New Maendy Mat and Microban Yoga Mats - Reviewed by Me!

So the new Maendy Yoga Mat finally came in and I bought one yesterday. For those of you who aren't familiar with the "Maendy Mat" it is a 6ft x 6ft square yoga mat...and it's named after yours truly :) I brought it home and laid it down in the center of my designated dance room in my apartment. Let me tell you, the mat is HUGE! It's really not the type of mat you'd want to bring to class (unless you want your own personal bubble...I mean cube in class), but it is perfect for home if you've got your own personal Yoga space.

Because the mat is so big, it took up a good portion of my room. And you literally have to walk around it to get to my living room, or my kitchen on the other side now. But because the mat is inescapable, I couldn't help but to do a few yoga postures on the Maendy Mat each time I ventured through the room. One thing I really loved about the Maendy Mat is that I could do a number of different types of postures in sequence without worrying about falling off the mat. I felt like I had this HUGE space for asanas and totally used all of it. I even did 100 crunches, flipped over and cobra stretched it out and never fell off the mat once. My fiance even joined me on the mat for a few stretches.

The Maendy Mat is definitely a great investment if you've got the room for it at home. I'd also recommend the Maendy Mat for Partner Yoga classes. It's definitely large enough to keep two people on the mat at the same time! You can get your own Maendy Mat by clicking here.



Yesterday I also purchased one of our new Microban Yoga Mats. At YogaDirect.com, we are very excited about these new mats because they literally repel bacteria and fungus, making it the cleanest and freshest yoga mat on the market today. Microban uses Zinc Antimicrobial technology to prevent bacteria and germs from even attaching themselves to the yoga mat. It's all natural, and is not a chemical, so it is completely safe. Also, Microban is put into the yoga mat during its manufacturing, so it protects that mat for life. Because the mat repels bacteria and germs, it actually last longer than most mats that tend to deteriorate over time because of all the washings. Now I am not saying you'll never need to wash the Microban Yoga Mat, but I think it is a great mat to use in any class or studio that makes you sweat your butt off!

I brought the Microban Mat to Bikram Yoga last night and was pleasantly surprised. Though the rug in class smells of old sweat, my yoga mat didn't pick up the scent of it by the end of class, which is something I noticed that my other yoga mats did. The Microban Mat did, however get very slippery once I started sweating. But with a towel over the mat, it wasn't really a problem. After class, I rolled my mat back up tightly without letting it air dry, so today when I unravel it at class, I will see if it smells stinky or not. I will keep you posted!

In the meantime, you can get your own Microban Mat from YogaDirect.com by clicking here, or if you'd like to learn more about Microban, click here.

Why Did I Ever Stop Doing Yoga???

I cannot believe it has been almost a year since I have stepped into a Yoga studio! I went to a Beginner Kripalu class on Monday with a bunch of co-workers here at YogaDirect and halfway through class I started feeling REALLY strong. Why did I ever stop going? I know I have been very busy with dancing (Soma Dance Company is leaving for their residency in Oklahoma on Sunday!!!), but the Yoga Class made me feel so good that I decided I need to find the time to include it into my weekly routine.

While the Kripalu class was a good class to take to get me back into the swing of things, I am still a big fan of Bikram Yoga, so as soon as I come home from Oklahoma, I am signing up for classes in Farmington. One of my co-workers, Emily goes to Bikram every Monday so I am going to go with her :)

At YogaDirect, we've been brainstorming about new types of Yoga Mats. One of the great new mats we will be offering is the Microban Yoga Mat. We are really excited about these mats because they are not only antimicrobial and anti-fungal, but they also resist bacteria, making the mats last longer. Microban is a safe, green way to make products safer for use because it reduces the spread of illnesses. Those mats should be in later this week!

Another mat idea we have is 6ft x 6ft square yoga mat. This mat is perfect for home use because it allows you to designate a special area in your home just for Yoga, so your practice area is more comfortable. The square mat lets you go from pose to pose without worrying about stepping off the mat! My favorite part about the mat is what we are calling it - The Maendy Mat! I will edit this post before the end of the day to add the link to the pages for the Microban Mats, but we are pre-selling our Maendy Mat - Click Here to purchase your own, and it will be shipped June 15th!

Warming up

Hi!
So I thought I'd start my first post by introducing myself. My name is Maendy and I work at YogaDirect.com, the best place to get really good Yoga props and equipment for very reasonable prices (and I'd say that even if I didn't work there! :)

I am also a Yoga FANATIC! I am an avid BikramYoga student, but I also love Vinyasa Yoga. I am dying to find a good local Ashtanga Yoga class that fits my schedule - anyone know of one? Finally, I am a modern dancer and Pilates student.

Let's see...what else can I tell ya....

My favorite style of Yoga (so far) is Bikram Yoga, because it is so challenging. I know that some people have dissed Bikram Yoga because of its static structure (the same postures are performed in the same order every class) and its teaching style (teachers recite a "script" and tell students to lock their knees and stretch beyond your flexibility throughout class), but I feel that because every class is the same, it allows me to learn something new about my body every time I am in class. The intense heat of the room is especially challenging. I feel a real sense of accomplishment after I have stretched my body in all sorts of ways in a hot as hell room full of sweaty, smelly people for 90 minutes. Makes me feel like I can do anything!

I am also such a big fan of Bikram because I have a lot of built up scar tissue in my left ankle from dancing on pointe shoes too early as a child. Because of this, my ankle was always very stiff and it has prevented me from doing a certain postures in Yoga classes. However, after attending Brikram Yoga class regularly, I have slowly worked through that scar tissue (it took a little over a year, but the heat really helped), and now I have greatly increased the range of motion in that ankle. Now, I am pretty much addicted to Bikram!

Well, that's all for now - Namaste!