YOGA
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Support the Body Well and the Letting-Go Just Happens
If you use yoga blocks and props for your practice, we think you’ll love the Buttafly!
The wedge-shape and fluid curves are designed to fit around your body and can be used in many different ways to support your body 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.
No more will you complain about the hard edges of regular yoga blocks digging into the back of your thighs or be frustrated by sagging cushions just when you need firm support!
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 who is also a Chartered Physiotherapist and yoga teacher.
Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
The Buttafly offers the perfect support for cross-legged sitting helping you to sit with comfort and ease so that you can focus on enjoying your yoga and meditation.
- The gently sloping upper surface supports the pelvis in such a way that the spine naturally comes into a good alignment
- 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
- There are two sizes and a stacker model to suit a wide range of practitioners
Child's Pose (Balasana)
A Standard Buttafly can be used to support the forehead in either of the two ways shown here. The Buttafly provides room for your nose – and you decide the height that works best. Remeber, you are aiming for a nice long neck.
Many people find it difficult to relax in Child’s Pose because their bottom doesn’t reach their heels. Fill the gap with the wedge-shaped Buttafly so that you can sink into the pose and fully relax.
Relax and Breathe With Ease
This is a wonderful position – and not even just for those who practice yoga but for anyone who spends all day hunched over a desk or driving for long hours. Using the Buttaflys as shown here 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.
"Heart-Opening" Pose
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.
"Heart-Opening" - Deeper Still
This is the most advanced position and is positions the body in a similar position to the classic “Iyengar” heart-opening pose.
The aim here is for the heart to be lifted above the neck stimulating the baroreflex and calming the heart rate.
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
Even a modified Pigeon Pose presents a strong challenge for many people.
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.
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. Try and 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 (Savasasana)
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.
Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
Bridge Pose can be performed dynamically or held for some time – either actively or supported with props.
Traditionally, a yoga block or brick is placed under the sacrum but many people find this so uncomfortable that they avoid holding the pose with props.
Using a Buttafly provides support across the whole width of the pelvis and so spreads the load.
They can be stacked up to give the right support for you, depending on how deep you wish to take the pose.
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 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 Knees
Are You an Allied Health Professional or a Pilates or Yoga Teacher?
Enjoy discounts, special offers, early bird prices on our workshops and more. We invite you to apply to Kaleidoscope, the Buttafly Affiliate Programme.
