Yoga with a belt

[inbhm]

I'm looking to loosen up my shoulders and hips. I was told about a type of yoga that uses a 6 foot belt or strap but I don't know the name of it. I want to find poses for that type of yoga but without the name I don't know what to search for. Any ideas?

Thanks

[InnerAthlete]

In Purna Yoga we are trained in the use of props including the wall rope system - and that may be the "belt" you are referring to.

There are other teachers who've been trained to use props, some fully trained and others less so. While I have not taken too many Iyengar classes I suspect Iyengar teachers (at one level or another) have some training and proficiencies in prop use.

[delphizealot]

We use straps quite frequently at the Iyengar class I attend. They seem to be most common in poses that traditionally require extending a leg and holding it with one or both hands. The strap helps you keep your arms further back so you're not bending your back to make your hands touch your feet. We also sometimes use it in badha konasana to help keep the heels back toward the pelvis and provide some opening pressure or tightened just above the knees in poses that have the legs extended together (like shoulder stand or cobra) to remind us to keep the legs from falling apart.

[inbhm]

Thank you!