Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is a yoga strap?
- How to include a yoga strap in your practice: Examples to get you started
- Conclusion
Introduction
You might have heard your yoga teacher mention the use of props, typically blocks, during class. Props are valuable tools that can help enhance and deepen your practice with applications across multiple forms of yoga: vinyasa, yin, restorative, power, and more. Another common prop–though sometimes less utilized–is the yoga strap. Whether you’re new to yoga or a frequent practitioner, a yoga strap can be the tool that levels up your practice whether that’s stretching sustainably, enabling alignment, assisting with your anatomy, or accessing greater depth in your practice.
What is a yoga strap?
But first: What is it? A yoga strap is a long, belt-like tool that you may see rolled up or hanging in your local studio. Yoga straps act as an extension of your arm or legs and make postures more accessible in open-level classes with students varying in flexibility, anatomy, and skill level.
Tips for using a yoga strap
Before reaching for a yoga strap, whether it’s for your home practice or in a studio environment, this is what you should know to select the right yoga strap and safely use it.
Choosing the right yoga strap
There are a few considerations to make when choosing a yoga strap: material, length of the strap, and the type of buckle. Most straps are made of a tightly-knit cotton webbing which is a great choice for a soft touch with no stretch. The length of the strap can vary, and common sizes are 6’, 8’, and 10’ long to be selected based on the user’s height. An 8’ strap is a suitable length for most practitioners! Finally, you can choose from three types of buckles: A D-ring, a slider, or quick release. D-rings are the most common style as they are easy to use and provide a secure loop.
Looping the D-ring
First, weave the opposite end of the strap through both rings until you meet the desired loop length. Then, double loop the strap in the opposite direction through just one D-ring to tighten. Now your strap is ready for use! Keep the strap beside your mat so it’s within easy reach when you need it.
How to include a yoga strap in your practice: Examples to get you started
Stretch sustainably
Having a hard time touching your toes? Your strap can help by acting as an extension of your arms so you can reach your foot! Give it a try with these two postures:
Forehead to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)
Also known as Half Butterfly, Forehead to Knee pose is a variation of a seated forward fold that lengthens the back and focuses the stretch of the hamstring on the extended leg. For many, gripping hands on their feet is often inaccessible without a deep bend of their knee or rounding of their spine, reducing the impact of the posture. A yoga strap can make this posture more accessible to achieve the stretch and increase flexibility over time!
Prep and Placement: Begin in a tall seat with legs extended forward. Bend one knee then butterfly that knee open to place the sole of your foot against the inner thigh of your extended leg. Reach for your strap now and hold the strap in both palms with about a foot of space between your palms. You can then hook the strap to the ball mound of the foot of your lengthened leg, and with a slightly bent knee hinge at your hips with a flat spine to fold over your leg. With a firm grip on your strap, press your foot into your strap and fold forward.
Impact: Over time this strap assist enables more flexibility over time. Through continued practice, you can inch your fingertips closer towards your foot until one day they ultimately meet. This allows for safe stretching of your hamstring to avoid hamstring tendonopathy, also known as “yoga butt”, a common yoga injury.
Supine Hand to Big Toe Pose (Supta Padangusthasana)
If a yogi toe lock (the index and middle fingers and thumb wrapping around the big toe) in Supine Hand to Big Toe pose isn’t accessible without a deep bend in the knee or lifting of the hip or shoulder, recruit your strap for help!
Prep and placement: Much like in Forehead to Knee pose, take the strap to the ball mound of your foot and hold both ends of the strap in one hand. Slowly press your foot into the strap while keeping your hip grounded to lengthen your leg.
Impact: Without a strap, you might lose the intention of the posture. You can build flexibility overtime, however a yoga strap allows you to engage a hamstring stretch without sacrificing the rest of the alignment of the posture.
Your alignment spot
Alignment in yoga isn’t just about making a pose look right to an observer, but rather to safely approach the posture, promote greater mind-body awareness, and build strength. Common misalignments can lead to pain or injury. Here, the yoga strap provides a functional foundation to experience and continue to build on the pose.
Crow (Bakasana)
Joint stacking in crow pose is essential for greater stability in this challenging arm balance, notably in the alignment of elbows over wrists. Similar to four-limbed staff pose (chaturanga dandasana), or low plank, elbows knit close to the ribcage and point back.
Prep and placement: Loop the strap around both your arms to measure shoulder-width distance, then double loop the rings in your strap. Place both arms through the looped end with a gentle press outward to maintain arms shoulder-width distance apart.
Impact: Sometimes the arms open wider than the ribcage when working on crow pose. With the strap you maintain the alignment of arms close to your torso to engage your chest and get familiar with taking flight (lifting your toes away from the ground.) Eventually, you build the awareness of this alignment and can remove the strap to practice the posture without the assistance of a prop.
Bridge (Setu Bandhasana)
Much like crow pose, joint stacking in bridge pose is ideal for safe alignment. A common misalignment in bridge pose is the splaying out of the knees, which over time can cause strain to the knees and low spine.
Prep and placement: Create a loop with the strap around both thighs. Adjust this loop by pressing against the strap until the thighs are parallel and knees hips width distance apart, then double loop to tighten the strap.
Impact: Often a block is cued with bridge pose, placing it between the thighs to bring them to parallel and strengthen adductors, however a strap is a great substitute! Since blocks have a set size, a strap can be customized to your body’s anatomy. Finally, supported bridge in restorative practices can also be supported with the use of a strap during longer holds, allowing for proper alignment and enabling deep relaxation of the low spine.
Boat (Navasana)
It’s time to fire up your core! Boat pose involves a balance on the sitting bones to create a “V” shape with the body. While the pose strengthens your core, it also involves balanced action through engagement of back muscles to lengthen the spine. Often when leaning back, the lower spine will round and can lead to pain or injury.
Prep and placement: Sitting tall with knees bent in preparation for boat pose, create a large loop with your strap to fit around your back and behind your thighs. After tightening the strap, lean back into the strap, keeping a proud chest with shoulder slightly rolled back. Then, you can lift your heels and parallel your shins to the floor to balance on your sitting bones.
Impact: By pressing back into the strap, you engage the back muscles that support and align the spine. The strap assistance allows you to focus on the shape of the posture and build core strength over time.
An anatomy assist
Can’t quite get your fingers to meet in a bind, or reach your foot in a back bending posture? A strap can function as an extension of your limbs as you increase flexibility with continued practice.
Floor Bow (Dhanurasana)
This powerful backbend begins by laying prone on a mat, with knees bent, feet kicked towards the glutes, and hands wrapped around the outer edge of each foot. For many, however, that reach is not accessible.
Prep and placement: While laying belly down, draw your heels in towards your glutes then take your yoga strap across the topside of both your feet. Press your feet into the strap, then engage glutes and back muscles to lift your knees, thighs, and chest away from your mat.
Impact: If your hands can’t quite meet your feet a strap lengthens your arms so you can still achieve the benefits of the posture, including strengthening of the back muscles that support your spine, and lengthening hip flexors (great for anyone seated for long periods of time!)
Bound Extended Side Angle Pose (Baddha Utthita Parsvakonasana)
Extended side angle pose has several arm variations and one of the more advanced variations adds a bind (one arm wrapping underneath the leg, the other wrapping across the small of the back and linking fingertips) to the posture. If you’re working towards this variation, start using a strap!
Prep and placement: Come to extended side angle pose with top arm lifted holding the strap (a simple fold in half works here, no need to loop!) and the bottom arm extending downward. First, bend your top elbow and bring your forearm across the small of your back, keeping the yoga strap in hand. Then, wrap your bottom arm, sliding your shoulder below your leg to reach fingertips toward the strap. With both hands gripping the strap, draw shoulder blades to touch and press both hands towards the back of your mat to lengthen arms behind your body.
Impact: Using a yoga strap allows for the top shoulder to roll back while gripping the strap in both hands and allowing the chest to broaden and tilt upwards. With time, your hands may inch towards each other until eventually fingertips link. The bind with a strap will also prepare you for other postures that include binds like Bird of Paradise (Svarga Dvijasana) and Cowface (Gomukhasana).
Access greater depth
The not-so-secret secret to yoga props is that they can often make a pose harder. So if a pose is already in your practice, a yoga strap can help you explore more depth in the pose.
Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)
Warrior III is a challenging balancing posture, but the intentional use of a strap for practitioners who can already comfortably balance in the posture can unlock better alignment and greater muscle activation in the pose.
Prep and placement: While standing, create a large loop with your strap and place it under one foot. The top of the loop will hook just above the opposite leg’s hip crease–the leg on which you will balance. As you hinge forward into your Warrior III balance, press your foot back into the strap.
Impact: Using a yoga strap provides a strong reminder to roll the top hip down and bring the lifted foot in line with the hip. You might even increase the challenge of the posture! By kicking back into the strap you create length in your hamstring and actively engage your glute to lift your leg higher.
Conclusion
Using the yoga strap as a tool in your practice can completely transform your practice–and mindset–from poses that weren’t accessible to embodying the postures to suit your unique anatomy and needs. So whether that’s stretching, practicing safe alignment, or accessing greater depth in a pose, reach for a yoga strap at your next yoga class. Use a strap in your home practice or in the studio, and you can choose from Hugger Mugger’s multiple fabric, length, and buckle options.