For YOGA
The Buttafly yoga block – designed with your body in mind
The unique shape of the Buttafly make it the most versatile yoga block ever
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.
The Buttafly can be used in place of pillows, blankets, bolsters, bricks, and conventional yoga blocks. It works especially well as a prop for restorative and Yin Yoga.
We invite you to explore using the Buttafly freely within your own practice to help you get the support you need. “Support the body well and the letting go just happens,” says our designer, TillyLou James.
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.
Squat Pose (Malasana)
The Buttafly can help us practice a squat in two ways:
Use the Buttafly under the heels. This takes the stress off of the ankles to help you settle into a deeper flexion at the hips and knees.
Use the Buttafly under the sit bones. This takes the stress off the hips and the knees and provides support to stop 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. After bath time, following a nappy change or during play, it is 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 is 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.
It is also important to offer support in supine with the arms overhead when the shoulders are not flexible enough to allow the arms rest on the floor without causing unwanted movement in the spine. Use whatever support is necessary, effectively bringing the floor up to meet the arms, so that the spine is not dragged into extension. You will know if this happens because the chest and and the front of the rib cage will be lifted up too.
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
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.
Are you an allied health professional or a teacher of yoga or meditation?
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