If you google "sandbags in yoga" and then click on the "images" option, there are some great pictures. Look for the one with the mother in child's pose with the toddler on top of her. (Youngest was a moveable weight for a Pilates class long ago). And look for the one with the woman covered in sandbags in corpse pose.
A weight in passive poses allows one to sink deeper into the pose.
I use bolsters and blocks in poses a lot.
I craved a weight (like a sandbag).
I craved a heavy weight.
If you buy a yoga sandbag on line, it comes empty and you add your own sand.
I did not want to deal with sand.
I decided on rice.
I bought 20 lbs in a very sturdy bag.
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| My husband asked if 20 lbs was too heavy. I replied that Yoga Lisa used to sit on me. It would be like having youngest sit on me. So, no, 20 lbs for an experienced person is not too heavy. I think 5 lbs is normal for a sand bag in case you are wondering. |
I used the rice in the bag it came in for a long time. Eventually it sprang a leak.
And using it in the store bought bag showed the need for a non slippery bag/case. It slid off of me, all the time. I never was able to fully relax, because I was expecting it to slip at any moment.
I went to Joanns looking for non slippery fabric.
Not a lot of options.
I ended up with the dotted fabric used on the bottom of the feet in toddler footie pajamas.
I poured my 20 lbs of rice in a very sturdy plastic bag (Karen had warned me about bugs), squished all the air out, zipped the double zip locks, got rice gathered in a corner, wrapped the excess plastic around it like a Christmas present, and then packing taped the daylights out of it.
It ended up about 17" X 17". Most yoga sand bags are long and skinny. I wanted square.
That rice package then went in a casing I made from muslin.
And then all that went in a casing I made from the footie pj material.
I closed the last casing with Velcro so I can wash it. (Unfortunately the only color of the footie pj fabric readily available was white.)
It is good I used Velcro, because I have already flipped it inside out twice and made that outer casing smaller to really hold the rice. The picture above, shows my first try (before decreasing size twice).
So, it is not at all cute (in white) but it is very, very functional.
Feeling the footie pj fabric at the store, neither my husband nor I was convinced of the quality of the non slip-ed-ness. But an older clerk at the store said she put it in the bottom of her mother's chair cushions (wheel chair, kitchen chairs, lawn chairs) and they totally stay in place while her mother transfers herself. It was $12+ a yard for 50" width. I had a 60% coupon. So a yard was a reasonable investment.
And it definitely works. It does not slide off my back, at all.
I have quite a bit left of my original yard, so I can use it for other things too.
