How to Improve Symmetry with Yoga Props: Yoga Blocks
/Body asymmetries can challenge your balance, stability, and mobility and cause bodily pain and emotional anxiety. Conditions like scoliosis, leg length discrepancy, or joint replacements can cause significant and painful body asymmetries, which in turn can disrupt the nervous system and emotional balance.
In this post—the second in a series detailing how to use props in your yoga practice to help reduce pain—I introduce ways to use yoga blocks to improve your symmetry.
What is a yoga block?
Yoga blocks are rectangular props typically made of wood, cork, or foam. They’re used to support the body during yoga, helping make various poses more accessible to people of all levels of flexibility and balance.
Often people think about blocks as “the easy way” to practice yoga. However, it is more helpful to look at them as tools to help you get the most out of a pose. Every body is different, and blocks help people adapt poses to suit their specific needs, improve alignment, and support them in poses so they can stay longer or without pain:
Supporting your body: Placing a block under your hands or feet can help you reach the floor more easily. Blocks also support your weight when you can use them to offset the pressure you might otherwise be putting on certain muscles or joints. For example, tight hamstrings can cause lower back pain. By using blocks, you can distribute more weight through your hands and reduce tension on the backs of the legs and therefore the lower back. This can improve your experience in standing forward folding poses.
Improving alignment: Blocks can help you maintain proper form and prevent strain. For example, many people will strain their bodies in attempt to reach their toes. Using a block helps improve alignment in the legs, hips, and back and reduces possible strain in these areas.
Deepening stretches: By using a block as a prop, you might feel like you aren’t stretching as deeply but, actually, with improved alignment you can more effectively increase your flexibility and strength by staying in the pose longer or with less pain, which deepens your experience with the pose.
Yoga blocks for balance and support
Yoga emphasizes alignment and evenness in postures. When one side of your body is tighter, weaker, or longer than the other, it can lead to improper form, hindering your progress and even increasing your risk of injury.
By using yoga blocks to bridge gaps and provide support, you can create a more symmetrical foundation in your poses. This allows you to access deeper stretches, improve your balance, and cultivate a more mindful awareness of your body.
Which blocks should you choose?
The block material and width you need is dependent on the poses you’re doing, your body’s needs, and personal preference.
Wood is the heaviest material, followed by cork, then foam. Wood is the most supportive and best at bearing weight, but it is hard and heavy. It may be uncomfortable to hold a wood block between your thighs in poses because of the weight and firm pressure on your legs. However, you may prefer wood blocks in a forward fold to support more of your weight.
I have wider hips and often find the wider blocks are a better fit for me. They also offer more stability than the narrow blocks. However, depending on the pose I use the narrower blocks because the width is more comfortable, for example, when used between my lower legs.
Once you find the appropriate blocks for you, here are some ways to use them to improve symmetry in specific poses.
How to use yoga blocks for symmetry
Here are a few key poses where yoga blocks can help promote body symmetry:
Mountain Pose (Tadasana): Place a block between your thighs to maintain alignment in your legs, which helps improve evenness in your hips and your posture.
Triangle Pose (Trikonasana): Place a block under your lower hand to bridge the gap between your hand and the floor, ensuring both shoulders are stacked, your spine is long, and your chest doesn’t collapse down. Using the block here can also help if one hip tends to sink lower than the other.
Warrior I and II (Virabhadrasana I and II): If one hip feels tighter, use a block under the front foot. This elevates the tighter hip, allowing for a more balanced and squared-off posture so you don’t collapse into the front hip.
Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana): Sit on a block with your legs extended out in front of you and hinge at the hips, keeping your spine long. This elevation of your hips takes pressure off your hamstrings and lower back, allowing you to have a more even fold at the hips while keeping length and alignment in your spine.
Tips for using blocks effectively
Use a block between your appendages to introduce more alignment: Place a block in between your feet, thighs, or hands to ensure your limbs are better aligned and the same distance apart. One foot or knee may tend to open more than the other; using a block prevents this from happening. Arms—like legs—can open more on one side than the other, but most often I find that one arm (or hand) raises higher than the other. The block will help your arms raise to the same level.
Listen to your body: Don’t push yourself beyond your limits. Use the block to find a comfortable and supported pose.
Experiment with block placement: There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Try different block positions (both location and block width) to find what works best for your body.
Be patient and consistent: Improving body symmetry takes time and dedication. Regular practice with yoga blocks will gradually bring your body into greater alignment and balance.
By incorporating yoga blocks into your practice, you can bridge the gaps between your right and left sides, cultivate a more mindful awareness of your body, and ultimately experience a more supported yoga journey.
Want to learn more about using props to improvement symmetry in your yoga practice? Check out my other posts in the series:
Yoga Mats