I know this has been mentioned as challenging for many, and I figured something out this past weekend. If you put your step below you, you can put the weights down on the step and do the pick up/put down that Cathe does with these. Then, as you get better, drop the height of the step incrementally, until you get to your furthest point. The benefit here, over yoga blocks, is the step is more stable and broad, so you don't have to worry about missing or having the weight fall off, etc.
Just a thought.
Just a thought.