Learn­ing to do the full wheel pose in Mex­ico

In the end it was an easy deci­sion: the mat that could fit into my checked lug­gage was the one that trav­eled to Mex­ico with me last week. I could fold and stuff the Jade Yoga mat into the suit­case, but not the Black Pro Man­duka, so my blue Jade mat went to Hara­mara.

Jade Har­mony mat iin Mex­ico

Here is my mat (cov­ered with sweat and dust), next to a sign­post and a friend’s crutches. My girl­friend twisted her ankle on a rocky trail, and was unable to prac­tice asanas. Instead she enjoyed our 2‑hour med­i­ta­tion ses­sions each after­noon.

And yes, this all-rub­ber mat deformed in the >90 degree heat, but I stepped off the mat onto the wooden yoga pavil­ion floor when­ever that hap­pened.

My sweaty legs or feet some­times stuck to the open cells of the mat dur­ing tran­si­tions, but not too often; it was an accept­able a has­sle.

I spent many won­der­ful hours on this mat last week, rev­el­ing in every sec­ond of the Mex­ico yoga retreat. Namaste to our amaz­ing yoga teacher! And namaste to this trusty, dusty (now clean) mat.