There are many ways to keep the body healthy and at ease from head to toe and from inside out. One of them is through Yoga. Under it lie many poses and routines for you to execute the workout properly, and with those, you need the proper exercise equipment too.
Unlike other kinds of exercises, Yoga does not require lots of exercise equipment. If you will notice today, the only inevitable exercise equipment that goes with it and that you can carry anywhere is the yoga mat.
The yoga mat is essential to aid you as you perform yoga poses. It prevents slippings, scratches and other injuries that one might acquire during the activity. Because of its significant purpose, you must know that it must not be used irresponsibly, and you must make sure that it is kept clean because your body goes directly in contact with it. You might not immediately notice how nasty it could become, but it really gets dirty.
For you to be certain that your yoga mat is still hygienic for use, here are 5 care tips to maintain the cleanliness of your personal yoga mat:
1 – CLEAN THE YOGA MAT WITH WATER AND SOAP.
Just like any other thing, to keep your yoga mat clean, of course, you have to properly wash it. Use clean warm water and gentle soap to do so.
The sweat and natural oils that come from your body fall off onto your yoga mat. If that happens everyday, and you don’t even do anything about it, your yoga mat surely is gross and smelly. Not only that because it also becomes unsafe due to getting more slippery.
Soak it for a few minutes, and make sure that the bad smell will be eliminated. It will be very annoying and irritating to use such bad smelling exercise equipment. You will not be able to focus and relax.
You stretch its life span by cleaning it every month. If you intensely use it more than once per week, then you have to really clean it more often. Using it without cleaning is very unhealthy also because bodily liquids coming from you or even from other people who use it attach to it.
2 – GENTLY WIPE THE YOGA MAT.
Whenever you use your yoga mat, it obtains dirt. When you perform yoga daily, it gets dirty daily. Cleaning it thoroughly with water daily is not very healthy at all times too because it might weaken the mat’s material. Instead of that, you should wipe it after every use.
Gentle baby wipes which you can easily buy anywhere or which you may already have inside your hygiene kit can be used. If it’s not available, get a mild detergent and a clean, soft cloth. Any soap remains must be wiped off totally because if not, the yoga mat might become slippery.
Do not wipe harshly also so that the yoga mat’s skin will not tear off. Be gentle but with enough zest to remove all the dirt safely.
3 – STORE THE YOGA MAT SAFELY.
Not because something is “stored”, it’s already safe from getting grubby. No, sadly, that’s not the case. If you do not keep your yoga mat properly, it might still be not hygienic to use immediately after taking it out of your closet.
The usual thing that people do is rolling up the yoga mat after cleaning then putting it in a corner. Simply placing it in a vacant corner might make it very susceptible to unnecessary dust and dirt. Put your mat bag to good use, and keep your yoga mat inside when not in use. Chiefly if you’re bringing it to travel, house it in the bag made for it.
Regularly airing it out, hanging it out, is also very beneficial. The residual moisture and sweat will be eliminated. This is especially important after washing your yoga mat with water and soap. Doing so also helps blow away unwanted smell and also hampers the growth of bacteria.
4 – KEEP YOUR YOGA MAT AWAY FROM YOUR PETS AND VICE VERSA.
Although it’s often cute, funny and entertaining when your pets are walking around while you exercise at home, it’s bothersome for many reasons. One is you cannot fully focus on exercising and meditating. And two, your pets’ fur may stick onto your yoga mat. The latter will make cleaning the mat quite difficult because pet hair sticks stubbornly on surfaces like a yoga mat, especially when the mat itself is wet from perspiration.
To avoid the hassles of such, exercise in an area away from your pet, or move your pet to a different room instead.
5 – MAKE SURE YOU’RE HYGIENIC.
An unhygienic body makes the yoga mat unhygienic too. Since it’s you, human, who uses the mat, it means you most often and mainly bring untidiness to it.
Your hands, legs, feet and other body parts exposed and used most often tend to be the dirtiest and the most dust-magnetizing parts. And they’re also the parts that touch the yoga mat, and it’s unavoidable that they do. Because of that, know that you should also be clean before using your yoga mat.
Wash with clean water and soap so that oils, lotions, creams, dirt from food, dusts from activities you do and other skin products will be removed. Especially if you touch food or something like that, clean your hands very well. You don’t want your exercise equipment to get stained and to smell like food. Don’t use it with wet feet either. If you leave it wet, the moisture easily attracts bacteria build-up.
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YOGA MAT
Although the yoga mat seems like a simple exercise equipment, still it is vital that you clean it regularly especially when it’s used frequently and by various people. Not doing so makes it and makes you very unhygienic. It can also lead to skin issues and other health-related risks.
Make sure that you don’t just use your yoga mat without thinking about its cleanliness. It’s not just the physical exercise that’s important but also hygienic exercise and discipline. It’s for your yoga mat’s longer life, your health and others’ as well.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She also writes for Fitbiz Exercise Equipment, an excellent source of the ultimate fitness equipment collections in Australia. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.
