When I first started teaching I bought a whole lot of cheap yoga mats, thinking that I didn’t need anything fancy and I didn’t want to support the consumerism around yoga.
Big mistake.
For one, they didn’t last very well and started to leave bits of coloured rubber or maybe plastic everywhere.
But more importantly, they were made of rubber or plastic. I had not done my homework – what they were made of exactly, how they were made and who they were made by are important questions for consumers and especially yogis.
Why?
The first yama (one of the eight limbs of yoga, yamas are guidelines for living) is ahimsa or non-violence. How could I know my yoga mat had arrived to me after causing no harm to people or planet? Or that at the end of its life it wouldn’t cause harm to the enviornment?
I didn’t.
Now when I buy a yoga mat I am much more mindful and look for something made without harmful chemicals, that uses recycled material or is biodegradable.
It’s not even that hard! I got a recycled cork mat online (Valka) and a sustainable mat from Rebel Sports (Gaiam).
Granted, they are not cheap. So for a very economical option, buy a mat from an op shop, clean it up (warm water with a few drops of eucalyptus oil does the job) and make sure you get the most use of it.
Breathe Aotearoa 