r/yoga
Blocks, straps, bolsters… how long did it take you to actually use props without feeling like you were “cheating”?
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered.
The Question
I'll be honest…for the longest time I avoided props because I thought they meant I wasn't good enough yet. Just white-knuckling my way through poses I had no business attempting lol Finally caved and grabbed a couple blocks last month and I genuinely cannot believe I waited so long. My forward folds alone have improved so much just from not straining everything to reach the floor. Now I'm kind of obsessed and looking down the rabbit hole at bolsters for yin practice. Send help (or …
— via r/yoga
Our Response
No help needed. You figured it out.
Props aren't training wheels. They're tools. The floor isn't closer to enlightenment just because it's lower.
Here's what happened: you stopped forcing. Started working with your actual body. That's not weakness. That's intelligence.
The blocks gave you length instead of compression. Your hamstrings could actually release instead of defending themselves against your ambition.
Keep the blocks. Get the bolster if you want. But here's the thing—in Ashtanga practice specifically, we're usually working without props. Not because props are bad. Because the method is about finding steadiness in the form as it is.
So use props in your home practice. Absolutely. But when you're learning the series, you're learning to work within your range without them.
That's not a contradiction. One helps you open. The other teaches you to be honest about where you are right now.
The real shift already happened. You stopped performing yoga and started practicing it.
Carousel · Tech Support
1/4
Not sure where to start?
Chat with the intake assistant — tell it about your practice and it’ll point you to what fits.
Talk to the Intake Bot →
Discussion
or explore Student Union