A How-To: Cleaning Your Yoga Mat

I have to be honest... 

When first starting yoga many years ago it really never occurred to me that I may have to clean my yoga mat.  Cue YUCK!  But here is the thing I don't wear it and once put away I didn't think about it.  It wasn't until I went to a real yoga studio and saw others doing it that it clicked... DUH!  I sweat on my mat, I touch my mat, my sweaty clothes touch the mat... Why in the world wouldn't I clean it?!?!

So then I just started cleaning it with the wipes that they had at the studio.

Now that I am doing yoga only at home because of the Yoga Boot Camp I am in and the love I have for my yogi guide Adriene I knew I had to come up with a way to clean the mat at home.  

Luckily that was easy because on Adriene's blog she was kind enough to show a little how to on making your own yoga cleaning spray. To see her how to video click HERE.  

Here is my version though so you can see what I used since I have to work a little bit on a budget.

So I used the ingredients that she provided but I had to cheap it down with not 100% essential oils and a cheapy version of witch hazel.  I got the plastic bottle for 99cents at Wal-mart too!
I followed her directions...

3/4 full distilled water and the rest witch hazel then about 5 drops of an essential oil.

I did lavender in the pink bottle and the I did mint rosemary in the green bottle (seen below). 

I chose lavender because it helps to relieve stress and improve your mood (if you choose to use 100% oil it you can use it sparingly on yourself to help relieve stress, tension or even disinfect your scalp, you can search for other health benefits on google of click HERE for an awesome article).

I chose rosemary mint for the other bottle because mint helps calm the body and rosemary is wonderful for many reasons including stress relief.  Using rosemary by itself is also marvelous!  If used topically it helps with clarity, headaches and pain relief.  Click HERE for more info on rosemary, since you know I am no expert.

Once you have made your spray, use it liberally on your mat (I let it sit for about 30 seconds) and then wipe with a cloth with the grain of your mat. 

I love this spray and it makes my mat smell amazing!

I use it about every other day depending on my yoga sessions and how sweaty I get.