Usually made of cotton and anywhere from 6 to 10 feet long, a yoga strap takes your practice to the next level. It helps you align, stretch and hold poses longer. The D-ring buckle at one end lets you enclose the strap in a circle to support your body in relaxing, restorative poses. To use, simply slide the belt's metal edge through the opening, then pull it through the center of the two rings and tighten.
Step 1
Find proper alignment in your arms. Make a circle of the strap just tight enough so it holds your upper arms shoulder-width apart. Lift your arms overhead and press into the strap. You can also use the strap for doing downward-facing dog, warrior III, tree pose and handstand to help you hug into your midline and maintain balance.
Step 2
Support your lifted leg in dancer's pose. Pressing down into your standing foot, bend your opposite knee. Wrap the strap around the sole of your lifted foot and hold onto either side with each hand. Press your foot into the strap as you lift your leg. For hand-to-foot pose, lift your leg straight in front of you with the strap around your foot. Do the same with your leg out to the side.
Step 3
Open tight shoulders in cow pose, where you sit with one knee stacked on top of the other. Bend both elbows and reach one arm up and behind you, the other arm down and behind you. If your fingers don't touch behind your back, hold onto the yoga strap with both hands as close together as possible.
Step 4
Reach further in a seated forward bend by placing the strap around the soles of your feet, recommends B.K.S. Iyengar in "Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health." Hold onto the edge of each strap and bend forward, leading with your chest. Walk your hands forward on the strap and keep your elbows bent and your shoulders back and down so you get an opening in your front body and maintain proper alignment as you stretch.
Step 5
Release a tight psoas by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Roll a towel or blanket to support the curve of your neck. Place the yoga strap around your mid thighs and tighten just enough to hold you in this position. Relax your legs and hold for as long as five minutes.
Tips and Warnings
- You can clean the strap in the washing machine if it gets dirty.
Things You'll Need
- Yoga mat
References
- "Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health"; B.K.S. Iyengar; 2001
- "Yoga Journal"; To Prop or Not to Prop; November 2003
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