Is Your Yoga Class Secretly Making You Sick?

We’ve all been there, you’ve gotten late at work and now have to go directly to Yoga class without your Yoga mat.

Thankfully, the studio has community mats that you can use, so problem solved, right?

Wrong!

Read on to find out why, and you’’ll probably never use a studio mat again.

A yoga mat is considered to be a "fomite”.

What is a fomite?. In the world of microbiology, it is basically an inanimate object used to spread an infection. Yuck!

Yoga mats are a hotbed of contamination, literally and figuratively. 

Yoga mats in your studio are perfect incubators for skin infections because

• A large, varied number of people come in contact with them depositing sweat, skin mites, dead skin, parasites, viruses and bacteria
• Studio mats are rarely cleaned and hardly ever disinfected

Yoga studios aren't subject to any sanitary standards, placing the responsibility of keeping the studio mats clean solely upon the staff. And lets be real, unless your studio hires germaphobes, sanitising the Yoga mats is the last thing that gets done.

Bacteria that cause infections love moist, humid, warm environments. Rolled up studio mats prove to be the perfect breeding ground for these bacteria and they can easily live here for weeks, unless disinfected.

What this means is, if someone with ringworm or a staph infection worked up a sweat doing surya namaskars in yesterdays class on the mat you’re using, chances of you getting affected go up drastically.

Studies have shown that the most common infections transmitted by sharing yoga mats are;

1. Acne & Rashes
2. Colds & Viruses
3. Ringworm
4. Warts
5. Diarrhoea

And if you’re immune system is weak, or you’re recovering from an illness, sharing yoga mats at the studio is almost guaranteed to make you ill.

People are more susceptible to spreading and catching viruses and bacteria during Yoga, than other activities, because more of their skin is exposed to the formite; especially the body's oilier areas, like feet, backs, foreheads, and chests that have more organisms on them.

Now, if you forget your mat, you might think it is safer to practice on the floor or skip class all together.

But here’s what we recommend doing

Don't Forget Your Mat! Invest in a quality yoga mat that you should you carry to every class, and clean after every few practices.

 

But practically there will be times when you’re going to class right after work, or going on a date right after class, and you can’t possible lug around your mat everywhere. 

 

Small enough to fit into any bag, light enough to carry all day.

Simply lay the towel on any dirty, shared studio mat and transform it into your beautiful, hygienic personal yoga mat.

What's more, they're super simple to clean and you can simply throw your Transform Towel into the washing machine without a worry.

Help Spread The Word, Not The Germs.