The yoga block

"What do you use a block for?" My son home for the weekend, witnessed my brand new yoga blocks arriving and my thrill of the new possibilities they hold, asked the question. With enthusiasm, and block in hand I started showing him all the wonders of the yoga block. He was captivated. He has never taken a yoga class. I have been a yoga practitioner for 16 years and never used a block, nor saw any advantage in doing so. Truthfully, my ego wouldn't even entertain the concept of using a prop. Isn't a prop sort of like a crutch? And who wants that? Making anything "easier" was never an option when it came to my definition of fitness. My 200 hour teacher training forced more than a few of my ideologies to fall away as a few new ones found space. We used blocks. Every day and about every hour of our training, even if some of that was sitting on one as we took notes, we used blocks. I began to discover a new relationship, and a certain level of intimacy took hold. I moved from never even noticing where blocks were stored inside the studio, to grabbing two each time I walked into one in great anticipation of the adventure awaiting us both in that day's practice. Like my yoga mat, my blocks grew into sort of semi-sacred reminder of awareness, letting go and goodness, and together we found freedom in postures we held together.