Yoga mat
History of Yoga
July 15, 2020
Om
July 16, 2020
History
Ancient yoga practice in India was originally conducted on kusha grass, on the earth without any cover, or even a rug. Due to the paucity and cost of such rugs, they are now rarely used even in India. When western people started to do yoga, they used towels or cotton mats on wooden floors. Rubber mats are better than cotton mats because this material to prevent cotton mats from slipping on wooden floors. Slipping of hands and feet was avoided by squirting a mist of water on the mats on the respective places of positions. In 1982, while Angela Farmer was teaching yoga in Germany, she found to use carpet underlay cut to towel size during yoga classes. Angela’s father, Richard Farmer, contacted the German padding manufacturer and became the first retailer of “sticky mats”. Hugger Mugger Yoga Products was manufactured and sold the first purpose-made yoga mat in the 1990s. In 2002, the first ‘eco-conscious’ mat was manufactured by EcoYoga and sold through Yogamatters in Britain. Yoga mat increasingly fulfill the purpose of reducing risk of injury and some insurance companies require yoga practice to be executed with a non-slip mat in order to be eligible for coverage.
Material
There are lots of materials for making a yoga mat. Some of them are PVC, natural jute And bamboo.
Care and hygiene
It is very important to know how to wash the yoga mats and also wipe down them from the dust. You should clean with a warm wet cloth and then dry it in fresh air.
Standard Sizes
Standard size of the Yoga mat is normally around 72″ / 182 cm long and have a width of 24″ / 60 cm. Some practitioners prefer extra-wide mats (30″ / 78 cm) for some positions such as Surya Namaskar or hand-balances. Yoga mat range in thicknesses from 2 mm (lightweight) to 4–5 mm (standard or “classic”) and up to 7 mm for either high performance mats reserved for professional daily practices while guaranteeing little wear-out, or soft mats providing extra cushioning during yoga therapy.
Design and coloring
There are a variety of colors and patterns for yoga mat. “Alignment mats” are printed with guides to proper alignment. Some companies print custom images on mats and some like to print their logo on them. Other props that used to complement yoga mats are belts, blocks and bricks.