While yoga is an ancient practice that aim to bring together an individual’s mind and body, yoga slowly came to be one of the most popular low-intensity workouts nowadays. Characterized mainly by stretches and positions, yoga exercise is meant to both strengthen the body as well as improve balance and flexibility. If you’re thinking about trying some yoga, it is important that you have the proper equipment such as an extra thick yoga mat.
What is Yoga
As mentioned earlier, yoga is considerably one of the most popular physical activities practiced today. Known for its supposedly relaxing moves that calms both the body and mind, yoga slowly became a staple in the health and fitness circle. But what exactly is yoga?
Yoga originated as an Indian meditation practice that combines various styles of physical postures and breathing techniques with meditation and relaxation. Rooting from its 5000-year old Indian philosophy, yoga now became a popular form of exercise and meditation molded into one. While the original yoga principle did not focus on the physical aspect, yoga exercises emphasize posture and poses that helps develop control, balance, and flexibility. Some of its most known poses include the tadasana, urdhva hastansana, uttanasana, maslana, and dandasana that is ideally done on a comfortable extra thick yoga mat.
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Benefits of Doing Yoga
Considering the popularity of yoga, it is only important to go through some of the most significant benefits of doing yoga on a regular basis. This list includes the physical, psychosocial, and mental benefits that can be achieved through yoga exercise:
• Decrease stress
• Relieve anxiety
• Help fight depression
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve hearth condition and health
• Reduce chronic pain
• Promote better sleep quality
• Improve flexibility, balance, and stability
• Improve breathing
• Relive migraines
• Increase strength
• Promote healthy eating habits and lifestyle
• Improve quality of life
How to Clean your Extra Thick Yoga Mat
Now that we know the origin as well as benefits of doing yoga, the next thing that you would have to know is how to use, clean, and maintain the quality of your thick yoga mat. Considering that the yoga mat is the primarily space where you do your yoga workout, there is no doubt that the mat is riddles with germs, sweat, and odor from your exercise. With that, here is how you can properly clean your yoga mat:
Regular Cleaning
• After every use, make it a habit to spot clean both sides of the yoga mat by using a yoga mat cleaner or a mix using a couple of drops of mild dishwashing liquid and 2 cups of warm water.
• With your cleaner in hand, spray the thick yoga mat with the solution and wipe the surface with a soft cloth.
• To rinse the mat, simply pat the surface using a damp cloth.
• Remember to lay the mat flat or hang it to dry fully before rolling it back into the yoga bag.
Deep Cleaning
• At times, spot cleaning may not be enough. Thus, it is also important to know how to deep clean your thick yoga mat.
• Once that your yoga mat starts to smell or has a stain, it is important to deep clean it immediately.
• For hand-washable yoga mats, use cold water and mild soap in order to get rid of the stain and smell.
• For machine washable mats, simply clean the mat on a cold gentle cycle.
• For yoga mats that cannot be soaked, wipe the surface with a solution made using a mix of one-part white vinegar and three-parts water and rinse using a soft, damp cloth.
• To dry your yoga mat properly, remember not to put it in the dryer but simply lay it out to air dry.
Other Tips in Maintaining Your Yoga Mat
While cleaning your thick yoga mats is one thing, there are still several things that you can do in order to make sure that your yoga mat would last as long as it should. Some of the things you should remember includes:
• Never lay your yoga mat under direct sunlight to keep it from fading and to avoid the material being brittle
• Avoid using strong and harsh cleaning solvents.
• Avoid applying essential oils or skin creams before using the yoga mat as it can stain the surface of the mat.
• Always allow the mat to fully dry before rolling it up and storing it away.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, yoga is one of the most popular exercises today. Considering the supposed simplicity of the workout, more and more people are giving yoga a try. Taking that into consideration, it is important to have an extra thick yoga mat in order to make sure that you are comfortable when you do the positions and poses for your yoga session. Hopefully this article was able to provide you with enough information about yoga and yoga mats.