HOW TO TAKE THE STINK OUT OF YOUR YOGA MAT
HOW TO TAKE THE STINK OUT OF YOUR YOGA MAT
If you do hot yoga then you know a thing or two about SWEAT and LOTS of it! The heat is GREAT—we sweat like crazy, the endorphins flow, we start to see subtle changes in our bodies and mental wellbeing. But then slowly over time our yoga mat starts to smell like a LOCKER ROOM, that sharp, tart, unmistakable aroma. As we flow through up-dog and our face grazes our mat the stink slaps us in the face…YUCK! The smell is so gross and embarrassing!
After some extensive research and trials we found a few helpful ways to TAKE THE STINK OUT OF YOUR YOGA MAT. Hope you find them useful.
YOGA MAT CARE…NATURAL CLEANER
If you do hot yoga, or any yoga for that matter, you need to clean your mat to keep the smell at bay and to protect you from bacteria.
Thanks to Oh She Glows (ohsheglows.com), the following simple mat cleaning solution works wonders. We used lavender essential oil and loved the calming scent. (It might be a good idea to check with your yoga mat company to see if the essential oils will “clog the pores” of your mat…or you can throw caution to the wind as we did and just go for it!)
Yoga mat spray
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 3 cups filtered water
- 1 tsp tea tree oil
- Essential oil (about 10-30 drops depending preference) peppermint, lavender, and thyme are nice, but use anything you like!
- Place all ingredients into a large spray bottle and shake before each use.
- Spray down your mat on one side and let it sit for a few minutes. With a damp cloth, wipe it down. Finally, wipe it with a dry towel or simply let it air dry.
- Repeat on other side.
FOR MORE OF A DEEP CLEAN…TRY LAUNDRY DETERGENT OR DISH SOAP Sometimes you need to give your mat a really deep clean, we’d suggest about once a month for heavy use or once quarterly for someone that goes to yoga once a week.
- Fill the bathtub with lukewarm water adding about 1 tablespoon mild soap to every gallon water.
- Allow the mat to soak for 15 minutes then wash each side with a washcloth.
- Drain the tub and rinse the mat with clean water.
- Use a clean towel to pat the remaining water off the mat then hang it to dry.
We hope these yoga mat cleaning tips were useful. And of course to keep the locker room smell out of your car you need to be diligent about using your Dryasana to keep the sweat off your car seat. Just remember, with Dryasana you’ll never sweat the drive!!!