Other than comfortable pants and a top, yoga requires very little more than your own presence. But a yoga class might include various props to enhance your practice, either to support you in a challenging pose or to help you relax in a restorative pose. If you're practicing at home, you can buy your props on-line or at your local yoga studio or store.
Yoga Mat
A yoga mat, also called a sticky mat, provides traction and support for your practice so you don't slip and slide during poses. Mats come in vinyl, rubber, jute and cotton and are either 1/8-inch or 1/4-inch thick. If you can't store your mat at your yoga studio, use a mat-bag to tote it back and forth. Before you use a brand-new yoga mat, put it in the washing machine and hang it to dry so it's not slippery.
Yoga Blocks
Generally made of foam rubber -- and sometimes cork or wood -- a yoga block is a valuable tool for your practice. Use a yoga block under your hands to support standing poses, such as forward bend, side-angle pose or half-moon pose, and under your sacrum for bridge pose.
Yoga Strap
Made out of webbed cotton, a yoga strap helps you develop flexibility in your practice by supporting you as you deepen into a pose. Strap sizes range from 6 feet to 10 feet long, with a D-ring buckle on one end.
Yoga Blankets
A yoga blanket does more than keep you warm during the final resting pose. Sit on folded blankets at the beginning centering of class, stack a few under your shoulders to avoid neck strain during shoulder stand or roll one under your knees to ease lower-back pain. Usually, you can grab a few of them before you start class. Many studios use colorful cotton Mexican blankets with fringe on the edge.
Yoga Bolster
A yoga bolster is a supportive cushion that's mostly used during a restorative practice. In reclined bound-angle pose, you can lie back on the bolster to help open your chest and shoulders.
These rectangular cushions, sized about 12 inches wide, 5 or 6 inches thick and 25 inches long, are dense and firm to fully support your body. The cotton covers are removable for easy washing.
Extra Accessories
Other yoga tools include an eye pillow for restorative poses, sand bags to help you root your legs in seated poses and a scented yoga-mat cleaning spray to keep your supplies clean and smelling sweet.
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