• Yoga increases one's flexibility.yoga image by Indigo Fish from Fotolia.com
  
  A yoga strap is a prop beneficial for beginning yoga students. One reason people may hesitate to attempt yoga is their inflexibility. Since yoga is ultimately a practice for strengthening, a yoga strap allows a student who may not have much flexibility to develop and push deeply into poses. Straps, also known as belts, are made of cotton or nylon and have a buckle at one end. Yoga strap exercise are extensions of traditional yoga exercises in which the strap helps users grasp otherwise unreachable limbs or hold a pose longer.
  
  

Shoulder Stretch Exercise

• Although not a yoga pose, the use of a yoga strap facilitates the shoulder stretch exercise. The exercise relieves tension in the entire upper back. To complete this movement, sit in any upright position or stand. Holding the yoga strap with your hands sufficiently distanced, straighten your arms forward and parallel to the ground. An inhale moves the arms slowly overhead. An exhale lowers the arms behind the body. Align each upward and downward movement with the breath.
  
  

Forward Bend

• A forward bend may appear intimidating, especially if muscles in the legs are tight. In yoga, the goal of the pose is to maintain a flat back and reach the hands to or past the feet. To use a yoga strap with a sitting bend, sit upright on the floor with your legs together and outstretched. Holding opposing ends of the strap, loop the strap center over the feet, resting it with slight tension on the bottom center of the feet. At that point, hinge forward, using the strap to elongate the arms and keep the spine straight. To complete a standing forward bend using a yoga strap, the user steps onto the center of the strap, holding it on opposing ends, before hinging forward.
  
  

Arching Exercises

• Some yoga exercises, such as the bow pose, require the participant to arch the back and grab onto the feet. In situations like this, a yoga strap can assist. For a bow pose, from a laying belly-down position, the back is arched and legs bend and lift. With the pelvis remaining on the floor, arms reach back to grasp the feet or ankles. Looping a yoga belt around the front of the ankle allows a softer stretch for beginners or those with limited flexibility.
  
  

Binds

• Binding yoga exercises are those in which your hands reach to clasp around the body. In any exercise involving a bind, a yoga strap extends reach allowing proper execution of the posture without need for the hands to ever actually touch behind the body.