By Emily Konkler •
September 2, 2009
Sweat drips from my nose, rolls down my chin and runs off my chest- landing on the floor with pride. The air is thick. Mirrors, fogged over. Essential oils soak into my pores, filling my body with peace. I rest my wet forehead on my mat as I breathe through pigeon, opening up my hips farther and deeper. As I listen to the mellow music, tears begin to run down my face. Sweat and tears cover my cheeks, melding into each other, creating one beautiful masterpiece of raw spirituality. Just as confusion begins to flood my mind, not sure as to why I’m crying, the teacher explains we hold emotion in our hips and it may surface in this stretch. After she says that, we move on to a new pose and my crying fades. I’m at one with my body; my mind is nowhere but the present. This is serenity.
By Lucille Chi •
June 15, 2008
When we go to a yoga class, we work to re-oxygenate our bodies with heart opening breathing exercises, inhale deeply, and breath in clean refreshing pure air. Unfortunately, many yoga mats are made of toxic materials that seep into the air. Worse yet, is hot yoga classes are often not ventilated. The best way to purify a yoga studio is to switch to eco riendly mats, educating each yogi that signs up for a class about the benefits of green mats and only carrying them in house. As I’ve said many times before, yoga is one of the most rejuvenating, restoring, enlivening and uplifting kinds of exercise out there. What many are unaware of is just how toxic many yoga supplies may be. Articles like this one from the Green Yoga Association help clear the air as to what is good for our healing studios.
There are a good many options out there, and I’ll share my long time favorite the Harmony mat (some say they slip more on this rubber mat but personally I like the ability to grip and stretch the mat as I ease into form) which most yoga places carry. From the Jade Harmony Mat site~
Harmony is Green
Harmony is constructed of natural rubber a renewable resource tapped from rubber trees - containing no PVC or ozone depleting substances - perfect for the yogi concerned about the environment.
To be more complete, here is a long list of some green options out there for yoga mats:
