If you’ve been hanging around me a while, you know I have a slight obsession with having my belongings (and even my habits) be beautiful, loved and useful. I so deeply love the concept of owning + doing only that which is beautiful, loved and useful, that I’ve named my business after it. (Yes, that’s what the BLU is for.)
So today I’m launching into a new series that I hope you will like. It will give us a chance to discuss the loveliest of things in a particular category. I’ll be featuring products I find to be beautiful + useful with much potential to be loved, and I hope you’ll share your favorites, in the comments and on social media.
I’m starting with an object that is near and dear to my heart: the yoga mat. I love to do yoga; it’s my favorite way to work out, in fact. It feels so good to stretch and calm my body, particularly when I’m feeling stressed out or chaotic in the brain and antsy in the limbs; yoga is just the thing to bring me back to normal.
I typically do yoga at home (although I’m itching to try out hot yoga at a place that just opened up downtown. Have you tried it, and what did you think?). This DVD set by Tara Stiles is my favorite, hands-down. (If you’re in the market for a new yoga instructor, you can get a taste for her style in this 7 minute morning wake-up routine.) I particularly love these DVDs because it includes three different 30-minute routines, among others—which is perfect for my short attention span and the fact that I crave variety when I exercise.
But back to the yoga mats. I have been using a plain blue Gaiam mat since I started doing yoga several years ago. My husband has started to borrow my mat more often lately, so he wanted his own. And lucky me, he offered to adopt mine so I could get a fancy new one. SCORE!
I knew I wanted it to be lovely, and not plain like my last one. Here’s a glimpse at the beautiful choices I found while I was shopping online:
1 : look how pretty you are from Affirmats // 2 : Magic Carpet Yoga Mats from Anthropologie (more patterns available here) // 3 : FP Movement Printed Yoga Mat from Free People // 4 : Radiance Printed Yoga Mat from Gaiam // 5 : j/fit Eco-Friendly Jute Yoga Mat available on Amazon
Obviously, it was a tough decision. I ended up getting the red Magic Carpet mat from Anthropologie, because I couldn’t stand how pretty it was (although the Affirmat was a close second . . . so many good affirmations to choose from.)
There was quite a back-order, but it was worth the wait, because I now have a yoga mat that I love dearly. I do yoga by a big window in my bedroom, and on the days where I don’t roll up the yoga mat when I’m done—you know, because I’m lazy to make it easier for next time—it just looks like a rug in front of the window, not like a slob lives here.
Just looking at the scene makes me sigh with relief. Ahhhh, I want to do some yoga.
Also, the little shapes in the corners remind me of rocket ships. Which is awesome.
