YOGA
The Buttafly is simply the best yoga block there is…
The wedge-shape and fluid curves are designed to fit around your body
Versatile
Lightweight
Portable
Durable
Washable
Good-looking
Tactile
If you use yoga blocks and props for your practice, you’re going to love the Buttafly. It can be used in so many different ways to support your body just where you need it, to help you get the most out of your practice.
There are many postures in yoga, Pilates, and home exercises that, with the right support, we can ease into them more gently and stay a little longer so that stress and tension in our body can just melt away.
Do you ever complain of the hard edges of regular yoga blocks digging into the back of your thighs? Or perhaps get frustrated by cushions that sag when you need firm support? How about those blankets that you struggle to fold in the right way?
The Buttafly can be used in place of blankets, cushions, pillows, bolsters, bricks, and conventional yoga blocks, providing firm yet comfortable support. It works especially well for restorative and Yin Yoga.
“Support the body well and the letting go just happens,” says our designer, TillyLou James.
Here are some suggestions which we hope you will find useful – and perhaps spark your own ideas too! We invite you to explore using the Buttafly within your practice to help you get the most out of it.
Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
The Buttafly offers the perfect support for effortless cross-legged sitting with good posture, helping you get the most out of your yoga and meditation.
The gently sloping upper surface supports the pelvis in a way that sitting on a flat surface cannot -whether the floor or a regular yoga block, making it very much easier to get comfortable. Those who use a rectangular block often find themselves perching uncomfortably on the front edge – instinctively trying to set up the very slope that the Buttafly provides.
The indent at the back of the Buttafly allows the buttock flesh to fall away so avoiding pressure on the tailbone and the base of the spine.
The indent at the front provides space for the heels for those people who like to tuck their feet in close.
Melting Heart Pose (Anahatasana)
TOP:
This is a wonderful pose especially for people who spend all day hunched over a desk or driving for long hours. Using the Buttaflys as shown facilitates a gentle release of the neck and shoulders at the end of a long day.
A Standard Buttafly rests under the shoulder blades while a Tall Buttafly supports the head.
This position is so comfortable that it’s easy to drift off – time and again our customers tell us how this is one of their favourite ways to uses the Buttafly.
MIDDLE:
This takes you deeper into the pose. A Standard Buttafly is under the lower ribs and a Flat Buttafly is low down under the pelvis so that the sacrum and tailbone “float” in the indent.
BOTTOM:
This is the most advanced position and is akin to classic “Iyengar” heart-opening where the heart is lifted above the neck.
Squat Pose (Malasana)
The Buttafly can be used to help you come into a squat in two ways:
Use a Standard Buttafly under your heels. This takes the stress off of the ankle joints allowing you settle into a deeper flexion at the hips and knees.
Use a Standard or Tall Buttafly under the sit bones. You want to keep as much weight as you can in your feet while the Buttafly takes some of your weight off the hips and knees – and also prevents you from falling backward.
Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Here, a Flat Buttafly and a Standard Buttafly are being used to offer support under the ankles. This contact around the back of the ankles feels supportive and comfortable and can help people for the simple reason that contact in this way mimics early maternal touch: At bath time, following a nappy change or during play, it’s very natural for a mother to hold around her baby’s ankles and jiggle the legs.
Positioning the ankles like this can soothe the nervous system and help people switch off more easily – in some ways it’s as if the body does not know how to stay alert and “wired” in this position!
For the same reason, support around the wrists can feel very comfortable and relaxing too.
Love Your Shoulders
When you lie on your back and raise your arms overhead, if your the shoulders are not flexible enough to allow your hands to rest on the floor without strain, support them well. Here, a Tall Buttafly under each wrist save the shoulders and prevent the ribs lifting up.
Love Your Wrists
Anyone who has injured their wrists or has a form of arthritis may find they cannot extend their wrists enough to be able to come into 4-point kneeling or Downward-Facing Dog.
In poses like these, the arms become weight-bearing and, just as in standing when our feet need to be flat on the floor, so too do our hands. If you don’t have sufficient range or are suffering from painful wrists, using the Standard Buttafly as shown should help and making poses like this accessible once again.
Love Your Knees
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
Even a modified Pigeon Pose presents a strong challenge for many of us!
The extended back leg has to have good flexibility of the tissues across the front of the hip. Often people compensate for stiffness here by over-arching the lumbar spine.
The forward bent leg has to have a good degree of external rotation of the hip for your bottom to reach the floor. Often people accommodate a lack of range in the bent leg by twisting the pelvis to get the back of their thigh on the floor.
This pose benefits from the pelvis staying squared and using appropriate support so that you can stay long enough for the tissues to soften, allowing you to deepen into the the pose. A Standard Buttafly is the ideal shape to wedge the gap between the buttock and the floor. For those with less flexibility, a Tall Buttafly could be used.
Child's Pose (Balasana)
Here, a Standard Buttafly is being used to support the forehead in Balasana (Child’s Pose) – much more comfortable than using a rectangular block offering space for the nose. To lower the height of the support, lay the Buttafly flat so that you can read the logo, rest your forehead on it’s bridge and with your nose resting in the indent.
Are you an allied health professional or a teacher of yoga or meditation?
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