Yoga Props: How to Use Blocks, Straps, and Bolsters

Yoga props — blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, and chairs — are not accessories for beginners who "cannot do the real pose." They are precision tools that extend the range and depth of practice for practitioners of every level. B.K.S. Iyengar, who systematised their use in modern yoga, described props as the means by which the intelligence of the body can reach positions of alignment that would otherwise be inaccessible. Understanding how props work — and how to use each one effectively — significantly upgrades the quality of any practice.

Yoga Blocks

Blocks (typically 23×15×8 cm) are used at three heights — high, medium, and low — to bring the floor closer to the practitioner rather than asking the practitioner to reach to the floor before the body is ready. The most important use of blocks is in standing forward folds and lateral poses, where placing the hand on a block rather than straining toward the floor maintains spinal length and proper joint alignment.

Trikonasana with a block: Rather than shortening the torso by collapsing the waist to reach the floor, placing the lower hand on a block at the appropriate height allows the torso to remain long, the chest to open, and the pose's intended effects to occur properly. This is not a modified Triangle — it is Triangle practised correctly.

Seated poses: Sitting on a folded blanket or block tilts the pelvis into anterior tilt, making forward folds accessible for practitioners with tight hamstrings or deep pelvises. This simple intervention transforms Paschimottanasana from a painful lumbar flexion into a genuine hamstring stretch.

Restorative backbends: A block placed under the sacrum in Supta Baddha Konasana elevates the pelvis, allowing the chest and front body to open with no muscular effort — the most efficient backbend available for chest-opening work.

Yoga Straps

Straps extend the arm's reach, making poses accessible when the limbs cannot connect without compromising alignment. They are essential for:

Supta Padangusthasana: A strap around the raised foot allows complete hamstring stretching without the lumbar rounding that occurs when practitioners strain to reach a foot they cannot comfortably hold. The strap length is adjusted so the arms remain long, not bent — bent arms indicate the strap is too short for the current flexibility.

Gomukhasana arms: When the hands cannot meet behind the back, a strap bridging them provides the arm position and progressive shoulder opening that leads eventually to unassisted connection.

Bound poses (Baddha Konasana, Marichyasana): Where the bind is the goal rather than a means, straps allow work on the other elements of the pose without waiting for binding to become possible.

Bolsters

The largest props, bolsters are the foundation of restorative yoga. A standard bolster (65×30×10 cm) supports the spine in backbends, the hips in forward folds, and the body in semi-supine positions. Key uses:

Supta Baddha Konasana: Bolster along the spine from sacrum to head opens the chest and diaphragm without any muscular effort — 10 minutes in this position produces more chest opening than aggressive backbend practice. Especially valuable for respiratory conditions, anxiety, and fatigue.

Supported forward folds: A bolster across the extended legs in Paschimottanasana allows the abdomen and chest to rest and the nervous system to fully relax — transforming the pose from a stretch into a release.

Blankets

Folded blankets support the sitting bones in seated poses, cushion the knees in kneeling poses, provide shoulder padding in Sarvangasana, and can be rolled to support the neck in Savasana. A firm folded blanket under the sitting bones in any seated pose is one of the simplest and most widely applicable prop uses in yoga.

The Philosophy of Props

Using props is practising yoga correctly, not practising modified yoga. The intelligence of the pose — the intended alignment, the specific muscle engagement, the particular opening — requires proper structural support to occur. A practitioner straining without support is working against the pose; a practitioner well-supported is working with it.