"How Yoga Transforms Your Body"

Many of us have heard about and personally experienced the numerous physical benefits of yoga. In case you need a little encouragement for your pre/post work yoga class tomorrow, take a look at this great infographic that the Huffington Post put together. It lists many of the proven physical benefits of yoga based on scientific research studies!

For the entire article click here 

How to Clean Your Yoga Mat!

As my Sunday morning vinyasa yoga class at Charm City Yoga in Fells Point was winding down this past week, I was enjoying a nice low back and ab stretch in sphinx pose, deeply inhaling and exhaling through my nose. I lowered my cheek back down to my mat to rest and realized that... my mat actually stunk! Whoops. I guess it's been a while since my last mat cleaning.  

Here are some simple tips on how to clean your mat (and breath easy during class):

If your mat is lightly soiled, use a spray bottle, damp sponge, or terry cloth rag to apply a solution of two cups of water and four drops of dish soap. Rub the soiled areas. Wipe the mat with clean water; then rub with a dry terry cloth towel. Hang to air dry.

If your mat is heavily soiled, submerge it in a solution of warm water and mild detergent; use very little soap as any residue may cause the mat to become slippery during future use. Thoroughly hand wash the mat and rinse in clean water. After squeezing out the excess water, lay the mat on a dry towel and roll the mat and towel together. Stepping on the rolled up mat will squeeze more moisture out of the mat and into the towel. Then unroll and hang to air dry. 

(Thank you Yoga Journal!) 

There are also pretty inexpensive mat cleaners you can purchase -

Giam Super Yoga Mat Wash Cleaner  ($8.99) 

Manduka Mat Renew Yoga Mat Spray ($10.00)