What does it mean to use a wall in your yoga practice? In the days of Instagram yogi influencers and their posts displaying fancy shapes they can make with their bodies against the ever beautiful backgrounds, it is easy to compare what our bodies can do to theirs. What this yoga aesthetic takes away from the practice is the focus on physical alignment and awareness. What these ultimate shapes of the body take away from the practice of yoga is patience. It takes away the yoga practice of releasing our egos, listening to our bodies, moving at our own pace, and refusing to live in comparison to others.
The physical space of Bright Heart Yoga Studio was a half of a would-be single family home that was maybe 400 square feet of space. This meant that, mat-to-mat (my personal favorite way to practice), we could fit 35 students in the room for a class. On the days the room was not as full though – the first really nice day of the spring, the night of the Superbowl, a three-day weekend that sent many out of town – we could spread out and play around with our practice. I don’t remember the first time I had the students pick up their mats and move them to the wall on one of these days but, as with any change, there was inevitable hesitation with a bit of confusion. The effectiveness of that class, though, was clear.
A typical conversation on one of these slower nights when I was teaching would be:
“Ohhh, there’s not that many of us here tonight, Bridgette — can we have a wall class!?” A ‘Regular’
“Wall class? What do you mean?” A ‘Newer’ Student
“Practice along a wall; set your mat up like this. You’ll love it!” A ‘Regular’
With our mats perpendicular to the wall (the short side of the mat lined up with the baseboards), we would begin our practice. The smiles, giggles, and likely messy practice that came from moving around in unfamiliar ways and pausing to get the right connection to the wall and—inevitable—falling out of poses brought a bit more freedom to the practice on those nights.
You can use the wall in practically any yoga pose. Using a wall throughout the practice can either amplify the difficulty of a pose or be a support. It almost always is a guide to help our physical alignment of the practice. In many poses, the support of the wall to create stability and/or support our alignment creates more space in our brains to focus on our breath: the yoga tool that takes our practice from simply physical to a meditative experience.
Below are some of my favorite poses to practice with a wall, the ways I use the wall, and what I get from using a wall. Try them out and let us know what works for you! Join our Bright Heart classes on Zoom, as we continue pushing through COVID19, and be a part of our community!
Warrior 2, Extended Side Angle, Triangle Pose
- Align the outer edge of the ‘back’ foot with the baseboard of the wall. Use the support of the floor and wall to create more strength and stability in the straightened leg.
Crescent Lunge
- ‘Back’ toes and ball mound press into the floor right next to the wall. Sole of the foot presses against the wall.
- Use the wall to feel the intended alignment of the back foot in crescent lunge and create more strength and stability in the back leg.
Prayer Twist
- Align your body parallel to the wall in chair pose. Twist towards the wall (your face and chest will be close to the wall!) Open your arms and press your hands or fingertips into the wall.
- Use the support of the wall to: 1- deepen the bend in your knees and 2- enhance or exaggerate the movement of your upper body with your breathing (inhales lengthen spine, exhales deepen the twist
Forward Folds (Ragdoll, Fingers to Toes, Gorilla, Wide Legged Folds)
- Face the wall (get close to it) and fold, let your back rest against the wall. Can you get yourself to bring your heels up off the ground (it can be scary)??
Dancer’s Pose
- Face the wall (a few feet away, depending how long your arms are and how open you are in this pose). Press your lifted hand into the wall. Use the stability to kick back further with your lifted leg and work your chest to be square to the wall.
Airplane, Warrior 3, Half Moon, Revolved Half Moon
- Press your entire lifted foot into the wall. Use the stability of the wall to align your lifted ankle with your hips.
- Turn your toes to the appropriate spot (down to the floor in airplane, warrior 3, and revolved half moon and to the side in half moon) and use that to align your hips in the post (closed – or square to the floor – in airplane, warrior 3, and revolved half moon and open to the side in half moon)
- Use the press against the wall as the foundation for engaging the lifted leg and core.
Camel Pose
- Face the wall, knees, thighs, and hip bones press against the wall. Use the wall as your guide to keep your hips aligned with your knees rather than dropping the hips back toward the feet.
Wheel Pose
- With Blocks: Place two blocks in between your shoulders and the wall (head and shoulders close to the wall, feet away from the wall). Press both hands into the blocks, use the wall as a guide for where you want your chest to be.
- Added fun: ‘walk up the wall’ to practice getting in and out of wheel pose from standing
Frog Pose
- Press the soles of the feet into the wall, use that to create correct alignment in the legs (knees in line with ankles, hips in line with the knees)
OR
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- Modified frog pose: Laying on the back, press the feet into the wall, opening the hips to the ceiling