I’ll admit it has definitely been awhile since I was consistently working out. Yes, I know fitness is important which is why I am making more of an effort to make it a priority rather than the last thing on the daily to do list. When I was working out my fitness hygiene was extremely low. So how do you clean a yoga mat, gloves, or various equipment?
The Sweat Magnet: Yoga Mat
No, I rarely if ever used a gym available yoga mat. At least the mats at university for classes were cleaned after every class. I only thought of cleaning my personal mat whenever I used my shoes. Think about it, your sweat is literally bleeding into the mat day after day, that’s disgusting even if it is only your sweat.
Recently, I started researching how do you clean your mat without a bunch of chemical wipes and sprays. That is when I remembered watching an old Cassey (Blogilates) video on a diy spray. Although the video specifies toward her suede yoga mats I decided to try it out on a different type of yoga mat. The spray consists of essential oils and water which means it is basically as natural as it can get while still being able to fight germs. Just because you cannot physically see the dirt, germs, and bacteria on the mat itself does not mean they are not there. The results were disturbingly satisfying as you will see in the video below of me using the spray for the first time.
Yoga Towel
If you do hot yoga you probably already use a yoga towel on top of your mat but they also can be used for the lazy yogi that does not want to clean their mat every single time they use it. After a workout just toss the towel in the laundry with your workout clothes, easy. Also it prevents a wet sticky sweet puddle as it becomes absorbed into the towel. I like to use mine whenever I am doing a higher impact workout or an intense flow. I hate that sticky sound of my back peeling off a wet mat.
Do You Even Fold
The prominent yoga fold is not only time consuming but also causes horrible fitness hygiene. If you clean your mat, then only roll it up you wasted your time cleaning it. Whatever was all over the floor is not touching your clean surface. Strictly rolling a yoga mat causes it to constantly curl up at the ends when it is rolled it out too. Instead, fold the mat in half then roll it, no it does not cause a crease, and yes it will still fit in your yoga bag.
Scrubba Dub Dub
Shoes inside is a must if you are like me and have feet that natural turn, in aka flexible arches. While wearing a shoe will support your foot, it is a bit unnerving to wear indoors on your mat. Simply wipe off your shoes 5-10 minutes before working out, to allow them time to dry, with a baby wipe or a damp towel.
Grips & Such
Depending on the material and type of grips you use will depend on how you take care of them. Ones with velcro stripes I would recommend handwashing to prevent them from catching on your other apparel. If they cannot be washed, make sure to disinfect them or replace them frequently. The natural essential oil spray can be used for grips, weights and more too.
MaddieAutumn 