Hands-On Yoga Assists

Are you a yoga instructor seeking the confidence and skills to offer hands-on assists—safely, ethically, and with clarity?

Are you looking to build a stronger student following by offering impactful assists that elevate the practice and set your teaching apart?

Developed through more than a decade of refinement, student feedback, and classroom application, Hands-On Yoga Assists introduces the Rubber Band Method®—a structured, accessible system that removes the guesswork and teaches yoga instructors how to offer assists with skill, safety, and consistency.

Developed by yoga educator and massage therapist Kiara Armstrong, the Rubber Band Method® offers a consent-based, anatomy-informed approach to providing hands-on assists. You will learn how to read tissues, adapt your touch to each student, and apply contact to enhance the asana practice. The method also emphasizes physical safety and longevity for teachers, helping you assist sustainably for years to come.

You’ll gain tools to

• enhance your teaching with 15 assists adaptable to group or one-on-one settings;
• assist with skill through techniques for reading tissues and adapting touch for each unique body;
• learn with confidence through anatomical diagrams that highlight key touch points and affected structures;
• move with longevity using six foundational stances that protect your body and support long-term teaching;
• enhance the practice by understanding the benefits of touch and how it can support the asana experience;
• support agency with consent-driven assists and guidance on tactfully asking permission;
• understand trauma with trauma sensitivity and specific suggestions for bringing safe, purposeful assists into trauma-informed yoga classrooms; and
• apply what you learn through step-by-step instructions, teaching tips, and easy-to-follow photo guidance.

Perfect for 200- or 300-hour yoga teacher trainings and a trusted resource for teachers at any level, Hands-On Yoga Assists is the book that makes hands-on assisting clear, safe, and deeply effective while helping elevate the standards for safe touch across the yoga profession.

Audience

Yoga instructors teaching group classes or private yoga sessions. Also suitable for inclusion in 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher training programs as well as trauma-informed yoga trainings that require a clear, consent-based, and anatomically grounded approach to hands-on assists.

Part I. Methodology
Chapter 1. The Science of Safe Touch
The Benefits of Safe Touch
Touch and the Nervous System

Chapter 2. Changing the Language: Adjustment Versus Assist
Touch and Proprioception
Yoga Adjustments
Yoga Assists

Chapter 3. Learn to Read the Tissues
Rubber Band Theory
Muscle Tissue and Fascia

Chapter 4. The Rubber Band Method® Tenets of Assisting
1. Always Ask Permission
2. Choose an Appropriate Student
3. Your Body Comes First
4. Have a Clear Purpose
5. Enter and Exit Slowly
6. Use Firm, Directional Pressure
7. Follow the Lines of the Pose
8. Do Not Assist on Skin
9. Always Assist Both Sides
10. Be Mindful When Assisting Joints

Chapter 5. Respectful Assists
Helpful Versus Hurtful Touch
How to Be in a Student’s Space
Rubber Band Method® and Trauma

Chapter 6. Rubber Band Method® in Action
Suggestions for Learning

Part II. Techniques
Chapter 7. Rubber Band Method® Stances
High-Squat Stance
Warrior I Stance
Low-Lunge Stance
Low-Squat Stance
Kneeling Stance
Easy-Seat Stance

Chapter 8. Feet
Corpse Pose: Arch Palpation
Corpse Pose: Leg Lift
Locust Pose: Foot Anchor

Chapter 9. Thigh and Hip
Child’s Pose: Hip Press
Child’s Pose: Sacral Press
Child’s Pose: Thigh Rotation
Wide-Leg Forward Fold: Thigh Rotation

Chapter 10. Spine
Child’s Pose: Spinal Lengthening
Downward Dog: Front Press
Easy-Seat Side Stretch: Hip Anchor
Supine Twist: Spinal Lengthening
Deer Pose: Spinal Lengthening

Chapter 11. Neck and Shoulders
Bound Angle or Corpse Pose: Chest Press
Corpse Pose: Neck Traction
Deer Pose: Reverse Shoulder Press

Kiara Armstrong, E-RYT 500, CMT, YACEP, first started practicing yoga in 2002. It played a central role in her personal journey to overcome mental and physical illness. In 2010, she began her first 200-hour yoga teacher training and started teaching in 2011. Five years later, she began leading 200-hour yoga teacher trainings and has since taught continuing education programs, including 300-hour yoga teacher trainings. She has a deep reverence for the human body, having spent time working independently with a cadaver and sharing her knowledge as an anatomy instructor in both yoga and massage schools. In addition to being an E-RYT 500 registered teacher with Yoga Alliance, she is a certified massage therapist. Her experience working with clients in a medical setting has given her a more intimate understanding of the body—one that extends beyond what is visible in a yoga classroom.

Kiara’s love for hands-on assists began early in her yoga practice when she was introduced to them in structured, traditional settings. Over the years, she encountered a wide range of assisting styles—some that felt profoundly helpful and others that left her questioning their safety and effectiveness. At times, she experienced strains and injuries from well-intentioned but imprecise touch interventions, which led her to explore the mechanics of assisting more deeply. As an employee of Yoga Journal magazine, she was exposed to a variety of teachers who employed different approaches to hands-on techniques, further reinforcing the need for a system that was clear, teachable, and adaptable to different body types and classroom environments.

Her search for a structured approach led her to formal Thai massage training, which provided valuable insight but ultimately did not translate seamlessly to a yoga setting. She continued experimenting, refining her understanding through thousands of hours of teaching and hands-on experience. Slowly, through practice, observation, and adaptation, the Rubber Band Method® was born. This method makes a clear distinction between assisting and adjusting, recognizing that while both have a place in yoga instruction, they are not interchangeable. Kiara developed a systematic approach that prioritizes sustainable body mechanics for the teacher, purposeful and intuitive touch for the student, and the ability to read tissues through tactile awareness.

Through years of trial, refinement, and student feedback, Rubber Band Method® evolved into a structured, accessible system that any yoga instructor can learn and apply with confidence. Designed to prioritize both student safety and teacher sustainability, it provides a clear framework for offering hands-on support that is intuitive, effective, and respectful of each individual’s body. Kiara continues to refine and share this approach with the goal of making safe, skillful assisting an integral part of modern yoga education—one that can stand on its own and be passed on for generations to come.

“Hands-On Yoga Assists is an invaluable tool. In this book, Kiara Armstrong transforms her intelligent, soothing assists into words, diagrams, and anecdotes that will resonate with newcomers and longtime practitioners alike.”
—Dina Ruiz Eastwood, RYT 200, Writer and Media Personality

“Kiara Armstrong’s Rubber Band Method is rooted in anatomy and trauma sensitivity, and it revolutionizes hands-on yoga assists with a focus on consent, purpose, and respect. Her book, Hands-On Yoga Assists, is perfect for yoga teachers who want to enhance their students’ asana experience.”
—Nicole C. Prehn, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP, Professional Figure Skater