Nothing kills the Buddhist vibe like walking into a yoga studio with a stiff, brand-new yoga mat. Yoga studios are intimidating places as it is. Break in your mat so that when you walk in the studio door, you'll give off a "been here, done this" vibe. Breaking in a yoga mat means roughing up something you love.
Step 1
Apply water to your yoga mat. Send your yoga mat through the washing machine, lay it under the hose or keep it under a torrential downpour. The H20 molecules will start to wear away at the fabric particles of the mat. Do this more than once to break your yoga mat in twice as much. Think of a yoga mat like the baseball glove of your youth. It takes a bit of time to break it in, so speed this process up by washing your mat twice.
Step 2
Apply pressure to your yoga mat by pushing hard on it. Think of a pair of worn-in jeans that are stonewashed before they ever hit the store. Apply this same method of pounding to your yoga mat. Set up a stone-throwing game in your back yard where the mat is the target. You'll have a broken-in mat in no time.
Step 3
Perform yoga exercises on your mat to further break it in. You'll be too busy sweating to notice that as you work your muscles, your mat is also getting worked out. Before long, the mat will be an old soul.
Things You'll Need
- Washing machine or hose
- Stones
- Rough shoe soles
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