Essential Yoga Accessories to Boost Your Practice
Essential Yoga Accessories to Boost Your Practice
One of the many beautiful aspects of yoga is that you can do it without any prior knowledge or equipment. The floor and a yoga book from the library are great first starts. However, as people begin their yoga journey, some find certain tools can deepen their practice.
Our Ten Top Picks for Yoga and Meditation Tools and Accessories
Here are a few yoga and meditation tools to help both people new to yoga and long-time practitioners.
Yoga Blocks
Whether you are a full-time yogi who can bend like a pretzel or a new practitioner struggling to touch your toes, there will always be a few poses that seem impossible to reach. Maybe you’re trying to master the trikonasana (triangle) pose and struggle to reach your hand to the floor. Or maybe you’ve been trying to master that long-coveted pigeon pose, but tight hips limit your range of movement and keep you from sitting comfortably in the posture. That is precisely why keeping a set of yoga blocks on hand is beneficial to your practice, no matter your flexibility or experience.
Yoga blocks can help yoga practitioners of all levels, skills, and styles improve their practice and gain access to the postures that challenge them. Using a yoga block allows you to deepen and elongate your stretches while improving alignment and control throughout your postures. BalanceFrom yoga blocks come in sets of two 9-inch by 6-inch blocks with five colors to choose from: black, gray, green, pink, and red. There’s no need to worry about instability or slipping when your hands get sweaty during your hot yoga class; these high-quality yoga blocks have a slip-resistant surface and comfortable, rounded edges.
Yoga Mats
In a practice that doesn’t require much equipment, having a top-quality yoga mat for your practice is key. After all, you spend almost your entire practice right there on that one little rectangle of cushion, so it better be nice. There are a few things to think about when choosing the perfect yoga mat; you want something that is a comfortable width and length for your body and type of practice, has sufficient cushioning to protect your spine, is durable and slip-resistant, and easy to clean.
We love BalanceFrom yoga mats because they meet all those conditions and more. Made from durable, tear- and slip-resistant PVC, these yoga mats will allow you to keep your balance during any pose or flow and help prevent injuries and pulled muscles. The non-slip surface allows you to keep your grip even when damp, making it a great choice to bring to your favorite hot yoga class. If you are concerned about having enough cushioning for your knees, elbows, hips, and spine, this ¼-inch-thick premium yoga mat will be perfect for you. Moisture-resistant technology allows our BalanceFrom yoga mats to be cleaned easily using soap and water, which improves the lifespan of your yoga mat by keeping it free from dirt and body oils. These high-quality yoga mats are 68 inches wide and 24 inches long, ensuring comfort for even the tallest yoga practitioners.
Despite these great dimensions, BalanceFrom yoga mats are lightweight and easy to carry, and each mat comes with a strap for optimal storage and transport.
Yoga Ball
Adding a yoga ball to your workout can elevate your fitness by adding resistance training and stability work to your practice. Yoga balls are great for toning and sculpting your abs, back, arms, and legs and are easily adaptable for a variety of exercises. They also happen to be one of the best multi-purpose props to have around the house. A yoga ball can be used in your yoga routine, during pregnancy, gymnastics, Pilates, and they even make a great office chair.
Our Trideer yoga ball is made from tough, durable, anti-burst material, so you can rest assured that it can withstand your toughest workouts. Its non-slip surface makes it ideal for active use during your workouts or yoga practice, allowing you to focus on your movement rather than worrying about slipping on sweaty plastic. This yoga ball also comes with a foot pump, so you can easily inflate, deflate, and reinflate it yourself for better transport and storage.
Yoga Bolster
If you have never used a yoga bolster, you are in for a treat. A yoga bolster is like a body pillow, but better. Yoga bolsters are larger and firmer than a regular pillow and are made in a cylindrical shape that is perfect for supporting your back. Many people use their bolsters to provide spinal support while lying on their backs or adding extra comfort in an extended child’s pose.
Retrospect Sequoia yoga bolsters are designed specifically for deepening relaxation and opening the body. They can be used to ease spinal tension and relax the hips and joints, and even make great meditation cushions. These yoga bolsters have a natural, 100% cotton shell that prevents any harmful microplastics from entering your yoga space. The shell can be removed easily and is machine washable.
Meditation Mat
Choosing a meditation mat is a great place to start when creating a special meditation and yoga space. We love these colorful mandala meditation mats because they are specifically designed to enhance your meditation experience and help you reach that deeper mental state. These meditation mats are made from 100% cotton to keep your meditation space natural and low-maintenance, while the colorful mandala prints brighten the room.
Anyone who has ever tried meditation knows that sitting still and emptying your mind is a lot harder than it sounds or looks. If you have ever heard the term “monkey mind” used to refer to the acrobatics and crazy escape tactics our brains tend to employ whenever we attempt a meditation session, you know how accurate it is. Our minds act like little monkeys, trying their best to disrupt and prevent an enjoyable meditation. Figuring out how to tame that monkey brain is, arguably, the whole point of meditation.
Creating a beautiful mindful meditation space using this meditation mat can help enhance your practice and calm that crazy brain. Collecting a few choice items to decorate and make your designated meditation space more inviting often has a calming and soothing effect on the mind and gives way to a deeper meditation.
Meditation Cushions
If you have tried meditation a few times during yoga class or already have an established home meditation practice, you know how important it is to be comfortable. Let me tell you, sitting in meditation is not easy, and it is often accompanied by back pain, hip tightness, and knee pain. Your stiff body is the last thing you want to be focusing on during meditation, and that’s why meditation cushions are so important.
Modeled after the traditional Japanese “zafu,” our meditation cushions are the perfect height and dimensions for providing comfort, allowing the curves of your spine to fall into place while in a seated position. They are made from 100% buckwheat hull and are covered with a removable ultra-soft velvet fabric exterior. These unique meditation cushions are also printed with a beautiful mandala lotus flower, symbolizing connection, unity, and spiritual growth.
Meditation Chair
A meditation chair is a perfect way to solve back pain and joint stiffness while doing meditation. Let’s face it, no matter how devoted you are to your yoga and meditation practice, it can be almost impossible to concentrate on emptying the mind when you’re constantly bombarded with twinges of spinal tension, hip stiffness, and general back pain. It’s difficult to stay comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor, and that discomfort can really keep you from entering that deeper state. A meditation chair can solve this problem.
Our meditation chairs are specifically designed to promote better posture, prevent slouching, and alleviate tension and soreness in the body. They are adjustable to five different positions, so you can find the back position that provides the most comfort and support for your body. This meditation chair has a high-quality microfiber exterior with a vegan leather finish that gives it a sophisticated look, so you can even feel good about bringing this chair to games, outdoor concerts, or the beach. It is portable and compact when folded and comes with a shoulder strap to provide easy transport, making it the ideal prop to bring with you to a yoga class or meditation in the park.
One of the major reasons many people don’t stick with their meditation practice is their discomfort in sitting for long periods. After all, meditation is difficult enough without the added pains. With meditation chairs, you can comfortably and freely enjoy the mental benefits of meditation and finish your practice feeling fully rested and rejuvenated.
Meditation Bowl
There
’s nothing like the sound of a Tibetan singing bowl to help you enter that deeper state of consciousness and dive deeper into your meditation. Tibetan singing bowl sound therapy dates back thousands of years to ancient Tibet. Meditation bowls make varying sound and vibrational frequencies that heal and soothe the mind, body, and spirit. Meditation bowls have even been said to improve sleep, aid in recovery from injury and trauma, and lower blood pressure.
Whether you are interested in the healing and therapeutic properties of sound therapy, or you’re looking for a way to enrich your practice, you will love adding a meditation bowl to your yoga room or alter. These beautiful meditation bowls are handmade in Nepal using locally sourced materials. The makers use traditional methods to etch unique, one-of-a-kind designs into the bowls that you won’t see anywhere else. These meditation bowls are small, with a large, full-bodied resonating sound. A meditation bowl is an easy way to enhance your yoga or meditation practice by restoring positive energy to you and your surroundings and by deepening your state of mental relaxation and peace during your practice or throughout the day.
Eye Pillow
Sometimes it can be difficult to get on the yoga mat after a long day at work, and what you need is to relax. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. If you struggle to relax or want to achieve a deeper, more soothing, and rejuvenating state after or during your yoga practice, you will love this natural lavender-infused eye pillow. It is filled with 100% pure organic flaxseed and natural lavender buds, with a soft fleece exterior. The lavender and flax work to ease sinus pressure, soothe headaches and tension, ease soreness in the eyes, and calm migraine symptoms.
Eye pillows are great to use, either warm or cool. For a cold press, leave the eye pillow in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours to achieve a cooling effect that soothes the eyes. To alleviate pain and inflammation, warm the eye pillow in the microwave for a few minutes before placing it over the eyes. You can also use our lavender eye pillow during your yoga practice to improve relaxation between postures or to help ease your way into that perfect final savasana.
Aromatherapy Diffuser
One of the best things about taking yoga classes is the atmosphere. Yoga studios are typically decorated and painted beautifully, have the most relaxing playlists, and smell fantastic. While we might not be able to paint your yoga room, we do know how to help you achieve that perfect yoga studio smell that almost forces you to unroll your mat. The key to getting those perfect, soothing fragrances at home is an aromatherapy diffuser. They break down essential oils into smaller molecules and disperse them into the air along with a little steam. They give off a soothing fragrance, able to permeate a room without becoming overpowering. Many people and most yoga studios preferusing aromatherapy diffusers because they lack the smokiness of incense, which bothers many people, and can be harmful to those with asthma and other respiratory issues.
Not only do they smell great, but aromatherapy diffusers also look nice in your yoga space. Our Pure Daily Care aromatherapy diffuser has an elegant look with its smooth wood exterior and adjustable ambient light modes, which cast a subtle, colorful glow. This aromatherapy diffuser comes with 10 of our favorite natural, additive-free essential oils: eucalyptus, lavender, orange, tea tree, lemongrass, peppermint jasmine, clove, nutmeg, and spearmint.
Still the Mind
Yoga is a great practice for both the body and the mind. Specifically, it has proven to help beat stress and reduce anxiety by lowering the heart rate, blood pressure and slowing respiration down. Additionally, the deep breathing aspect of yoga (really not found in other physical exercises) can increase your powers of mental focus, mindfulness, and relaxation.
“Yoga does not just change the way we see things; it transforms the person who sees.” ― B.K.S Iyengar
Yoga – Tone Your Body, Focus Your Mind
The art of yoga is an ancient mind and body practice rooted in Indian philosophy. It centers on a series of physical postures meant to tone the body and focus the mind. Meditation and focused breathing are partners in the practice that enhances relaxation and provides space for spiritual growth. One of the core principles in yoga is that it is a practice, and all individuals progress at their own paces.
Yoga and Meditation Tools Help Everyone
Like any other art form, physical sport, or spiritual practice, there are yoga tools available to help those new to the practice and help deepen the yoga practice of veterans. There are a wide variety of tools available to those who practice yoga, including blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, and balls. Additional tools—meditation cushions and chairs, eye pillows, and aroma diffusers—can enhance your mediation and focused breathing practices. These tools can help improve your alignment and allow you to modify more-difficult poses to avoid injury. Meditation tools can help provide comfort, achieve the proper body alignment, and maintain longer meditation sessions.
Props Help You Learn Safely
If you are beginning a yoga practice, using props will allow you to safely practice various poses as your body becomes stronger and more flexible, and you can balance yourself more easily. Props will support your body as it opens up and bends and twists through various movements, allowing you to focus your mind on achieving the poses. Props are especially helpful to older yoga students who may be less flexible and not have as much body strength. Yoga tools can provide the support necessary to improve your comfort level during your yoga practice.
Long-Term Practitioners Can Benefit Too
If you are a veteran practitioner, utilizing props can deepen your yoga practice by providing support during more difficult poses, such as those that involve backbends. Props such as yoga balls can increase the difficulty of poses while building strength in your core and improving your balance.
Tools Serve Multiple Purposes
Many yoga tools serve more than one purpose. They can provide comfort during various yoga postures and meditation practices while providing proper spinal alignment and increasing the body’s ability to open and expand. They can increase elevation during a posture that requires you to stretch forward, allowing you to hold the pose just a bit longer. Additional support for your lower back and hip area can help you avoid injury and be comfortable.
Several yoga tools support the body during your yoga practice by bridging the gap between your current flexibility level and that needed to achieve a desired posture. Some tools can bring the floor closer to you or lengthen your arms so you can reach your feet. This way, your body can ease into these poses that require more strength and flexibility than it currently possesses. This is especially helpful during forward folds when you may not have the needed flexibility to reach your hands down to the floor. Yoga tools can also help provide extra balance during postures. This increases your safety during the pose and helps you attain core strength.
Yoga tools allow you to progress in your practice at your own pace with confidence and additional comfort, regardless of your current flexibility level, body strength, or balance. Using props during yoga practice is beneficial to beginning students and veteran yoga practitioners. Listen to your body and enjoy the journey.
