Heart Full

When I first started yoga — about 3 years ago, I fell in love instantly. I loved how I felt afterwards, the challenging poses,the bite size spirituality, and the joy of an expansive ohm. But slowly, it occurred to me that there was an undisclosed subculture to yoga. A culture very much aligned to eco-friendly greenness. It made sense — being mindful of our environment is a natural partnership for yoga, it embodies the very ideas of ahimsa, doing no harm. I quickly noticed that I was mindlessly consuming water bottles. I often bought a small bottle before a rigorous class, and always a very large bottle for hot yoga. I started feeling guilty about this practice, it really didn’t take much effort to switch to a bottle — I would just have to be less lazy about remembering to bring it. I noticed how everyone seemed to have a Sigg water bottle, it was clearly the brand of choice (at the time). And no wonder it’s so playfully cute compared to it’s then competitors (kleen kanteen).But at ~$25 it was pretty pricey, and my yoga was expensive enough — so I opted to just go thirsty or drink from the water fountain after class. Then I hit verifiable gold, a cute $10 water bottle that matched my Koi Mat. A red Koi Gaiam water bottle on sale at Barnes and Noble for $10. How could I not buy it?
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I’ve always been stingy with my yoga clothes. I sweat in them after all, and besides being stretchy and “pretty basic” in terms of appearance I didn’t have many more requirements. Not that I haven’t looked. I’ve longingly perused Lululemon, marveling at all the goodies they come up with to put in their clothes. I’ve also rifled through the sales bins in yoga studios, and inspected their racks. I rinse and repeat this just about every 3rd time I visit a studio. But I’m always dejected after seeing the price tag, and couldn’t make the leap to actually justify the often $75+ pants that I would just sweat in for an hour and a half. Besides, I told myself, how much of a difference could it make? I’ve recently discovered thanks to the generosity of the people at Hyde Yoga that it does make a difference.
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The mat is something most yogis even the beginning yogi has an opinion on. When I first started the thin purple mats available to rent at my local yoga studio didn’t do it for me. Sitting on them was like a battle between my sit bones (Ischial Tuberosity for the anatomically inclined) and the hardwood floors, the hardwood floors being the victor. I opted for a plush pink mat one that I could happily move into crescent moon on and not have to do the ill-timed mat fold, or risk unhappy knees. But as my practice progressed, my body opened to find a comfortable fleshy part of the knee and I learned to balance myself so minimal weight was placed on it. I found myself returning to the thin mats (not always purple), for the connection it offered to the earth / floor. I was well onto my way to stage two of my mat progression, expression. I bought a pretty koi mat that matched my water bottle was content that my accessories matched my practice and my personality. More then I could say for just about everything else I owned.

But as my awareness progressed I became painfully aware that my mat may not be the most eco-friendly in town. I read that it was 100% natural, but sources were dubious about how eco-friendly or biodegradable it was. Moreover, my friend Desmond wondered out-loud how biodegradable ANY yoga mat was and she’s a botanist / biologist making me feel worse. So I elected that once the koi mat wore out, I’d find an eco-friendly one. But my budget and shoulders sagged at the weight of the eco-friendly mats. I continued to ignore the skid marks on my koi, and made do. Enter the Eternetfit mat. I discovered it during the Global Mala Project, the founder was selling them on the side for a fraction of their retail price. And it seemed like the answer to my inner most mat wishes.
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