#jadeyoga

Today self-care & self-soothing look like the yoga mat I have been lusting after for the last year.

Distress Tolerance and Emotion Regulation in action.

As a curvy yoga teacher I’ve tried over the years to find the kind of mat that won’t leave me slip sliding away.  There is nothing worse when you start building up heat in the body, you start to feel less secure on the mat.  Like many newbies, I started off with the high street retailer kind of mat - no specifics, no real understanding of what I needed from a mat, happy to wander into classes with an assumption that all would be well and wherever I put my hands and feet - that is where they would stay!  However, as the Sun Salutations and Downward Dogs ramped up, my hands and feet started to lose their grip, then my mind came out of my practice and became distracted and preoccupied with the idea I was going to face plant on the mat!  I‘d also tried the yoga shoes, socks and gloves and as a wee warm yoga bunny, these just felt restrictive and heat building!  Thankfully over the years and investing in becoming a yoga teacher, I also invested in a mat that would keep me firmly rooted in Downward Dog, Chaturanga and any other asana I care to throw at it.  I wrestled with the prices of the higher quality, eco friendly mats as they can be a bit expensive but having lived and worked with mine, I would never go back to the cheaper alternatives.  It is a bit like trying to learn guitar on the most basic and awkard of instruments - you might learn, but you wont enjoy nearly as much!  Enter stage left... the Jade yoga mat!  A careful decision but one totally worth making for any hot yogis who don’t want to lose their grip when the heat is on!