Props and prep

A typical Iyengar class in Kalk Bay, as students prepare for Pincha Mayurasana (Peacock Pose). Props can help prepare the body by giving it the correct alignment. The use of blocks and a belt in Pincha Mayurasana helps to keep the elbows shoulder width apart and the hands apart. This encourages the armpits and chest to open, as well as ensuring that you access the pose using the correct muscle groups. In this way the props become the teachers, and slowly the correct action is learnt by the body. In this variation, students are about to walk their legs up the wall.