RELATED: Gentle and Restorative Yoga Moves for Rheumatoid Arthritis While everyone can benefit from tools and props, people with rheumatoid arthritis may especially need them, says Christa Fairbrother, a certified yoga-for-arthritis instructor in southwestern Florida who has managed her own connective tissue disease with the help of yoga. “Props and tools can make the practice more accessible and appropriate for their body,” she says. If the person you’re buying for is new to yoga, you may want to get them some of the more basic tools. But if they’ve been doing yoga for a while, see below for some items to consider. All are great whether the person is doing yoga at home or taking an in-person class. They will enhance your giftee’s practice, help them indulge in a little self-care, and make you a favored friend. RELATED: Healthy Holiday Gifts for Pandemic Times RELATED: Best and Worst Styles of Yoga for Rheumatoid Arthritis

2. Yoga Mat Bag

If you’ve noticed your friend awkwardly carrying a mat to class or to a park to do yoga alfresco, you may want to buy a bag to slip the rolled mat into. This is especially useful for someone with RA, because slinging the strap over the shoulder spares finger joints. Gaiam’s two-color cargo mat bag encases a yoga mat in a zippered enclosure and includes two secure pockets for storing a cell phone and keys. ($20, Gaiam.com)

3. Yoga Workout Tank Tops

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4. Lavender Yoga Mat Cleaner

Anyone who’s ever smelled a sweaty mat after a yoga class will appreciate a mat cleaner, especially one made with lavender essential oil. Asutra’s Peaceful Lavender Yoga Mat Cleaner uses plant-based ingredients including tea tree essential oil to disinfect ($12.99, Asutra.com). Jasmine Seven offers pretreated wipes infused with lavender and tea tree oil ($15, NicoleStuart.com).

5. Books With a Yoga Theme

Anyone who likes to do yoga probably enjoys reading about it. Fun yoga memoirs published in recent years include Kate Kendall’s coffee-table-book-esque Life in the Flow ($26.99, BarnesandNoble.com) and Ben Feder’s Take Off Your Shoes ($16.50, BarnesandNoble.com). There are books on yoga philosophy from top experts, including Eddie Stern’s One Simple Thing ($18, BarnesandNoble.com) and Coby Kozlowski’s One Degree Revolution ($17.99, BarnesandNoble.com). There’s even yoga fiction, like Breathe In, Cash Out ($15.63, Bookshop.org) by Madeleine Henry, and my own mindfulness and yoga novel, Warrior Won ($15, BarnesandNoble.com).

6. Online Yoga Classes

Even if there weren’t a pandemic, yoga lovers adore the ability to take classes from their comfy homes. But now it’s become a necessity for many who don’t want to crowd into a studio class. Fortunately, there are many online options, including the wide array of class offerings from relaxing to fast flow at Yogis Anonymous ($15 per month) and classes featuring the ashtanga yogi Kino MacGregor and others at OmStars ($15 per month). Or ask your friends to name their favorite local studio and get a gift certificate for the livestream classes many now offer. RELATED: Can Yoga Lower Your Risk of Getting Sick?

Special Tools for a Serious Yogi Living With RA

7. Yoga Wedge

A two-foot-long triangle made of foam, this special wedge modifies the angle of hands or feet on the floor. It can help soften the incline and provide joints with extra support. A wedge can be placed under the hands to tip the wrist upward during a Cat or Cow pose, for instance. Or someone with RA can modify Downward Dog by tucking the wedge under his or her elbows on the floor. ($15, Gaiam.com) RELATED: 12 Sex-Positive Wellness Gifts

8. Sandbags

Sometimes yogis need a little help to increase their stretch. That’s where sandbags come in. A bag placed on each thigh, for example, provides extra pressure to further open the hips. Although some companies sell sandbags prefilled, you can buy the unfilled vessels and let your recipient stuff them with dry rice, beans, corn, pebbles, or, of course, sand. That will let them determine how much weight is best — important, Fairbrother observes, because someone with joint instability has to be especially careful not to overdo stretches. YogaAccessories sells a basic 17-inch bag, with a double zipper to keep contents firmly inside, for just under $10. You’ll want to buy two for a complete set. ($9.49, YogaAccessories.com)

9. Yoga Wheel

Not many people have this prop, but those who do typically swear by it. The circular, hollow, foot-wide wheel is placed under the back during supine backward bends. Users kneel with buttocks resting on their heels and lean back over the wheel, expanding the stretch of the chest and shoulders. UpCircleSeven sells a sturdy wheel in various colors, with thick padding for extra comfort. ($43, UpCircleSeven.com) RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Yoga Props