I love props and if you are creative with them they can serve tons of different purposes. There are some really important ones and then some additional ones that can be nice to have.

Here is what i think it absolutely important to have for starting your own yoga practice:

The Mat (obviously). This is really all you need, but the next few items are good to have to help out your progress.

Green solft foam blocks

Dense foam blocks

Straps

Dowling

Additional Items:

Bolsters

Heart Block

Stretchy bands

Wooden blocks

Tennis balls in a sock

sensiballs

toe stretchers.

Most of these you can find at any yoga store. Or you can check out www.halfmoonyogaprops.com which is where most of mine are from. A lot of these are also home made creations. When I started practicing yoga at home i became much more aware of what my body needed and where i needed more opening. Some of these props are designed for that, or i have figured out new ways to use props to help out my practice.

I have a series of videos coming out of me describing and demonstrating how i use each of my props. Today i’m starting with just simple dense foam blocks. They have lots of uses, but my video shows what i use them for. I’m sure you will figure out many more ways to use them!

CHeck out my video!: Dense Foam Blocks

Cleansing Article #1

As the movement and breath of yoga cleanses our minds and bodies there are many ways we can additionally cleanse our internal body. Some are easy and some are very advanced. I am an intro student and there are many cleansing techniques I have not tried since they kinda freak me out. I’m sure one day I will try them and then I will post what I discover with them!

I found that the practice of yoga has brought me to a state of improved health in many ways. There are changes I made to my lifestyle and have incorporated many cleansing techniques.

Netti – Netti is lots of fun! It is such a great way to open up your sinuses first thing in the morning and is extremely therapeutic when I have a stuffed up nose from allergies or a cold. It counteracts effects of dry indoor air and environmental pollution. By keeping your nasal membranes moist you are keeping a strong barrier against incoming bacteria and viruses! And of course it is great to do right before a pranayama practice.

I just inhale salt water up one nostril until it falls down the back of my throat or goes into the other nasal passage. You can use a Netti Pot, but I don’t really see the need. There are other versions of Netti that include using thread, ghee (clarified butter), or milk to flush the sinuses. I have not tried these others yet…

To see me do a netti demo click Netti Tutorial!

PS. Since I filmed this video I have tried using a Netti pot and I found it was not as powerful to break through any sinus build up I had. It also tickled like crazy when just a little drip would go into my other nasal passage.

Check out a video of my practice space below!

This is the most important part of your practice. There are a few things that held me back initially from practicing on my own outside of a studio. I have lived in small apartments and had a lot of furniture and would kick things when I would try to practice. That would hurt and I wouldn’t want to practice anymore! Or I had roomates so I couldn’t practice in the space of the living room without worrying they would think I was weird.

Looking back it was all part of the process my mind had to go through before I became comfortable enough with my body to just practice. Of course now I am over the thoughts of people thinking I am weird (I’m glad I’m not normal!) But I understand how early on you might not want people to see you practice…after all this is a very personal time spent with your body!

So slowly I sold furniture I didnt need and cleared more space (which felt great since I was kind of a collector of things I really didnt need! There was a lot involved in my cleansing process!)

Now I have set up a permanent space that is big enough for my mat where I can stretch my legs out in downward dog and swing my arms around beside me. I keep all my props within reach.

For me it was very important to have a permanent space for practicing. I could have done some minor furniture rearrangements each time I practiced, but for me over time that became too much a a hassle and I wouldn’t get on my mat. Moving the furniture also set me with a great excuse of not wanting to move the coffee table, so therefor I wouldnt practice that day. (as you can see discipline is a hard one for me.)

So my area is always ready for me to roll out my mat and start practicing. I also have made sure to have an area of wall space open without any pictures so I can have an area to practice inversions as well as some other stretches and postural excercises.

BONUS:
I am a bit of a narcissist and really like to see how I am progressing in my practice so I have set up a giant mirror in my living room. The mirror is a great critic to show me where I need to build strength to take the poses further. This also has the added bonus of making the room look bigger!

Check out what my practice space looks like here!