How often do you clean your yoga mat?

Big realization: I spend about 24 hours on a yoga mat per week. That's basically one full day living and breathing on a yoga mat. Wow.

Admittedly I don't use the same yoga mat all the time. I have a mat for practicing at home and another one I use for outdoors. As a full time instructor I teach in different studios in different rooms and use the preset “teacher's mat”. Some days my pace is more relaxed and restorative, some days my mat would be drenched (hello hot yoga!)

If there's one thing I am obsessed about, it is about keeping my mat clean. Especially my personal mats. I like to practice on a clean mat, and after a sweaty practice I like to give my mat a nice rubdown. Whether we realize it or not, our yoga mats are hotbeds of germs and bacteria. Just imagine the combination of sweat, dirt and bare feet!

Here is my favorite recipe for a yoga mat spray. Basically I use essential oils that have antibacterial and antifungal properties like tea tree oil and eucalyptus and complement it with a relaxing and calming scent like lavender, or something more invigorating to lift my mood like lemongrass.

Ingredients:

Distilled water

Witch hazel

Essential oils: tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender, lemongrass

Spray bottles

Directions:

1. Fill a quarter of the spray bottle with witch hazel.

2. Fill the remainder with distilled water.

3. Add 6-8 drops of tea tree essential oil and 6-8 drops of lavender essential oil. Another option would be to replace tea tree with eucalyptus oil instead, or replace lavender with lemongrass essential oil. You can also mix and match 2-4 different oils and see which concoction pleases you best.

4. Close the cap and shake to mix all ingredients. Spritz on your yoga mat and wipe down with a towel.

I use an amber spray bottle to help protect the oils from damaging UV light. Another bonus is that you can also use this as a room spray. Not only can you freshen up your yoga mat, you can also enjoy your scent-triggered mood enhancer.

Have fun mixing!