5 unexpected benefits of yoga props, from community to presence

I approached my yoga practice like everything else in my life: with hyper-independence and a drive to succeed. Whether I was navigating my education and career or lugging all the groceries in at once on my own, I moved through the world as you would expect an only child with an Aries Sun to do. Support wasn’t something I was interested in. This was an ethos that extended to yoga props. Upon arriving at my favorite studio, I blew past the props and rushed straight into the hardest classes with nothing but my mat and my ego.

But after a car accident everything changed. I suddenly needed support in almost all aspects of my life, including yoga. In my early recovery days, I couldn’t even lie in Savasana without support under my knees.

So I started using props as simply a bridge to bring me back to my usual practice. But I quickly realized that they had so much more to offer.

5 Unexpected Benefits of Yoga Props

In these ways—and in others I’m still enjoying discovering—props physically helped my healing body. They also unexpectedly illuminated the stories I carry about self-sufficiency and accepting help, encouraging me to finally write them down.

1. Yoga props promote community

I would rush in and out of class without any real connection, still thinking about my work or already focused on the next task, and often not talking to anyone. Pausing after practice to roll up the tapes and chatting while returning the blocks created space for interaction. What started as short conversations has led to new friendships and even coffee excursions after class.

2. Props carry energy

Like baking tools passed down from generation to generation, props are imbued with the energy of the hands that used them. They carry the breath and intentions of other yogis and remind me, even on my darkest days, that I am part of the Sanghaor community.

3. Props inspire presence

Props have encouraged me to meet my needs as they arrive with each breath, rather than channeling discomfort toward an arbitrary target. Using props to approach the moment of truth does not necessarily make the practice ‘easier’. It lends integrity to the practice. I pushed myself to the limit of each pose without any thought. Now, with tools at my fingertips, I can pause and meet my body in the present.

4. Props help you accept support

For me, adding objects to my practice seemed counterintuitive to the concept that spirituality requires letting go. Now I can see that what I really needed to let go of was my attachment to the belief that I am only worthy if I can do it all on my own.

5. Props encourage you to take up space

Historically, women have been explicitly or implicitly taught to stay small: count calories, smile, and not make a fuss. Props give us the tools and permission to be bolder and bigger – to go beyond the mat, literally and metaphorically. One of my instructors urges us to “go big” and “take up space,” something I wasn’t used to hearing in other social and professional contexts.