SMALL TOWN YOGINI

Want to make progress with your binds in yoga?! Binds are tough, because the amount of flexibility and mobility needed to achieve a safe bind simply doesn’t happen overnight for the majority of us. One of the keys to practicing yoga is to be kind to your body and accept (no, celebrate!) what it can do, rather than to force injury upon it. However, if you want to make healthy progress with your binds, here are a few tips...

• First, and most important: Be mindful. Life has its share of injuries that happen accidentally, so don’t be silly and cause an injury that was entirely preventable.  Stay mindful while you're practicing and progressing poses so that you don't go too far and do damage to your body. Approach binds with curiosity and open-mindedness. We all let the ego push us sometimes, so I think it helps to be aware of that when trying to progress any pose, and do your best to not let the ego weigh in here.• Warm-up properly and thoroughly. Have a full body warm-up so that your body is ready to try deep poses.

• Do some mobility drills. In this case— progressing your binds— make sure to do enough shoulder mobility moves. Don't forget about your wrists, too.

​• Do some prep poses. This is a big one. You can think of these as milder versions of the bound pose you’re working on. In the photo for this post, I'm doing Bound Extended Side Angle. In this example, make sure to stretch the chest, stabilize the core, and practice aligning the spine before even thinking about attempting a deep bind. Also, know your body. Using this same example, I know that I have to concentrate on constantly keeping my hips "open," or else they'll start to turn toward the floor. So then, for me, poses that help me with hip mobility prep me for this pose as well.

• If your fingertips aren’t quite meeting, use a yoga strap to fill the space. If you don't have a strap, many things would work here in its place like a bathrobe strap, and old tie, or a sturdy strip of fabric, etc.

• Lastly, practice patience. You can do all the steps above and still not even come close to the bind you're attempting. And that is ok. So many poses will develop over time if you let them. Just keep practicing and one day you might surprise yourself when your hands meet easily.

Love + Light.