The economist in me usually answers most questions with “depends on the assumption”, but for the above question, my answer (as an economist and a yoga teacher) is an absolute YES!
One may think: why buy when I can use the free or rented ones provided by the studio? Why buy when I am just getting started in yoga? Why buy when I don’t know how frequently I will get to classes? Do I really need my own yoga mat?
Here are three reasons to why you should have your own mat, even if you are only starting to check out yoga classes and aren’t sure you’ll be all that serious about it:
Keep it personal
Yoga is a personal practice and practicing on your own mat is just more personal, no matter
how many times you make it to the mat.
It’s more hygienic, period.
A studio yoga mat undergoes a certain level of ‘abuse’ daily. It gets step upon, skids/drag around, sweat on and tears drip on (oh, yes, yoga can make us emotional, and tears happen). Even if a studio tries to clean their mats well, you’re opening yourself up to less-thanhygienic practicing conditions. When you release your forehead into the mat for a rest in child’s pose, it’s nice to be able to fully melt into the mat and not worry about cleanliness. And if it’s a hot day or the flu season… yuck…
It doesn’t need to be expensive
There’s always a yoga mat that suit every budget. You can get a starter mat somewhere around $20. Will they be the best mats, quality-wise? No — but it will do the job. Or for a greater investment, you can get yourself a more durable eco-friendly mat (such as Jade mat) or even a yoga towel. Whatever you pick up will last you long enough to justify your investment.
Thinking of buying a yoga mat but not sure what to get, have a chat with us.
~ Angela
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