I enjoy yoga as much as the next person. Stretching and contorting and letting the blood rush to your head is always good practice, and nothing gets rid of a headache faster. But I’m also part of the school of thought that for it to be a good workout, you should be sweating, right? So I’m a big fan of vinyasa yoga since it gets you moving. I like hot yoga from time to time (I’ve never encountered another exercise that makes my ankles sweat)
But one, possibly obvious, caveat to this athletic approach to yoga is that you’re dripping all over the mat. I don’t want to scale back my intensity, but I also am struck by the feeling that a yoga mat is, well, absorbent material. So basically, a good cleaning method is needed.
a good clean feeling
I tried a few different articles with suggestions { here } {here } ranging from throwing it in the washing machine to diluted dish soap and essential oils in a spray bottle.
I didn’t want to put it in the wash because I feel like the agitation would tear it up. Actually, I liked the idea of the tea tree oil best because it’s a natural astringent. But I didn’t feel like driving to the store, so I used what I had on hand.
Attempt 1: I have a surplus of face toner right now, the first two ingredients of which are water and isopropyl alcohol. Sounds like a cleaning agent, yeah? So I suppose if I’m willing to clean my face with it, then I can clean my yoga mat, which sometimes has my face resting on it. I used a damp sponge and just threw some toner on the mat and scrubbed it around. This was not satisfactory, and I do not recommend it.
Attempt 2: I then turned to a solution of baking soda and water. Which is natural, and totally effective! In fact, I was so pleased that after I finished with the mat, I went to town on my walls, door, and switchplates, and it all worked nicely.
Are there any cleaning shortcuts that you use?
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