Gear

"Please meet me in Child's Pose", you hear the yoga teacher coo at the beginning of class.  Ambient music is playing in the background, and you feel your muscles begin to soften as you melt your heart towards the mat and you nestle your forehead down.  "Begin to deepen your breath" she continues, "taking a deep inhale through the nose".  You take you first deep breath through your nose bringing your awareness inward and the warm humid air and......the smell of old sweat, bacteria, and mildew, begins to fill your nose cavity?! Suddenly you're no longer in your zen moment as you begin to panic.  "Can my neighbor smell this?!?"  "Wait, is it coming from my neighbor?!?".  Your mind is suddenly racing.  "Can I withstand this smell for the next 75 minutes?".

Beyond the obvious smell of a dirty mat, there are several reasons why you should defunk your mat after EVERY use.  

You've heard the song....  I can hear the slightly off-key voice of Astud Gilberto crooning the classic lounge song The Girl From Ipanema when Thairine Tiwari walks by.  The lyrics "tall and tan and young and lovely" is quite literally the exact description of her and she exudes an exotic cool vibe with each step.  If you haven't met her in your local yoga class, she is the creator and the Brazilian beauty behind Ioga Activewear, an activewear company that makes you feel almost as cool and exotic and she is!