, and when you’re moving up and down in Bridge your knees can very easily drift apart. Holding a yoga block between them solves that problem, but beware – it can create a whole other problem if you’re doing a Single Leg Bridge!
Myofascial release
This time giving the trigger point balls a boost, you can get better contact and increase the pressure to ease sore muscles. Granted, you can’t roll about on the balls, as they’ll just fall off the block, but once you’ve found a pinchy bit, you can set up a combo like in the picture and let the balls do their job…
Fish Pose is another gentle form of myofascial release which can be increased by turning the block on it’s long edge
Legs up
One of the best restorative poses in yoga, and one that I would even recommend everyone does every day is legs up the wall – or at least wave them around in the air above the heart. If you don’t have a suitable wall to hand, popping a block under the hips helps you relax and rest in this pose and gets the feet even higher.
Savasana
Ah yes, Savasana – the time your body processes everything you’ve asked it to do, and when you take a moment to consolidate your thoughts around the ‘intention’ you set for the practise.
Sometimes your lower back might feel uncomfortable when lying flat on the mat after a yoga class, so you can lift your knees slightly with a yoga block to take the pressure off. You can pop the block under your head or shoulder blades to give your neck or upper back and chest a gentle stretch, and you could lift your feet if you like.
Explore using your yoga blocks in class
My yoga and Pilates classes are suitable for all abilities and ages, so please don’t be shy about experimenting with yoga blocks to support your practise.
I always have a few to hand, but if you have brought some along, get them out and start experimenting – there’s no rush, and you might give others some good ideas too.
Jayne