MY SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT YOGA MAT LEAD ME TO ECOYOGA
When I first discovered ecoYoga mats I was living in New York City. At the time, I was discovering yoga practice and philosophy, and it’s life-changing potential. As I became more and more aware of the benefits of yoga, I realized the importance of my own yoga mat. Not only does it create a personal (and hygenic!) space to focus your practice, the materials the mat is made of are critical to a comfortable, balanced and healthy asana practice. And I discovered that it’s not so easy to find the right mat!
My first mat purchase was a typical, inexpensive, bright green sticky mat, chosen without much thought and without any consideration for the materials it was made of. Right away, I discovered that “sticky” wasn’t so sticky and I was sliding all over the mat. After just a couple months, that first mat started to shred, and I was finding little green bits all over the place after practicing. It only lasted six months! It was then that I began to research yoga mats and the materials they are made of. Turned out my mat was made of PVC and not very healthy for the planet or for my body! So I tested and purchased several different mats trying to find the one that felt best for me and my practice. The grip and traction were the most important feature for me and was not easy to find truly great grip. Then one day I was at my yoga studio on the Upper West Side where they had just received a shipment of mats. One in particular caught my eye as it looked so different from any other mat I had seen. It turned out to be the ecoYoga mat. The studio owner told me that it was the most solid mat she had tried and the best mat they sold.
I purchased a beautiful natural-coloured ecoYoga mat and discovered that has the best grip of any mat I had ever tried - I feel truly solid and balanced, and no longer fixated on my hands and feet sliding. My ecoYoga mat also feels unique and extremely natural to practice on - like having a link with nature. Unlike any other mat I have tried. And at the same time, I love the ecoYoga commitment to using only sustainable and 100% natural materials that are also recyclable and biodegradable - I feel good that my mat choice is not only good for me, but also good for the planet.
When I moved back to Canada, my beautiful mat came with me. I discovered that the ecoYoga mat was not available in Canada, so I decided that I wanted to share this special and truly earth-conscious mat with Canadian yogis. So here we are, ecoYoga Canada! Created for the sole purpose of sharing ecoYoga mats with Canadians.
Not only do I love the mat, I also love the story of this pioneering yoga mat. The ecoYoga mat was created in 2003 in Edinburgh, Scotland, as an alternative to the PVC mats that almost all mats in the world were made of at that time. The choice of PVC for a yoga mat is very contradictory to the desire for a healthy body and healthy planet that many yoga enthusiasts share. So the ecoYoga mat was born. The original ecoYoga mat, the unique combination of sustainably grown 100% natural rubber & jute, pioneered a shift in the use and development of yoga mats, and today the demand for an environmental mat is stronger than ever. Today, the original ecoYoga mat remains perhaps the world’s most authentically natural and environmentally friendly yoga mat, as well as one of the best performing mats on the market.
I hope you will love your ecoYoga mat as much as I do.
Namaste
Sarah
contactus@ecoyogamats.com