Your Yoga Support System: Choosing the Right Bolster

This post is courtesy Maria Rainier. Maria is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching areas of online colleges & blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.




If you’re a beginner, an intermediate student, or even an advanced master of yoga, it’s important to have a good bolster. Whether you’re trying to keep yourself from falling over or looking to support your body as you practice difficult poses, a bolster can help you get the job done. There are four different types of bolsters, and they come in all sorts of weights, fabrics, sizes, and colors. To help you decide which combination is best for your purposes, check out the following descriptions. You may choose to use more than one type of bolster if you practice different yoga styles or have a variety of support needs.

Rectangular

The flat surface of a rectangular bolster provides a good measure of support and stability, especially for poses that can be easily upset. This type of bolster can increase your body’s surface area and distribute your weight more evenly, allowing you to balance more easily as you train your body to learn difficult poses. Rectangular bolsters are wonderful for relieving any pressure you might be feeling in your lower back and are also helpful if you want to improve your spinal stretches. To keep your spine’s natural curve during Savasana, use a rectangular bolster beforehand. Place it under your lower back to help raise your spine off of the floor, then remove it for a perfect Savasana that enables you to increase the efficacy of chest breathing.

Cylindrical

These bolsters are often heavy and dense, providing excellent support under the neck, knees, or ankles and relieving the tension that often builds up in such areas. Use them for extra support during poses that require forward bends or use them either perpendicular or parallel to your spine for better stretches. This type of bolster is also helpful with breathing exercises when placed under the knees.

Because it can help lengthen your lower torso, it can increase the depth of your breathing and allow you to enjoy a more relaxed pose. Cylindrical bolsters are often the best choice for increasing the depth of a stretch, so place one under your lower back to lengthen any spinal stretches.

Pranayama

This type of bolster is the most popular for breathing support. A narrower version of the rectangular bolster, it enables you to relax your spine completely and focus on expanding your chest to its full capacity. The Pranayama bolster is a must for many yoga devotees as it lends support for relaxed breathing, which is one of the best ways to achieve complete relaxation for the entire body.

Zafu

A Zafu bolster is more of a meditation cushion and can be any shape or size as long as it facilitates meditation for you. Not all yoga involves this aspect, but if you meditate as part of your practice, a Zafu bolster may be helpful to you. It can help you get in better touch with your breathing as you meditate in your favorite sitting position.

Color and Texture

Bolster covers are often made from natural fibers, such as cotton and silk, and come in warm colors that help facilitate relaxation. When choosing your bolster, make sure that it isn’t too soft or too firm. You want it to support you while yielding a bit for the sake of comfort. To help you decide, you can attend some yoga classes and try out the different bolsters that are available for you to use. Decide which one is best for your purposes and simply buy a similar one for personal use.