Are you ready to uncover your prejudice and move forward your practice?
Let's see together why every yogi should use yoga aids. Aids, as the word itself suggests, are meant to help us. It is more than appropriate to realize, that using a tool does not mean that I am weaker or worse than others! This means that it is in my interest to perform the position correctly and thus protect the body from injury, especially the spine. As a yoga teacher, I often see in my lessons that students don't want to use for example a block at any cost. ˇˇafter all I'm doing yoga longer then this new neighbored.
Friends, let's throw away our egos, that's what yoga is all about, and most importantly, let's be smart. If I don't use the aid and I don't have enough range yet, I can cause injuries and my whole yoga practice will stop for a while, and if I don't injure myself at that moment, the bad position of the spine will show up when we least expect it. . Be nice to yourself, let's listen to our bodies. Yoga is not a race, it is a way to learn to perceive what our body, soul and mind need.
1. Aids will help you to adapt your practice and get more from it
Although tools have been used for decades, they fit perfectly into today's world of customization. They make it possible to adapt the practice to specific possibilities and body types. This will help you to easily achieve the right balance, instead of trying to make your body look the way you think it should. In addition to injury prevention, proper posture will allow you to gain more from it, whether it's more openness, stretching, strengthening or all together.
2. They are a tool for calming the mind
The basic aid for calming the mind in yoga is our breath. But that in itself isn't a guarantee, that we will keep our troubled minds still. The aids help us to create a sense of stability and security, when we can fully devote ourselves to the present moment. They literally help us to calm down and enjoy it, instead of worrying all the time about falling. And if using a block helps to perform a solid crescent moon , it will also help me to find a calm mind, why not?! Why shouldn't we take advantage of it?
3. They will help you deepen your breath and relax
As I mentioned above, the breath is our alpha omega in yoga. When we cannot breathe or hold our breath in an asana, it isn't performed properly and cannot offer us its benefits.
It is easy to forget to take a deep breath when we focus so intensely on maintaining body balance. The use of yoga aids makes it easier for us to breathe properly - with the help of deep diaphragmatic breathing, we activate the parasypatic nervous system, and we get into a feeling of calm. And since most of us live under constant stress, it would be a shame to lose this benefit.
4. Allows you to experiment
There are some benefits of certain positions that you can only reap if you use tools. For example, squeezing a block between your knees during the position of a bridge or camel will allow you to work with the pulling muscles that you wouldn't engage otherwise. They will also give you courage in more demanding positions, such as the position of a crow, where using blocks, will simplify the performance.
5. They give you a feedback, which you can use in your daily life
How does your little finger feel when you stand on a block? What happens when you slide the strap on your foot from toes down to your heel? What is your emotional reaction when a yoga teacher recommends that you take an aid? This feedback will allow you to better understand how your body is behaving, how it is responding, which can help you raise awareness of muscle imbalances, wrong body position, emotional reactions or compensations that you subconsciously make. Thanks to the aids, it is easier for you to discover your bad patterns and then to change or even remove them, which is a big step on the way to self-knowledge even outside the yoga mat.
Perhaps our article will make you think about, whether it isn't easier to accept and use the help that yoga aids offer us, than to show at all costs to your neighbor your ego :)
