bheka Salamander Yoga Sit Bolster is a double long Tadpole. Why double long? Why not just use 2 Tadpoles? Lots of people do use two Tadpoles under their knees or spine but it is easier to set up quickly with the Salamander. Plus the Salamander has its own novel uses especially for bodyworkers who maintain longer contacts while seated at a massage table. This discovery was made by Margery Chessare from Turtle Back Craniosacral in Greenfield Center, NY. More info about this can be found here. As you will see below the Salamander is a versatile prop any practitioner will be happy to have. The Salamander has an easy to clean and beautiful soft flocked polyester cover (except India Print which is a durable cotton canvas) and the molding comfort of organic buckwheat hull filling. Just having these comfortable and lovely bolsters around is a call to practice. I keep finding new ways to employ them, Here are a few of my favorites. The Salamander is a great Pranayama cushion. Firm enough to open the back yet full of buckwheat hulls that comfortably mold to the contours of your body and spine. Raising the arms lifts the rib cage and helps to stretch the interstitial muscles, thereby expanding the chest. Focused breathing is a breeze when the gentle pressure of a 4.5 pound Salamander rests on your stomach and chest. Laughing is optional but encouraged! The Salamander offers just the right amount of support for most people's knees in Savasana. Those with wider hips may prefer the Salamander over a Tadpole as a sit cushion. Yet another use of the Salamander is documented in the Restorative Yoga practice of Gwendolyn Ren found here. Each Salamander is about 4" x 6" x 24" when fully fluffed. It weighs 4.5 pounds and has a [...]

Custom Length Bheka Long Life Yoga Mats Custom Cut Yoga Mats for Custom Sized Yogis! Not all Yogis are the same size, so why should yoga mats be? Children feel supported by having a mat size that they can feel at home on. Adults also come in all sizes. Tall yogis and those with aggressive practices need more practice area to stretch out on! Shorter Yogis and those with quieter practices enjoy having a smaller, lighter mat affording a more contained yoga space. bheka Long Life Mats by the Inch support every size and type of yogi with top quality, eco-conscious, time tested floor coverings. bheka Long Life Yoga Mats by the Inch: Safe for Kids, Sticky for Everyone! bheka Standard Long Life Mats have been the choice of discerning yoga studios and students for more than a decade. They are now available, for the first time, in 13 sizes from 36 to 108 inches in length. The unique “orange-peel” texture and a secret combination of PVC and linen that goes into each mat make it a great non-slip surface, even when moist. These durable, top-quality mats are fabricated in Germany and hand-cut for you right here at the Yoga Life Style warehouse. Each mat is Okeo-Tex certified as safe for use by children and other human beings. This is the same European safety designation that is used for cosmetics and personal care products. The certification guarantees that no toxic chemicals are released into the environment when these mats are made, and the workers who make them are put at no risk during their manufacture. The Standard Long Life Mat is 24 inches wide and 1/8 of an inch thick. These mats are for kids and adults where a firm connection to the earth is desired. For greater cushioning, you might prefer our Deluxe Long Life Mat. Custom Cut Yoga [...]

Inflatable Round Sit Cushion From any angle, the bheka BREEZE Zafu is a superior, inflatable travel Zafu and portable chair cushion. The bheka BREEZE round pleated seat cushion is traditional and contemporary all at once. The cover is the same design we've been making for decades but the insert is an inflatable cushion designed to give firm lightweight support to the traveling meditator. The bheka BREEZE Zafu can be used on any chair you will sit on for long periods of time to alleviate back strain caused by static inflexible positions. The bheka BREEZE Zafu is slightly rounded at the top and if you move on it moves with you like a ball chair. While you can sit in meditation poses with it on a chair, as shown above, you can also use it as a cushion for your chair at work or at the dinner table or anywhere else.. When you use the bheka BREEZE Zafu as a chair cushion you will have an active core and spinal and hip flexion all day long. This helps to alleviate back pain caused by a weak core and holding one position for too long during the day. Flexible support is the way to go for lower back health and the bheka BREEZE Zafu is a great tool to achieve it. The bheka BREEZE Zafu can be folded up to be smaller than a yoga block for easy storage or transportation. Details on the bheka BREEZE Zafu This zafu is covered in durable 100% cotton twill with a handle for easy carrying. The size is about 14" wide x 8" tall when fully inflated and 16"wide x 6" tall when more lightly inflated and compressed. Either way, it weighs about 1 pound. For those who want variety in their covers or want to sew their own [...]

Pranayama, Knee, and Sit Cushion The bheka BREEZE Salamander is a lightweight at just over 9 ounces. When deflated it is about the size of a 34 oz. water bottle. The bheka Salamander is perfect for opening the back, elongating the spine and supporting the head as a pranayama cushion. Wider than a Tadpole it offers a fuller seat for greater comfort. Super for raising the knees and tilting the pelvis for a flat back you can also turn it on its side for greater height or take out air for less. It is perfectly sized for a pranayama cushion to open the back or support the knees in a supine position. It also makes a great seat. The Salamander has an easy to clean and beautiful soft flocked polyester cover (except India Print which is a durable cotton canvas). For hot and warm practices the 7 phthalate-free PVC insert cleans up easily as well. As therapeutic and restorative yoga gain in popularity, props that are sturdy, easy to transport and a snap to clean, like this versatile bolster, are exactly what is needed. Each Salamander is about 4" x 6" x 24" when fully inflated. It weighs about 9 ounces for the flocked polyester and 12 ounces for the cotton cover and has a convenient carrying handle. It is available in the 5 colors shown below. Replacement covers and inserts are available as well. Filling the BREEZE Salamander is as easy as inflating a small pool toy. It takes about 2 minutes using the little foot pump you see below and is even quicker by mouth or mechanical inflator. This Bolster is safe for use by people up to 300 pounds. Special thanks for Selena Reynolds our model who brought grace, warmth, and a deep understanding of yoga to our photoshoot and to Barbara Boris [...]

Inflatable Square Sit Pillow Plus! Whether you are in the easy pose with your ankles crossed or lotus the bheka BREEZE Turtle gives you just the right, firm adjustable support. This big meditation pillow is not only a great cushion for seated postures and pranayama. It is also a portable and buoyant seat that will make every folding chair or office seat a health-enhancing apparatus to keep your core engaged and spine supple. Plus there are a variety of low impact exercises you can do with your BREEZE Turtle that will get your prana flowing and help you stay alert and motivated throughout your workday. At about 4 inches tall the bheka BREEZE Turtle is perfect for getting your hips above your knees enough to align your spine in a totally upright position while your back has complete comfort. This is the preferred alignment for meditation, pranayama, and all situations which call for long unsupported sits. The bheka BREEZE Turtle is the perfect cushion for chair yoga! More comfortable than sitting directly on a folding chair, the BREEZE Turtle really follows your contours and your movements making all your chairwork more alive and fun. Originally designed to make chairwork on folding chairs more comfortable the bheka BREEZE Turtle is also ideal for that use. Whether you are doing side bending work, putting your legs up on the chair or doing seated or chair yoga, the buoyancy, cushioning, and support of the bheka BREEZE Turtle will add both comfort and mobility to your practice. The bheka BREEZE Turtle also offers the possibility of firm gentle support for floor poses like Bridge or Crescent Moon. The bheka BREEZE Turtle is great for gentle side-lying and supine stretches as shown above. The bheka BREEZE Turtle is just the right height to give you a fantastic [...]

Bheka Long Life Yoga Mats by the Inch: Safe for Kids, Sticky for Everyone! Not all Yogis are the same size, so why should yoga mats be? Children feel supported by having a mat size that they can feel at home on. Adults also come in all sizes. Tall yogis and those with aggressive practices need more practice area to stretch out on! Shorter Yogis and those with quieter practices enjoy having a smaller, lighter mat affording a more contained yoga space. Bheka Long Life Mats by the Inch support every size and type of yogi with top quality, eco-conscious, time tested floor coverings. Bheka Standard and Deluxe Long Life Mats have been the choice of discerning yoga studios and students for more than a decade. They are now available in 13 sizes from 36 to 108 inches in length. The unique “orange-peel” texture and a secret combination of PVC and linen that goes into each mat make it a great non-slip surface, even when moist. These durable, top-quality mats are fabricated in Germany and hand-cut for you right here at the Yoga Life Style Warehouse. Each mat is Okeo-Tex certified as safe for use by children and other human beings.  This is the same European safety designation that is used for cosmetics and personal care products.  The certification guarantees that no toxic chemicals are released into the environment when these mats are made, and the workers who make them are put at no risk during their manufacture. The Deluxe Long Life Mat is 24 inches wide and 3/16" of an inch thick. These provide some extra cushioning and are our most comfortable Long Life Mat. For a thinner, lighter practice surface, you might prefer our Standard Long Life mat. The Standard Long Life  is 24 inches wide and 1/8 of an inch thick. More sizes also mean [...]

Once You Feel the Wind Under Your Wings You May Want to Try These Poses Meghan Loggia, yoga teacher at the Living Seed in New Paltz, NY, aerialist and radiology student, shows us some ways to use the Mysore Yoga Strap that will help you to experience these poses as never before. For this blog to make complete sense familiarity with the material on this webpage helps. Mysore Yoga Strap Backward Hang legs Extended Mysore Yoga Strap: Backward Hang with Legs Extended Like a bird leaving the nest for the first time the pose above does not go far from the standard backward hang. Simply spread your legs to let this flight begin. Stretching the big muscles in the legs and buttocks while tractioning the spine is an awesome combination for lower back health! Mysore Yoga Strap Suspended Pigeon Pose Mysore Yoga Strap: Suspended Pigeon Pose What a pleasure to stretch the thighs, hips, and psoas without the pressure of gravity. You can really choose the degree of stretch and not have to work so hard ;--) Again starting with a standard backward hang simply let one leg drop back and reach for it with your hands. If you can only reach the foot with one hand that is OK too! This is a beautiful pose as you emulate a proud peacock who is happy to be flying upside down. Mysore Yoga Strap Suspended Scorpion Mysore Yoga Strap: Suspended Scorpion Pose Starting from a forward hang reach down and walk the hands forward. Be careful not to push up too much with your hands or you may start to slip out of the strap. Of course, you are in a position where you can gently glide down if that does happen. This is a wonderful pose for working on your backward bend [...]

Fasten Your Seatbelts For a Wild Ride Meghan Loggia who demonstrates this next sequence is not your average yoga teacher. She is also a trapeze artist and trained aerialist. There is little wonder that she can do things I will never be able to do and it would be unsafe for me and quite possibly you to attempt. This material is for your entertainment and information only. Some poses are easier than others. Always know your limits and be careful. That said, Meghan does some things that are beautiful to look at and great exercise. Please enjoy this visual seminar in Advanced Mysore Yoga Strap Flying. Familiarity with the material on these pages will enhance your experience on this page: Beginner Mysore Yoga Strap Moves and Intermediate Mysore Yoga Strap Flight Plans Mysore Yoga Strap: The Goddess of Flight Welcomes You! Yes she greets you and like any goddess worth the name she teases and taunts you with impossible goals. It took me days to figure out how she managed to get into this posture and now that I know how I'm still too timid to try it. Hail to the goddess may she forever soar. Mysore Yoga Strap Goddess Pose MysoreYogaStrapBaby Goddess Namaste Pose Mysore Yoga Strap: Namaste Pose This pose is sort of advanced intermediate. Once you are very comfortable on the strap you may want to attempt it. There are two or three tricks that help. 1) Put the tops of your feet into the strap, not your toes. 2) Pull your upper body through the strap carefully. Too fast or far and you will tip forward and that could get ugly quick. 3) Once safely through, feel the exquisite balance as your feet, thighs, and arms lock you into place. 4) Don't forget to smile. Namaste. Mysore Yoga [...]

Great For Inversions, Supported Poses and General Flying Fun Mysore Yoga Strap Modified Pigeon Standard Inversion on the Mysore Yoga Strap Mysore Yoga Strap: A versatile prop great for yogis at all levels The Mysore Yoga Strap brings the potential for all sorts of possible uses. Restorative and supported poses that alleviate discomfort and make poses easier may be the most popular ways this versatile prop is employed. It will give you a soothing massage to your back or internal organs while helping you to stretch in entirely new ways. Below you will see 5 beginning poses plus instructions for getting into them. More advanced postures that make using the strap more interesting and fun are found in the Intermediate and Advanced blog entries. Rigging is very important. This strap is designed for users weighing 300 pounds or less. The old version of this strap was only rated up to 200 pounds but too many people could not use it so we have made it sturdier. Take special care each time you use the strap to make sure all rigging is secure and shows no signs of damage or wear. Where you rig is very important and we suggest that before mounting fittings you have an engineer evaluate the location and materials you intend to use. Mounting pieces are available here both with the strap and separately. People who are advised not to try this form of yoga exercise are those with headaches, high blood pressure, heart disease, menstruation, and late-term pregnancy. All users are advised to check with their physicians before strenuous physical exercise of this nature. Mysore Yoga Strap: A Simple Convenient Way to Traction the Spine The Mysore Yoga Strap affords numerous ways to gain relief from back pain or strain. This is achieved by simply hanging upside down and reversing [...]

Bheka Long Life mats have been sold for over a decade to discerning studios and their continued popularity, despite all the newer competition, is a testimony to their durability and other fine features. Made from the same material as the legendary Manduka Black Mat Pro, the long lives of these mats make them a wonderful value and an ecologically sound choice. Bheka Long Life yoga mats offer superior quality and durability. This is due to their density, unique formulation and European origin. The special "orange peel" texture of these mats creates optimal traction, so you do not slip on them nor stick to them, even when they become moist. Though the ingredients and processes are secret, all Bheka Long Life mats meet Okeo-Tex 100 certificate standards for environmental safety and lack of toxicity. Also the workers who make them are treated well and are not exposed to any harmful chemicals. Okeo-Tex 100 is the same standard by which European cosmetics are deemed fit for human use. It is a comfort to know that your intimate partner in yoga has been tested and is completely safe. These mats are 24 inches wide, and about 1/8 of an inch thick for the standard and about 3/16 of an inch thick for the deluxe. They are cut to length in New York State and a variety of sizes are available. For purchase information please visit Yoga Life Style Mats and Accessories

The bheka BREEZE is the lightest, easiest to adjust, most travel-friendly large round yoga bolster yet devised. Plus, conscious sourcing makes it have a low impact on the environment. and safe for the workers who make it and for you the customer. On left Ami Jayprada, owner and teacher at Jai Ma Yoga Center, New Paltz, NY, demonstrates supported Child pose. On right, Ami performs a Restorative Shoulder Stand. The Breeze Round Bolster is also good to roll on for gentle fascial massage. A lightweight, high quality, low cost, eco-conscious alternative to traditional cotton bolsters.  The bheka BREEZE round bolster consists of a 7 phthalate-free pvc inflatable inner liner, covered by a 100% cotton canvas casing, colored with AZO-free dyes.  Using the state of the art valve, which has an inner flap to keep air from rushing out, each  BREEZE round bolster can be inflated or deflated in about two minutes.  The durable .03 mm thick inner liner is protected by heavy-duty cotton canvas to make a long-lasting product that should give you many years of use. For Iyengar, yin, restorative and therapeutic yoga the BREEZE offers other advantages as well.  Having an inflatable bolster means you have an adjustable bolster.  You can make it firmer or softer by changing the amount of air in the easy to access inner liner.  This also makes it bigger or smaller for use under the knees or back. In hospital settings where an antimicrobial barrier is essential, you can remove the cotton cover, wipe down the plastic insert, and re-cover with a fresh, clean casing whenever necessary. For normal use, this set up makes keeping your bheka BREEZE clean and sanitary perfectly easy. For travelers who want the comfort of their favorite prop on the road, the bheka BREEZE round bolster takes up no more room in your luggage than a [...]

The bheka Pune Yoga Chair has been specifically designed for maximum openness, utility, and strength. The sturdy support of our Pune Yoga Chair puts many poses into reach that were too uncomfortable or frightening without it. Backless chairs with no front bar between the legs made from heavy gauge steel with two side supports on each leg are ideal for the practice of Iyengar Yoga, Continuum Body Movement, and other practices where a platform for practice and maximum freedom of movement is required. The unique cotton wrap on the back of our chairs adds comfort, warmth and beauty. Also shown is our BREEZE  Zafu Cushion The Zafu will give you a slightly higher seat and the BREEZE version converts any hard chair into a "stability ball" chair, at a fraction of the cost. Detail of Brown,  Purple,  and Black Cotton wrap on the Pune Yoga Chair The experience of Pune Chair can be enhanced with the BREEZE Rectangular Bolster as well as our Turtle or Zafu cushions which are sized to fit the chair. The Pune Yoga Chair is great for practitioners at every level. Seat Height is about 17". The seat is 16" x 16". The Pune Yoga Chair is made in China and modified in the USA. Link to purchase the Pune Chair