Home Practice — Finding the Ease

Why do people think you have to be flexible to practice yoga?

My hips are so tight!

For seated postures and twists, props are my best friends.

They sit piled up in a corner next to the coach. A couple of blocks, some straps, several blankets, massage balls, weights, wedges…collected odds and ends that lift me up, hold me down, tie me together or provide resistance.

I’ve experimented with these objects d’ Iyengar for many years and they make asana much more accessible for me.

I’ve been trying to get into full Padmasana for 12 years now. No going.

And I still use a belt to create space behind my knee.

On my back, a supine ankle to knee. A twist. With one knee to a block and then to the other side.

Sit up, Badha Konasana, Uppavista Konasana, Janu Sirsasana, Ardha Badha Padmasana using some combination of blankets and belts.

Lately I’ve been working with an early morning Gomukasana. Into Ardha Madsyandrasana.

Almost ready to sit.

I find my meditation cushion and two blankets…one to raise me up a little higher and one to support my knees.

Thanks to my props for waiting there for me, along with my books, they make my practice so much more easeful.