Yoga using props

The yogapaṭṭa in sculpture The practice of yoga as exercise is modern, though some of the asanas are ancient and many more are medieval. A band or strap of cloth was however used in ancient times, some 2000 years ago, to support the body in one asana in particular; this device was the yogapaṭṭa, a term defined in Monier Monier-Williams's Sanskrit-English dictionary. Such a strap is depicted in a relief sculpture on the Great Stupa of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh, dated c. 50 BCE to 50 CE, in other sculptures from the 7th century CE at Mamallapuram and Ellora, and from the 14th century at Hampi. File:048 The Sama Jataka (32999350973).jpg|Yogi (top right) using a strap, in relief sculpture of the Syama Jataka, the Great Stupa of Sanchi, c. 50 BCE to 50 CE|alt=photo of Sanchi temple sculpture showing ancient use of yoga strap File:Mahabalipuram Caves (detail of yogi using strap in yogapattasana).JPG|Yogi (centre) using strap around waist and legs, Mahabalipuram Caves, c. 7th century|alt=photo of Mahabalipuram rock sculpture showing ancient use of yoga strap File:7 La statue de Narasimha Hampi Vijayanagar Karnataka India April 2014.jpg|Yoga Narasimha with yogapaṭṭa strap, Hampi, Karnataka, c. 14th century|alt=photo of Hampi temple sculpture showing ancient use of yoga strap The sopāśraya asana Textual evidence begins with the ancient bhāṣya commentary to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which names an asana called sopāśraya, meaning "with support"; this was interpreted by medieval commentators such as Vācaspati's 10th century Tattvavaiśāradī and Vijñānabhikṣu's 16th century Yogavarttika as meaning the use of a yogapaṭṭa strap. The 19th century Śrītattvanidhi illustrates a seated posture named yogapaṭṭāsana, "the posture with yoga strap", with the band tied around the folded legs. Norman Sjoman states that this seems to have been an alternative meditation pose when the yogi's back needed additional support. File:Nath yogis on Babur's 1519 visit to Gorkhatri (detail of yoga using strap).png|Painting of Nath yogis on Babur's 1519 visit to Gorkhatri. One yogi is using a strap to support his pose. 1590-1593|alt=medieval painting with yogi using strap File:Varati Ragini from chawand Ragamala 1605.png|Sitting with a strap. Chawand, Rajasthan, 1605 File:Yogapattasana in Sritattvanidhi.jpg|yogapaṭṭāsana, "posture with yoga strap", in Sritattvanidhi, 19th century|alt=19th century book illustration of yoga pose using strap The stambha meditation crutch In the 8th century Pātañjalayogaśāstravivaraṇa, Shankara glosses the posture mentioned by Patanjali as "The One with Support is with a yoga strap or with a prop such as a crutch"; File:Stambha_meditation_crutch_Haridwar_2010.jpg|Stambha meditation crutch in use by a yogi at the Kumbh Mela, Haridwar, in 2010. Detail of photograph by James Mallinson File:Nidrāharāsana in C19th Yogasana manuscript.png|Nidrāharāsana, pose to prevent sleep, in the 19th century Yogāsana, using a T-shaped prop == Modern practice ==

For correct alignment use props including blocks, blankets, and chairs to assist correct alignment, as here in Utthita Vasisthasana. Iyengar Yoga was created by B. K. S. Iyengar, a pupil of the yoga pioneer Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, and described in his authoritative 1966 book Light on Yoga. The scholar of religion Andrea Jain observes that the book "prescribed a thoroughly individualistic system of postural yoga", one that was "rigorous and disciplined", For example, in Iyengar Yoga, Sarvangasana, shoulder stand, can be practised under suitable supervision with the shoulders on a bolster, the buttocks supported on the seat of a chair and a blanket, and the legs resting on the top of the chair's back. For ease in practice s can support the body, such as under the knees in Butterfly (Baddha Konasana). The students ignored her, thinking that "ease in their practice ... meant easy and that was wimpy. Not enough challenge, boring, too slow." Clark cites the founder of Insight Yoga, Sarah Powers, as writing that "when the bones feel supported, the muscles can relax". Students may be afraid, he notes, of an inverted pose such as Shirshasana (yoga headstand); by practising against a wall, the student can learn to master the fear of falling, and can then continue practising there to develop stability, right alignment, and refined balance. Its main function is "stickiness", The mat may equally mark out a territory in a crowded class, or create a ritual space as it is unrolled to begin a session and rolled up at the end. When movement is restricted Alice Christensen's Easy Does It Yoga, first described in 1979, uses "chair exercises", alongside others on floor or bed, and in later editions also in swimming pools, for older practitioners with restricted movement. Lakshmi Voelker-Binder created an approach named Chair Yoga in 1982, on seeing that one of her pupils, aged only in her thirties, was unable to do floor poses because of arthritis. Yoga as therapy is the use of asanas as a gentle form of exercise and relaxation, applied specifically with the intention of improving health. This may involve meditation, imagery, breath work (pranayama) and music alongside the exercise. A 2013 systematic review found beneficial effects of yoga on low back pain. For aerial yoga class practising Flying Pigeon Pose, the aerial variant of Rajakapotasana Aerial yoga, a yoga hybrid, requires the use of a silk hammock with straps attached by carabiners to support chains, to permit practitioners to perform variants of yoga poses without weight on their hands or feet. Difficult mat-based yoga postures may prove easier to perform through aerial yoga, while the hammock's movement adds variety to the aerial workout. == See also ==