Chances are you’re familiar with how your yoga mat can be sticky or smelly after each practice. Giving your mat a quick wipe-down after each use isn’t only something you do at the studio. I recommend you get into the habit of spraying down your mat at home, too. Using a yoga mat cleaner is necessary to keep your mat fresh & free of bacteria.
You could use a ready-made over the counter antibacterial spray. But isn’t it better to use all natural ingredients? And even better to craft your own product? A DIY yoga mat spray is super easy to make. I’ll show you how! We’ll be using essential oils and other simple staple ingredients.
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The Origins of Yoga
Yoga is an ancient practice originating in India over 5,000 years ago. It was first mentioned in the oldest sacred Indian texts.
Over the years, ancient yoga masters created different techniques and types of yoga, for different purposes. In a summarized point of view, yoga is about bringing harmony between mind, body, and spirit.
Today, it is one of the most common and popular forms of self-care. The most popular reasons why people start yoga is for stress relief and to increase flexibility.
The whole family can do Yoga!
Studies have shown that yoga can improve your overall well being. It is a growing trend not just for the younger generation, but also among individuals in their 50’s. Yoga continues to grow its popularity outside India where it was originally from. In North America, approximately one in three Americans have tried yoga at least once in their adult life. And over 1.4 million Canadians practiced yoga in 2005 (1). Further, the number of over 50’s practicing yoga has tripled over the last four years. (2)
Combining Essential Oils and Yoga
Essential oils have been used in various religious and holistic practices for centuries. Essential oils can improve your meditation session by reducing distractions and pinpointing specific areas of your wellness that need more support.
Each essential oil is different. Some essential oils, when used in aromatherapy, can warm your soul, cool your senses, calm your mind, increase your energy, or uplift your emotions.
Here are the best essential oils to use for your yoga mat spray:
- Peppermint is known for its refreshing scent. Since peppermint essential oil has antibacterial properties, adding it to your own unique disinfecting mix is a good idea!
- Lavender. Aside from its antibacterial nature, adding a few drops of lavender essential oil can also help in boosting mindfulness and clarity because of its relaxing aroma.
- Lemon is refreshing, zesty, and used for disinfecting. It is a natural antiseptic and anti-fungal ingredient to many kinds of cleaning products.
- Tea Tree is commonly used to treat different skin issues such as acne and athlete’s foot since it is antibacterial and anti-fungal as well.
- Eucalyptus. Its minty odor has the same effect as peppermint when inhaled, where it can help with deep breathing and other respiratory issues.
The Everyday Yoga Kit from Jade Bloom contains beautiful Yoga-ready essential oil blends, plus a handy spray bottle for your DIY creation!
Get it here
DIY Yoga Mat Spray Recipe
Keep your yoga mat clean and free from bacteria with this easy to make DIY yoga mat spray. You can use it for disinfecting other things too!
This yoga mat cleaner spray will not damage the fibers of your mat or take away its clingy surface. It contains natural essential oils that have effective, anti-allergic, and antibacterial properties to eliminate odors and keep your mat pristine for your practice.
Ingredients
- 16 oz spray bottle (preferably amber glass)
- 1/4 cup alcohol-free witch hazel
- 15 drops Lemon essential oil
- 10 drops Lavender essential oil
- 5 drops Peppermint or Eucalyptus essential oil
- 3 drops Tea tree essential oil
- Distilled water
Directions
- Pour the witch hazel into your spray bottle.
- Top up with distilled water until almost full.
- Add in your essential oils.
- Shake the mixture and spray directly onto the mat.
- Wipe clean using a towel and leave out to dry completely.
Products Used
We recommend the following products to achieve a high quality natural yoga mat cleaning spray.
Looking for more DIY essential oil spray recipes? Check out our guide to making essential oil room sprays here.
Benefits of Yoga
But what is yoga? What are its benefits and what can we do to maximize its benefits?
Multiple studies have confirmed the many mental and physical benefits of yoga. Here are a few of the many benefits of yoga.
- Yoga helps you lose weight. Yes! Yoga can influence weight loss by increasing your metabolism and promoting a better connection with your body. While traditional yoga is associated with more stretching and rest, there are a lot of poses and special techniques (like “power yoga”) that can burn the calories, too!
- Yoga improves your physical strength. Many people add yoga to their daily or weekly routine to improve flexibility and balance. It takes A LOT of strength to be able to do different poses and to maintain those poses as well. Some people also do yoga before proceeding to a more strenuous and intense workout routine to prep their muscles and joints. Yoga helps in toning all muscles in your body, in balance with each other. It improves your endurance and promotes deep breathing.
- Yoga helps you cope with stress and anxiety. In today’s fast-paced modern world, mindfulness and focus play a big role in mental health and overall relaxation. The combination of different breathing techniques and meditation will relax your body and clear your mind of worries and stress. These techniques are also proven to help with panic disorders and chronic pain reduction (3).
- Yoga helps you sleep better. Yoga can aid in the secretion of melatonin (4), a hormone that plays an important role for you to have quality sleep. Since you can do yoga anytime and anywhere, people who struggle with quality sleep or those who usually wake up in the middle of the night, can greatly benefit from a regular yoga practice before bed. Of course, sleep is an important factor in stress and anxiety as well.
Maximize the effects of yoga by pairing it with using essential oils! Incorporate the amazing benefits of aromatherapy with yoga and get the best of both worlds.
Final Thoughts
Yoga is a fantastic piece of your health and well-being! Keep your yoga island clean, fresh and disinfected with our easy DIY yoga mat spray recipe using beautiful essential oils. It’s quick to make and adds another layer of awesomeness to your yoga practice! Your yoga mat spray will help keep your mat bacteria free, and have it prepped & ready for the next use.
Hope you enjoy!
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References
¹ Yoga’s evolution: From basement studios to big business: https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/fitness/2013/03/19/yogas_evolution_from_basement_studios_to_big_business.html
² Yoga Statistics: Staggering Growth Shows Ever-increasing Popularity: https://www.thegoodbody.com/yoga-statistics/
³ Can Mindfulness Meditation Really REduce Pain and Suffering? https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/mindfulness-in-frantic-world/201501/can-mindfulness-meditation-really-reduce-pain-and-suffering
4Alaska Sleep Education Center: 5 Ways Yoga and Meditation Improve Sleep Quality: https://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/5-ways-yoga-and-meditation-improve-sleep-quality
Holly
What is the shelf life of the mat cleaning spray?
Emma Carter
Great question! Its shelf life should technically be right around 1-2 years. Alcohol-free witch hazel can stay good for up to two years (source: Public Goods). Distilled water also reaches shelf life of about 1-2 years after being opened. (source: Here).
Hence, you can use this spray for quite a while! I always use mine up quite rapidly though as I also wipe countertop surfaces with it, so I end up making a new one about every 3-4 months.
Marie
Hi! Why Alcohol free witch hazel?
Emma Carter
You can use either kind of witch hazel. I simply have the alcohol-free version on hand as I also use it in skin care recipes, where I wish for more gentle ingredients. Alcohol can dry out the skin. But in a cleaning spray, either version is of course totally ok!