Yoga Tutorial Archives — Tamara Fayad Yoga https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/category/yoga-tutorial/ Affordable private yoga instructor serving Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas. Fri, 01 Sep 2023 17:51:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://i0.wp.com/www.tamarafayad.yoga/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/cropped-imageedit_14_2023647505.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Yoga Tutorial Archives — Tamara Fayad Yoga https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/category/yoga-tutorial/ 32 32 111072203 How to Use Yoga Blocks to Help Your Practice https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/how-to-use-yoga-blocks-to-help-your-practice/ https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/how-to-use-yoga-blocks-to-help-your-practice/#comments Mon, 11 May 2020 18:02:18 +0000 https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/?p=809 One of the most common types of yoga props is the yoga block Although blocks are a common prop, not many students know how to use them and not many teachers use them in classes either. Yoga blocks are amazing! I use them every time I practice and encourage my students to use them every…

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how to use yoga blocks - tamara fayad yoga

One of the most common types of yoga props is the yoga block Although blocks are a common prop, not many students know how to use them and not many teachers use them in classes either.

Yoga blocks are amazing! I use them every time I practice and encourage my students to use them every time I teach.

I always encourage my students to use yoga blocks, I teach my students how to use them during our yoga practice, and assure them that using a yoga block does not mean you aren’t good at yoga! 

In this post, I will be breaking down how to use yoga blocks to improve and help your practice.

1. Yoga Blocks Help Lift You Up

Yoga Block Uses - Seated Position with block

A yoga block is a great addition to any seated position. Placing a block under your bum in a seated yoga pose will help lift you up.

While in any seated position, we want our spine to be straight and elongated. Sometimes we start out with a straight spine and after a little while of sitting we end up with a hunchback, or we start out with a hunched back to begin with and just can’t seem to get our spine straight up. When we have a round in the spine while sitting we have to really work our back and hips which will make our muscles tired quicker and therefore we won’t be able to hold this pose for very much time without being uncomfortable. 

how to use a yoga block in seated position

This is where your block comes to the rescue.

Sitting on top of the block will lift your hips higher than your knees which will prevent your pelvis from tipping back and will help you maintain the curve in your lumbar spine (lower back). This will then more evenly distribute the weight and make it easier for you to be seated in this position for longer.

Now that the pain is out of the physical body you can really focus on your breath and your thoughts.

Thank you yoga block for enhancing our meditation and pranayama practice! 

2. Yoga Blocks Bring the Floor to You

using a yoga block in standing forward fold

Sometimes, when we reach for the floor in any standing forward bends our hands might not reach all the way down to the floor.

So how do we get our hands to the floor? We don’t!

We bring the floor to us, by using our handy blocks. 

Not only does using the block in these types of situations help bring the floor to you, it also creates length in your body and helps your alignment. 

When the yoga block is underneath your hands supporting you, you can create more length in the area of the body that is being targeted rather than compressing in these areas just to reach the floor.

Check out how I use the yoga blocks to create length and bring the floor to me in these various postures:

Wide-Legged Standing Forward Fold with a Block

How to use a block in a wide legged standing forward fold

In any standing fold, you can always bring the blocks under your hands which will bring the floor closer to you, that way you won’t need to bend your knees or round your spine as much, you can focus on getting that amazing stretch in the hamstrings and back. 

Triangle Pose with a Block

How to use a yoga block in triangle pose

In my classes I see students in triangle pose reaching their hand all the way to the floor rather than keeping their hand on their shin or thigh.

More often than not, this takes the body out of the intended benefit of the pose, which is to create length by stacking the body.

With a yoga block you can extend your arm further than your thigh while at the same time keep the length and integrity in the pose.

Pyramid Pose with a Block

How to use a yoga block in pyramid pose

Adding a yoga block under your hands in a pyramid pose assists in getting the front leg straight and taking out any rounding that might happen in your back. The blocks under the hands also helps with getting the back heel closer to the floor.

Lunge Twist with a Block

How to use a yoga block in lunge twist pose

When we use a block under our hand in a lunge twist pose we are able again to create more length rather than dumping into our joints just to try and get our hand to the floor. You can also create more space to be able to straighten out the back leg more so that you can engage it better.

3. Yoga Blocks Support Your Back

How to use a yoga block in a back bend

Some of my favorite backbends are supine and supported with a block.

A supported backbend will give you all the benefits of the backbend without you having to strain your body or force anything to happen. 

I like to take the block across all the different parts of my spine to open it up.

When doing this hold each position for at least 5 breaths.

If any part of your back gives you pain signals as you move it along, then back off and skip that section.

How to use a yoga block in back bends variations

I like to hold longer on the lowest part of the back and work through different leg variations. 

legs up the wall with a yoga block

4. Yoga Blocks Create Length in Your Body

Many yoga postures are intended for you to create length in the body, but sometimes that benefit is not attainable by just trying to create a certain shape in the body.

Once we begin to add yoga blocks into the postures that we want to help lengthen, we can start to see those benefits. 

If the image of the posture that you might see your yoga instructor doing or the image on the internet is not attainable in your body, that doesn’t make your body unworthy of practicing that pose. It just means you may have to do it a little differently.

Blocks help you to feel the posture in the body rather than struggle just to create a shape that may not be benefiting you. 

Below are some yoga block poses that will help you create length.

Low Lunge Varitation with a Block

How to use a yoga block in low lunge

Getting a great long spine and open chest in a low lunge position becomes a little easier when we allow the yoga blocks to do some of the work for us. Also, your back leg can go more into extension so that you can stretch the hip flexors, which is the intended benefit of the pose.

Half Moon Pose with a Block

How to use a yoga block in half moon pose

Balance and stack the body with a little more ease when you add a yoga block underneath your hand in Half Moon Pose.

5. Yoga Blocks Relieve Pressure on Your Wrists

using blocks in yoga downdog

We rarely ever stretch our wrists and we spend the day working our wrists with typing, texting, driving, and more. Then, we come into yoga class and put tons of pressure on the wrists.

Most of the time it creates wrist pain and makes getting through a yoga class difficult sometimes.

Adding blocks under our hands helps to relieve some of the pressure off of your wrists.

Placing a block under both hands while in a Down Dog, Plank, or any other posture will give your wrists some much needed relief. 

If you suffer from wrist pain during yoga you might also want to stretch your wrists before you start practicing as well. 

6. Yoga Blocks Help with Arm Balances

Arm balances are a fun goal to have for lots of people who practice yoga. They are challenging, strengthening, and fun!

The journey to getting into those arm balances can be long and hard.

Yoga blocks can make getting into arm balances easier for you, because it helps relieve the pressure off of your wrists and creates a little more space between you and the floor which will give you a little boost into getting your feet off the floor. 

Seated Lift with a Block

using blocks in yoga seated lift

One of the first arm balances that people learn is a seated lift. Without a block, you might find yourself rounding your spine to press your hands in to the floor for the lift. When we round our spine it makes it harder for us to engage the core and thus harder for us to do the lift. 

If you add blocks under your hands, you can create more length in the arms and space between you and the floor which will make the lift much easier to accomplish.

Crow Pose with a Block

using blocks in yoga crow pose 2 blocks

Crow pose is another one of the first arm balances that most yogis learn how to do in their practice. 

Crow pose can be intimidating, just getting your knees to attach to your elbows can be daunting. This is where blocks can really come in handy.

Try placing blocks under your feet, this way it is easier to get your knees on your forearms and the lift off is a little easier than if you were to come off the floor without blocks.

using blocks in yoga crow pose 3 blocks

If you have 3 blocks, you can take your crow pose practice to a new level.

Place one block under your feet and a block under each hand.

This gives you the lift off of the floor from your feet, making it easier to connect your knees to your forearms. The blocks under the hands helps to relieve some pressure off of your wrists.

Yoga blocks help enhance the physical asana practice at every level. 

Adding a block as a supportive element can be therapeutic in restorative and yin yoga, allowing you to surrender into the pose.

In hatha yoga, blocks support your practice by allowing you to tap into the true intended benefit of the pose without the hindrance of trying to reach all the way to the floor when it might not be accessible.

For more physically demanding asanas like arm balances, the blocks allow you to be able to lift your body with your arms more easily, helping you practice these physically challenging and fun postures.

Blocks are an amazing addition to every type of yoga practice.

how to use yoga blocks. Use this yoga prop in your yoga poses for beginners. Blocks can enhance all yoga poses. Use these blocks for your yoga fitness routine
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]]> https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/how-to-use-yoga-blocks-to-help-your-practice/feed/ 1 809 4 Ways to Get Into Chin Stand https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/chin-stand-yoga-tutorial/ https://www.tamarafayad.yoga/chin-stand-yoga-tutorial/#comments Mon, 10 Apr 2017 20:54:43 +0000 http://www.tamarafayad.yoga/?p=386 Chin Stand also known as Ganda Bherundasana in Sanskrit (the language of yoga), is translated as Formidable Face Pose. Chin Stand is one of the advanced yoga postures, it is both an inversion as well as an arm balance. Some benefits of this posture include strengthening the back, arms, and chest, as well as improving…

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Chinstand Tutorial - 4 ways to get into chinstand

Chin Stand also known as Ganda Bherundasana in Sanskrit (the language of yoga), is translated as Formidable Face Pose. Chin Stand is one of the advanced yoga postures, it is both an inversion as well as an arm balance.

Some benefits of this posture include strengthening the back, arms, and chest, as well as improving flexibility in the back and chest. Besides the physical benefits, this posture is great at helping you get over fear and learn to trust your body so that other yoga postures such as Handstand or other more complicated arm balances aren’t as scary. Not to mention it is super fun to get into and incorporate into your vinyasa flow and sun salutations once you are able to get it right.

This posture may seem elusive and unattainable, but once you build the strength and more importantly once you let go of FEAR you will be floating up to it before you know it!

Caution: If you have any neck issues, you might want to hold off on trying this asana until you can build up enough strength in the upper body so that you are fully confident in your body’s ability to support you. 

Read below to learn about which postures help you to build up strength in your practice.

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Warm Up for Getting Into Chin Stand

Before jumping right into any advanced yoga posture, warming up is essential. It is essential because you want to be able to check in with your body and warm it up so that you don’t pull any muscles or hurt yourself.

  1. Start by sitting up and taking a few deep belly breaths
  2. With the hands on the knees, begin to move the shoulders up back and down circling them around and feel your shoulder blades moving along your back. Remember to reverse your direction here.
  3. Coming back to center, begin moving your neck around in circles. Take your time and really feel it. Remember to reverse directions.
  4. Lift the arms to the sky, twist to the right taking your right hand behind you and left hand to the right knee, look past your right shoulder. Inhaling come back to center and switch sides.
  5. Come to your hands and knees, begin with some cats and cows on an inhale, open the heart and arch your back (cow pose), exhale round your spine and bring the chin to the chest (cat pose). Do a couple of these to arm up your spine.
  6. Back to table top, Move your arms back up and around 3 circles, and reverse it, switch sides.
  7. Do at least 3 sun salutations to get the body fully warmed up.

Muscles that are targeted in this asana are:

Back: Spinal Extensors

Arms and Shoulders: Infraspinatus and Triceps

Chest: Pectoralis Major and Serratus Anterior

Core: Rectus Abdominis and External Obliques

1. Using Blocks

Chin Stand with Blocks - Tamara Fayad Yoga

Blocks are a great support during any and all yoga practices. In Chin Stand we can use the blocks to help us learn the alignment of the pose, the blocks are also great because it takes off some pressure from the chin and shoulders.

    1. Align the blocks right underneath the shoulders
    2. Bend the elbow 90 degrees and place the palms flat down.
    3. From the knees lift one leg up and then with a LITTLE momentum (please don’t just fling your leg up there!), lift the other leg up.
    4. For added support go up against a wall if you are still new to this posture and would like the security of the wall.
using yoga blocks

2. Sunbird Bow

table top position

Sun bird bows alone are a great way to build strength in the upper body, not only for Chin Stand but for other arm balance asanas and vinyasa.

Caution: Keep your chest hovering slightly above the ground, and make sure that the chin also does not have too much pressure on it. 

  1. Starting in table top, with your wrists right under your shoulders and knees under the hips.
  2. Lift one leg high to the sky
  3. Keeping your elbows glued into your ribs, dip your chest and chin down into the floor.
    1. Remember elbows are lifted and glued right into the ribs.
  4. Do a few sets like this, not going up into a full chin stand, ensuring that the elbow are tucked into the ribs each time.
  5. On about your third one have your foot that is on the floor flexed with the toes tucked.
  6. As you dip your chin and chest towards the floor life the knee and foot up to the sky to meet your other.
  7. Again, using just a LITTLE momentum to lift both legs up

3. Downward Dog

chinstand yoga
  1. Starting in downward facing dog, lift one leg to the sky.
  2. Move the shoulders over the wrists
  3. Bend your elbows into your ribs and dip your chest and chin down between your hands.
  4. Using a LITTLE momentum and A LOT of core lift your other leg up to the sky.
  5. To come out, lower one leg down at a time and vinyasa through it.

4. Eka Pada Kundinyasana

Chin Stand Transition

This is the most advanced option in this chin stand tutorial, because you are going from one advanced posture into another. Once you get it down though, it is a really fun transition.

•If this arm balance is not a part of your practice, then skip this option.

 

    1. Get into Eka Pada Kundinyasana in any way that is part of your practice.
    2. Once in the balance, start lifting the back leg up to the sky and then lift the leg that is off to the side, feel free to bend your knees to help with the transition.
    3. Carefully position yourself in the center right in between your elbows. You might notice you are not exactly in the center, you will probably be leaning toward the side of the back leg
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Coming Out of Chin Stand

The best way to transition out of a chin stand is through a vinyasa that ends in a child’s pose.

One leg at a time take the legs down lift through the chest, shining your heart through your shoulders in an upward dog or cobra. Drop back into a child’s pose for as along as it feels good for you.

childs pose

Building Strength for Chin Stand

The shape that we make while in a chin stand, is basically an up dog mixed with a chaturanga, so practicing these two postures will help a lot. Sunbird bows as well as vinyasas with double chaturangas wiil be a great help too.

Updog & Plank

If you weren’t able to get into it today, don’t sweat it! We never want to rush our yoga journey, enjoy each step of it. Our yoga practice is never ending. Keep building that strength and getting to know your body better so that you can trust it more and let go of your fear of falling over. 

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