Basic Yoga Equipment To Help With Your Workout

One of the best things about Yoga is that it really does not need any kind of equipment; your own body is the only yoga equipment you need. It is your own body that is used in the ‘asanas’ or poses, stretches and breathing exercises. So what yoga equipment do you really need if any?

A Yoga Mat also sometimes called a sticky mat: Top in the list of yoga equipment would probably be a Yoga Mat.

yoga matWhy do you need one, one may well ask? While it is perfectly possible to perform yoga on the bare floor, on the carpet or even out of doors in the lawn or similar, a yoga mat can be a good idea and can help you.

It can offer some amount of cushioning – many poses are such that joints resting on the bare floor could be painful. Also it can offer traction, to prevent slipping and sliding.

Even if you are taking a class that offers mats, it is best to get your own, in the interests of hygiene – after all you don’t want other people’s bugs and sweat to pass on to your skin. You can get a yoga mat starting as low as $20.

Yoga Mat Bag: While any capacious bag, gym bag or a hold-all of some sort would carry your yoga mat, but if you want, you could have a proper dedicated yoga mat bag as part of your yoga equipment.

This makes particular sense if you want to carry a change of clothing (in particular if it is ‘Bikram Yoga’ you’re into and the work out typically means a lot of sweating), or other yoga equipment or props.

While many yoga classes will let you store your mat on the premises, others may not offer the facility, in which case a yoga mat bag can also come in handy.

Yoga clothing – an important yoga equipment: A common or garden variety of sweat pants that aren’t too baggy and yet allow for free range of motions, may work quite well for yoga.

If however you do not have such an item in your wardrobe or would anyway prefer to get specifically designed yoga pants for your workout, then pants should be among your list of yoga equipment.

Other Yoga Props: Your yoga equipment could also include items such as a blanket, a yoga block and / or a yoga strap.

A yoga blanket can help to cushion the hands, the limbs and back in some of the positions that require pressure to be put on these areas.

It can also keep you warm when at the end of the yoga session you perform the ‘shavasan’ of the relaxation pose.

A Yoga block can help to perform some of the asana and for proper alignment. In particular the ‘asanas’ that require one hand on the floor while standing may require such a block.

A yoga strap or belt: This yoga equipment may be required, particularly for beginners, to achieve poses that require holding on to the feet, or other bound poses when you still don’t have the flexibility to achieve the pose without a strap or belt.