Yin Yoga with a strap

Like all props, using a strap in Yin Yoga can both support and deepen your practice.

Use a strap to...

• (oh-so-gently) increase the stretch

• regulate your depth of sensation in a pose, allowing it to stop you before gravity takes you any further

• keep your body in a particular shape – not because it’s the ‘right’ one, but because of the sensations it gives you

• support the body so you can simply relax

If you don’t have a strap then no problem – just use a long scarf or even tie a couple together!

A word of caution

In Yin Yoga, it’s important to move slowly into a shape, paying close attention to your natural stopping point and not pushing your body any further. This is basically where you feel your first point of resistance (in the backs of your legs in a forward fold for instance), and it’s very tempting to use a strap to go deeper – quickly and without much thought - into a pose.

Going deeper in itself is not a bad thing, but my advice here would be to first ask yourself if it’s in fact your ego telling you to do what it believes is a more ‘advanced’ pose (it’s not, by the way), or if you are genuinely listening to your body. If it feels like it’s telling you it’s relaxed enough and ready to start ‘exploring your edge’, then test it out gently and with care.

Enjoy!