gratitude practice: day 8

i've been going to a 9:30am yoga class every Friday for the past few weeks, trying to add some structure to my very unstructured life. this morning in practice, the teacher had us grab a couple of tennis balls and a block toward the end to use for some myofascial work. we laid back with the tennis balls right beneath our shoulder blades and it was like my body let go of a huge breath it was holding onto. after a few minutes on the tennis balls, we placed the base of the skull on the edge of a block and s.l.o.w.l.y moved the head side to side. i could feel tension melting away from neck and shoulders.

via

if you've never done this kind of work before, it's like a cross between blissful relief and self-torture and i highly recommend it. you can target pretty much anywhere on your body (hamstrings, calves, IT band, forearm, shoulders - the list goes on) and there are numerous benefits, including improved joint range of motion and muscle soreness relief.

adding these pieces to my practice this morning reminded me of how thankful i am for props in yoga and how they offer me support and the opportunity to deepen the work i do on the mat. 

not sure how to start incorporating props into your practice? check out this article from yoga journal and this awesome infographic from fitblogger! questions? leave me a comment!