The ancient practice of yoga, embraced by many fitness enthusiasts around the globe, is endorsed for its spiritual restoration and the ability to harmonise the most chaotic and distressed minds, bodies and souls.

The fitness fad has taken over Instagram feeds of multiple celebrities as they urge fans to practice more ‘#yoga’ because they believe ‘#yogasehihoga’ through their captions. Apart from staring at their pictures and trying to figure out how they got into that yoga pose, another aspect worthy of notice is their use of natural yoga mats for workouts. 

You’ll be shocked to know that the untouched yoga mat that is lying in your wardrobe as a result of your fitness resolution is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic that is detrimental to our environment.

PVC yoga mats and accessories have recently caught the light of inspection because of the material’s toxicity to the environment and human health. From the manufacturing process to its everyday use, this plastic releases hazardous chemicals that have damaging, unsafe and destructive effects on the body and earth when exposed to it for a long time. Other than emitting harmful chlorine gas during production known to cause respiratory and pulmonary damage and vinyl chloride, a cancer-inducing chemical, PVC products are also non-biodegradable and pile up in landfills and the ocean. Essentially, PVC is a danger not only to humans but also to animals. Indeed, you will not look at your yoga mat for meditation in the same manner. So if the conventional yoga mats have such adverse effects, what is the solution?

Conveniently, these mats of arguable origins have a sustainable, eco-friendly and ethically-made alternative that you can switch to. These eco yoga mats are non-slip and sweat-absorbent. They have an exceptional grip and everything that ordinary yoga mats offer, ensuring that they boost your health and wellness when you perform yoga and simultaneously the environment is safe. From organic cotton yoga mats to ones made from cork, these biodegradable yoga mats for meditation or workouts serve as an efficient way to contribute your part to the world’s healthy and sustainable future.

Celebrities who’ve started using eco yoga mats

If the pathos does not convince you enough to make the switch, these celebrities and their yoga instructors surely will. Quite a few names from the Bollywood industry entitle themselves as fitness fanatics, sharing their wellness routines through their social media platforms. 

Beyond the healthy palatable recipes and bewildering asanas, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, the yogini and beauty guru, uses a 100% eco yoga mat. With a beautiful tiger painted with water-based inks on premium cork, the biodegradable yoga mat uses a combination of cork padding to optimise grip despite sweat with 100% natural rubber to provide the best non-slip efficiency. This beauty-guru-approved yoga mat and other yoga accessories are easily accessible online on Amala Earth’s website. 

Jacqueline Fernandez joins the tribe as well. Her company, SheRox,  collaborated with a Mumbai-based yoga brand to design conscious creations, including a biodegradable yoga mat. The star herself uses an elegantly blue PVC-free yoga mat with a floral print for workout and meditation routines. 

Likewise, Anshuka Parwani, yoga instructor for many A-list celebrities, including Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor, has spoken about the right choices regarding which yoga mat to invest in. Besides the anti-slip and excellent grip features, she particularly emphasises the importance of picking an eco yoga mat as part of a journey towards making the fitness industry a benefactor, not only for your mind and body but for the earth too. Apart from these gorgeous actresses, fitness influencers like Akshay Kumar, Malaika Arora, Anil Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Madhuri Dixit and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar also use eco yoga mats.

You may have heard about the wonders that yoga does to your physical and mental wellbeing. And if you have been wanting to practise it but haven’t been able to do so, then you need not worry or get overwhelmed.  

You may feel that the complex poses or asanas are difficult to pronounce and doing them will be another ballgame. However, with the right yoga accessories, temperament, poses and techniques, you can use yoga to reset and harmonise your mind, body and soul spiritually. Yoga is the best form of exercise that can help you attain a toned and healthy physique without drenching your clothes in sweat. To top it all off, natural and biodegradable mats, whether reversible yoga mats or yoga accessories, are not only a good investment for mental and physical fitness but take a step towards a sustainable future of fitness.