Green Options

Last season we gave away an earth friendly yoga mat from Gaiam. Now we are back with a contest to win this recycled plastic, floral patterned, reversible all-weather floor mat.

This truly is a product that gives back:

“Make any room, whether indoors or out, that much more inviting. Our recycled plastic floor mats are handcrafted by Thai artisans who receive a fair wage for their craft. Made entirely from spent soda bottles, the durable multicolored polypropylene strands stand up to foot traffic in mudrooms, kitchens, or anywhere else there are plenty of comings and goings.” Made with love in Thailand.

Win this Free Floral Floor Mat ~

Last week we featured a memory matching game by Gaiam, where players enjoy the possibility of winning amazing prizes too. This week, Gaiam has offered us a yoga prize for one lucky reader! Intrigued by our yoga articles on eco mats, gifts, and more, they have offered us this Organic Cotton Yoga Mat.

“Meld eco awareness into your asana practice.”

This is a natural cotton mat that has a nonslip backing made from renewable, biodegradable rubber.

To enter:

Do you play virtual games? Try this new flash game Gaiam just launched called ConcentratiOm (based on concentration). It features Rodney Yee (we recently featured here) and Colleen Saidman demonstrating yoga poses. . The way it works is simply based on concentration and players must uncover yoga mats and match up each pose with its name before time runs out. You can check it out here.  Simply play and you may win:

• 3-day yoga retreat + airfare
• $750 in Gaiam & Visa® gift cards
• 3-month Gaiam Yoga Club membership + 1GB iPod Shuffle®
• Gaiam yoga DVD collection

“Learning and remembering yoga pose names has never been more fun! See how many yoga poses you can match to their names in 2 minutes and enter for a chance to win fabulous prizes! Whether you’re new to yoga or an advanced yogi, you’ll have fun giving those brain cells a quick yoga workout. New poses every time you play!”

This is a fun educational game for anyone interested in learning more about yoga.

Recently, browsing around the “Ecosphere” I also read

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:

The Gaiam Community site is a great resource for information on not only green living, but also health and wellness, mind-body fitness, and even spirituality. The site contains articles, discussion forums, and videos, but no blog… at least, no blog yet.

In October, Gaiam Community will launch it’s blog, and, judging from their plans, it will quickly attain the status of a "must-read." They’ve already lined up yoga guru Rodney Yee, and Gaiam Real

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