The lives of my very well loved yoga mats.

I bought my first mat in 2010. It's a brown, Gaiam brand mat - no longer available on the site. My only and deciding criteria was that it was the thickest mat available at the time. Which is not that thick (5mm) compared to some other ones. (I'm looking at you Jade mats!).

In retrospect, I really think my preference for thick mats stems from previous experience with knees on ground action. I actually practiced without a mat with Yogi Toes recently, but the Chaturunga taken on the knees situation was not nice.

Anyway, back to my first mat. I can't believe it's only been 4 years. Still not sure if it feels like longer or shorter... :-T This has been my mat at X-Sport and Core Power Yoga. This is also the mat I took to my first Wanderlust in the City this past May. I still use it in home practice, but I definitely upgraded with my next mat. A nice mat actually does make a difference!

Gaiam Sol Dry-Grip

It's black like a real yogi's! :-P But in all seriousness, look at that beautiful mandala-esque print. Click here to buy. (I am not paid at all for this endorsement.)

I only own two mats (so far!), but this one is the favorite child. It seems like this is Gaiam's favorite child too. This is the one mat prominently featured on the site and in ads. It can still be slippery once I get sweaty shoulders down to do core work, but it's a non-slippery dream when dry. Also at 5mm, its constructed to feel thicker, with more padding. I got this one at the end of 2013, and its already got some substantial love.

Check out the design up close!

As you can tell, I am partial to Gaiam. I may want to try the Jade mats. They have some REALLY thick ones that feel as if they'd be (even more) less slippery. If I wanted a thin mat, I'd just get a travel one. And there's just too much controversy, true or not true, regarding Lululemon. Prefer to avoid instead of support, even though their mats are VERY popular and do seem to be of great quality.

Either way, I'll let you all know the next time a mat joins my family!

Namaste. 

Gliding through my practice.

When taking time out for a home practice, maybe what you need to do is make is special. Light some candles, turn off the light, and put on your favorite yoga Pandora station.

Mine today was "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service station. 

Practice was nice today. Built heat, but went at a soothing pace. Still jacked with energy because that's what it'll do to me, but I'm a night person anyway.

Gotta get off the screens so I can sleep sooner rather than later. Maybe listen to the Star Talk podcast while I do Savasana in bed. 

Oh, and I've rediscovered the single-task lately. It not only obviously makes you focus more, but you feel more fulfilled once the task is done. 

Om Shanti

Namaste. 

Oops! I missed a month!

Been taking it easy with the classes lately, but have cultivated the habit of a home practice. I really want to go to more classes to get inspired, but there aren't really any 9 pm classes. I'm not a morning person, so a nighttime yoga practice is just lovely. Granted, 6 pm isn't that late for the class I would want to go to, but afternoon, early evening is just prime GTD time.

Life's been good, but I definitely need to practice on the weekends. I spend the weekends with the S.O., but that's not really an excuse! I could definitely benefit from that.

Oh, and I want to brag about my Crow... it's actually not much to brag about, but I definitely feel more progress, more stability.

Namaste!