Are you looking to take your yoga practice to the next level? Advanced yoga poses can be intimidating, but with the right modifications and accessories, you can safely and confidently explore more challenging postures. From straps and chairs to blankets and blocks, there are plenty of tools that can help you unlock your potential. Using straps, chairs, blankets, blocks and reinforcements can help you adopt an advanced yoga posture safely. Silks, used in aerial yoga, can also be a fun way to get additional support when practicing inversions and poses that require a lot of flexibility.
For example, the King Dancer's pose (pictured above) is a challenging posture that requires a huge opening through the chest and shoulders. This is a pose you definitely don't want to force, so a yoga strap is naturally your best friend. From Tadasana, fold one foot behind you and place the center part of a strap over the top of that foot with the hand that is on that same side of the body. Start leaning forward and then leave plenty of slack with the strap as you turn the handle and start lifting your elbow in front of you and then above your head.
Start stretching with your opposite hand to grab the strap above your head with both hands. You can move your hands down the strap to get closer to your foot while standing, but do it with patience. Keep leaning forward and pulling on the strap to create traction. If standing with your shoulders is a great way to make some investments in practice, but for some it can be difficult for the shoulders, neck and lower back.
In this case, a wall-supported pose is a perfect way to perform a more restorative session or to stand up with your shoulders easily. This pose is fantastic for stretching your entire back and increasing blood flow to all organs. To achieve flexibility when performing an asana, it's crucial that the muscles that support these joints respond and are able to fully contract and stabilize them. Hatha yoga is the branch of yoga that deals with the physical body, and its early practice focused on rigorous discipline.
