You’re in a Great Yoga Wall class, and the instructor says something like,
“Lengthen the wall belt so it comes just below your knee.”
“Make the belt as long as your arm.”
“Shorten the belt so it comes to your hips.”
When you try to go into the pose, the belt slips off because it’s too long. Or maybe you can’t even get in the pose because the belt is too short. By the time you figure out the best length for your body, the instructor has moved on to the next pose.
Or maybe you’re practicing by yourself at home and trying to go by these cues you heard in class, but none of them work. Frustrated, you give up and drop into Savasana.
What NOT to do: Using a universal body-specific direction for wall belt length.
Over nearly two decades of teaching more than 4,000 bright, enthusiastic, magnificent people who want to feel the deep stretches, profound relief, and giggly delight that the Great Yoga Wall gives, I’ve found that these kinds of guidelines rarely work.
Why?
Multiple limb lengths and body dimensions. Poses involve many limbs, so even if two people are the same height, one might have shorter or longer legs, a shorter or longer torso, shorter or longer arms, or wider or more narrow hips than the other. All of these measurements affect how long the wall belt needs to be.
Variety of angles. Poses create multiple angles in the body. How open or closed the angles are in your unique expression of the pose, as well as the angle of pull of the belt, impact how long the wall belt should be.
Several systems at play. The condition of your muscles, joints, nerves, and other systems in your body determine how much your body bends at those angles in the poses. Those things can change from day-to-day and moment-to-moment, making it even more challenging to use a universal body-specific length for everyone.
Your practice changes your body. The more you use the Great Yoga Wall, the more your body will change. I grew ½ an inch when I started using the Great Yoga Wall regularly and that extra length in my spine affected the wall belt length for many poses. Your physical body is like a one-of-a-kind everchanging magical rainbow unicorn. The length of your wall belts will be unique too, and will shift as your body transforms with your Great Yoga Wall practice.
Let’s look at Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog) with a wall belt in the middle row as an example. Take two people with the same overall height.
Giving a universal body-specific length would not account for variances in leg height vs torso and arm length, hamstring flexibility, glute and hip flexor openness, shoulder mobility, overall agility in getting the hands to the floor, the distance between the hands and feet for each person, the presence of conditions like neuropathy, sciatica, and many others.
Although a universal body-specific direction for the wall belt length can serve as a starting point, it’s impossible for it to be accurate for all people all the time.
What to do instead: Feel and experiment.
Nothing is a substitute for your own practice. Figuring out your wall belt length is a 5-step process.
Step 1: Do the pose without the Great Yoga Wall first to feel your version of it. For example, in Adho Mukha Svansana (Downward Facing Dog) notice how far apart your hands and feet are, how stretched the hamstrings feel, how close your belly is to your thighs, etc.
Step 2: Then practice with the wall belt at various lengths to find which one gives YOUR body the most beneficial results.
Step 3: If you feel like you can’t go as deeply into the pose as you usually do, you might need to lengthen the belt. If you feel like the wall belt isn’t really supporting you, you probably need to shorten it.
Step 4: When you come out of the pose, make note of how long the belt is in relation to the plates so you can use that as your starting point next time.
Step 5: Repeat over and over.
You’re not a robot clone. Your Great Yoga Wall practice shouldn't be either.
Start getting to know your own wall belt lengths. Let me know what that does for your practice and what questions you have in the comments.
This information is for educational and informational purposes only and solely as a self-help tool for your own use. I am not providing medical, psychological, or nutrition therapy advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your own medical practitioner. Always seek the advice of your own medical practitioner and/or mental health provider about your specific health situation.