A Greener Yoga Mat

I went through three yoga mats in one week.  I've always just bought a cheap mat at any old store without paying much attention.  THIS week,  my husband picked one up for me, but it was bumpy and I would rather have smooth so I picked up a cheap one from Walmart.  

Took it out to use it and I noticed it smelled pretty bad.  Very much like chemicals.  It was pretty gross to have my face so close to it at times.  I thought I would just let it air out, so on my way to the garage (it smelled that bad) I grabbed the cardboard that came with it and noticed this:

Warning:  This mat contains chemicals (recognized by the state of California) known to cause Cancer and/or birth defects/fertility issues.

So we checked the first mat my husband bought, because after this warning I thought, I can live with bumpy!  BUT it had the SAME warning.  

 Yoga + warnings that your mat can cause Cancer and/or birth defects = Counterproductive!

So just like with everything we eat I had research to do!  I found that almost every mat contains PVC and comes with a health warning.  I did find some mats that are made of CLEAN PVC which seems like a much better option.  But my favorite option is RUBBER.  I ended up purchasing an eco-friendly mat from Amazon.  I chose a Maduka eKO 2.0 wet-grip natural tree rubber mat.  I notice now they have a LITE version too.  (Check around though because I got my mat for half of what they are listed for this week)  

I was a little concerned about the rubber smell.  But it is really not that bad (far better than the chemical smell of the other mats) and it really does air out fine.  You can even spray it with 50/50 water/essential oil if you really don't like it and it does help.  I even used it in a yoga class and no one seemed offended by my rubber mat!  It is very thick and gives great support!  I am very happy with it and at the end of it's life it will completely decompose without leaving a footprint.

Now that I have a greener yoga mat, my health will only benefit from Yoga.  Get yourself a greener yoga mat, your health is worth it!