Amazing New Yoga Mat

I was recently contacted by Vernice Vita to review a brand new yoga mat. My first thought was, "How much could I say about a yoga mat?" Upon further investigation I discovered two more interesting facts about this new mat: first it is made of memory foam, and second it cost over $100. These two things left me a bit leery. I never really was a big fan of memory foam. I feared that the mat would be too squishy, making it difficult to move my feet positions. My other concern was the price. I wondered who would spend so much on a mat. I was doubtful that I would.

But I had an open mind and I agreed to take a mat on loan. I have to admit I was growing more and more curious to experience what my routine would feel like on this strange new environment. When I unrolled the mat I could see that it was going to take a little while for it to lay flat all by itself. It also had a funny "new" smell so I rolled it out on my porch and let it both settle down and air out. I normally do my yoga routine in a spare bedroom that happens to be carpeted. I wanted to give this new mat a fair shot and figured that I shouldn't lay a memory foam mat on top of carpet and padding, so trying it out on the wood decking of my porch was the perfect plan . . . in so many ways . . .

In one word, the mat was AMAZING. I just couldn't get over the complete transformation in my routine. In the craze of an overly booked and rushed day, I had planned to only "try it out" with a 10 minute routine. 40 minutes later I was still going strong. I found that I lingered in every pose far longer than I normally do. I found the mat so comfortable and I swear it improved my balance. I felt like I was grounded to the mat in ways that I never experienced and everything just felt so right. I felt strong. I felt like my form was better than it ever has been. All of my previous yoga experiences were on my squishy carpeted bedroom floor or at studios on wood floors with very skinny mats. This was just unreal.

My fear of having my feet stuck was unfounded. I moved in and out of the positions no differently than on any other mat. But when it came to one arm side balances that normally hurt my wrists, I was more comfortable. When it came to balance poses I felt like a rock. And when it came to Savasana . . . on my God, I never wanted to get up!

Later in the evening I packaged up some new yoga pants that my husband recently bought me for my birthday in preparation for exchanging them. It was then that I realized those pants cost $95. Then I flipped through a sport magazine where I researched some new running shoes, which, of course, cost over $100. Suddenly it seemed much more justifiable to spend the money on an amazing yoga mat. After all, it is your one tool of the trade that can make or break or practice. Needless to say, the loaner is NOT going back.

And the most interesting part of this experiment (for me) was the fact that I found my absolute favorite new place to practice yoga (in addition to my new favorite mat). Practicing outside in my screened in, always shaded, porch was outstanding. I could feel the breeze and hear the little waterfall that feeds into my gold fish pond. I am now planning to decorate this new-found space with all things yoga!

For more information on the new yoga mat, please visit www.vvitayoga.com. They have an online store where you can buy your own amazing new mat.