Yoga is an amazing practice. Its deep, ancient wisdom carries the potential to benefit anyone. This beautiful tool heals and strengthens both body and mind.
A wonderful perk is that yoga requires no equipment, except for the body. Still, there are yoga accessories that can enhance your experience (and help with your consistency!).
So, we asked the Happy Buddha yoga teachers for their thoughts and compiled a few favourites below…
Yoga Mats
Your yoga mat can become like a best friend. As well as researching the best mats here – we asked the HB yoga teachers and discovered even more! Both Feline and Natalie mentioned the Stretch Now Earth Fusion mat, which is ‘super grippy and great value for money.’ An added bonus is the mat is not only sourced from natural materials, but is also biodegradable!
Vanessa’s favourite brand of yoga mat is Mukti.
‘For poses like Downward Facing Dog and Warrior 2 (which I visit a lot) it makes such a difference when I don’t feel like I’m slipping all over my mat.’
Sammie’s fave was the Manduka Pro Mat.
‘It is my home away from home. I have mine in a beautiful deep purple colour, it has superb grip, it super easy to clean and I really appreciate the way in which they are manufactured as they ensure no harmful toxic chemicals and gases are released into the atmosphere making for a guilt free practice.’
Incense
Burning incense can add a new level of focus, relaxation, and positive energy to your yoga practice. But finding high-quality, affordable incense isn’t always easy!
Feline’s suggestion and go-to incense brand is HEM – Meditation incense. She uses this to create the most beautiful atmosphere.
Natalie’s currently loving incense by Addition Studio; ‘I love the soft, earthy scent of eucalyptus and acacia. It’s soothing and uplifting, taking me the Aussie bushland even when I’m not up there.’
Cushions
Himanshu’s favourite yoga accessory is one of profoundly simplicity. The cushion.
‘Essentially I love my cushion because it’s all I need to practise. It’s a simple tool and all I need to go into myself is to sit down and I can access a far deeper place inside myself. I can access peace, joy, happiness, love and compassion. It’s not something difficult to take around or something I can’t access in any space. It’s basic, and almost like an extension off me. Because I sit on it, it contains strong vibrations through the work done on it and when I sit, I remember this place of depth, of deep peace – that is always available. Wherever I am. The truth is, my strongest tool is myself. It is contained internally and not externally.’
Music
Music is another wonderful yoga accessory, immediately adding spaciousness, relaxation and awareness to anyone’s practice. Feline mentioned the importance of her Bose speaker, ‘for beautiful sounds [and] filling the room with magical music.’
Natalie highly recommends using Spotify for your practice.
‘I love curating my own playlists on Spotify. As I build my playlists Spotify continues to recommend similar songs so my library keeps growing!’
Yoga Props
When considering yoga accessories it’s hard to forget good props. They’re a must-have for Vanessa’s practice.
‘I love to have a bunch of props with me every time I come on my mat, even if I don’t know if I’ll need them. I love to have two cork blocks (a bit more supportive than the foam ones), a cosy blanket and a pillow/bolster. They don’t need to be fancy or expensive, but having those props around makes it so much more pleasant to visit the poses that don’t come super easily for my body.’
Digital Yoga Accessories
Off the mat yoga accessories are certainly worth a mention too!
Natalie mentioned Yoga Journal as an amazing resource for trustworthy articles and quick reads of inspiration.
Another of her online faves is YogaGlo.
‘Yoga Glo is my favourite online platform as it features some of my favourite international yoga teachers, which although I can’t practice with in person at the moment have the thrill of still being able to be inspired by.’
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For more things yoga… why not come visit us and our wonderful teachers at Happy Buddha? Yoga is a staple part of our retreats, as well as a daily occurrence with our community classes!
Nisha is a freelance writer and Vedic astrologer, based in the magical Byron Hinterlands. As well as running her candle business, her life and loves involve: yoga, gardening and all things esoteric. You’ll find her out in nature, or curled up at home with a good book. Happy Buddha is one of her most treasured places on earth (and indeed where she met her fiancé!).
