How To Use Yoga Props: A Yogi's Best Friend

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The Jade Harmony Yoga Mat is my personal favorite. My hands get pretty sweaty even in a mild class and the Jade Mat keeps me from slipping. I purchased four other mats before I tried a Jade and I was won over!

Other great features: They come in 8 yummy colors! The Jade Mat is extremely durable and will last you several years of regular practice. The mats come in extra-long and extra-wide! For a taller person like me, it's great to have the extra few inches to stretch out and not have to constantly reposition myself on the mat.

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I purchased my very favorite blocks from the Yoga Accessories company (available at this link). They come in 7 fabulous colors (forest green is my favorite!). They are comfortable, durable, and a very reasonable price.

Yoga blocks primarily comes in 2 widths: 3 inches and 4 inches. I prefer the wider 4' block as it helps better with balancing poses, and gives my hands a firmer place to rest. When I have used 3" blocks I always felt wobbly and unstable.

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Some things to consider when selecting a Yoga Strap: Length, Construction and Color. Common strap lengths are 4,6, and 8 feet long. My preference (if you are only going to buy one strap) is to get the longest one available. It's discouraging to read about a new restorative pose in Yoga Journal and find out your strap is too short to support it. Construction - the loops and attachments are made of metal or plastic. I find plastic safer in the yoga classroom. It is less likely someone will get cut or poke an eye with the plastic attachments. Finally, color - bring some life into your practice with a little color!

Once again I selected a Yoga Accessories product for these reasons. They have all lengths available, they offer plastic attachment options, and they come in 5 different colors!

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Things to consider when purchasing a yoga blanket: Thickness, durability, and color. A thin blanket is not going to give you much boost, cushion or warmth, so look for a blanket with some substance. As they are an accessory to an exercise practice you'll need to be able to wash it. You'll be sitting, standing, rolling, and crunching up the blanket during practice, so make sure it is made of durable material. And finally - color! Nothing brings a little extra spark into your practice like a splash of color! Rogers blankets come in 8 different color patterns.

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Bolsters come in many sizes and styles. Initially I made the mistake of buying a bolster that was too small and found myself rolling off of it in many poses. Small bolsters are good for portability if you need to bring props to a training class or seminar. At home and in class, I prefer a nice large bolster that will completely support the poses.

This bolster is especially nice because it has a removable cover! After several sessions you can slip off the cover and put it in the wash. It comes in 5 rich colors and has handles on both ends when you need to carry it around.

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YogiToes comes in three different sizes: Regular Mat Size, Extra Large Mat Size (for those longer mats), and Hand Towel Size.

I really enjoy the Hand Towel size as I can carry it around with me everywhere and I can easily slide it off the mat when I don't need it; however, I do sometimes accidentally kick it off the mat when I am moving around. The mat size YogiToes eliminates this problem and will stay put on the mat.

You can go WILD with color as YogiToes comes in a Huge Variety of colors (over 26!) and even comes in Deity Themes (such as Shiva, Ganesh, and Lakshmi!)