What’s the Strap used for in Yoga?
My experience with my students when I tell them we will be using a strap today for practice, is usually very positive. So why do we use a strap?
The most common reason for using a strap is to increase the stretch. The strap creates a boundary that holds the arm or leg safely, allowing the stretch to be controlled and thereby lengthened. In a sense, the strap holds you in ‘traction’.
This can let the joints settle, soften, and expand, while the muscles and tendons are stretched.
The strap is also used for strength. When you are holding the strap in front of a joint, the muscles on the same side of the strap are contracting, and the muscles on the opposite side of the strap are stretching, or extending. For example, when you have the strap across your feet in a forward fold, the backs of your legs are extending, while the front on your legs are contracting.
Straps can also aid in resistance stretching. When the joint is activated, muscles on the inside of the joint have contracted. Using the forearm as an example, when you bend at the elbow, the bicep is engaged. If something would push against the arm to try to open the joint, or straighten the arm, this is resistance.
Your muscle builds strength with resistance.
If the elbow joint is allowed to open or stretch while maintaining resistance, this is resistance stretching. This type of movement increases the strength of the muscle by 15%.
Let’s move into the leg joint. Lay on your right side, and bend your left leg. Put the strap over the top of your left foot, holding the strap with your left hand. Use the strap to bring the foot closer to the glutes. This increases the contraction on the back part of the body, as it increases the stretch on the front of the body, in the thighs. As you start to open the knee joint, you are creating resistance with the strap, but as you allow the leg to straighten, the muscles that are contracted are also allowed to stretch. Hence, resistance stretching.
Another way to use straps is to allow them to assist when you need longer arms or longer legs.
Learning how to come into a bind can be assisted by a strap. Coming into Cows face can be helped with a strap— instead of grabbing for the hands behind the back, each hand can be lengthened with the strap.
