Battle of the Yoga Mats

Photo: ombites

Back in 2008, I was shopping around for a new yoga mat. My practice was getting more serious and I wanted a mat that would last. The general consensus was that I should either buy the Jade or the Manduka. But being stubborn, I didn't invest in the Manduka because they were so "popular". I know, reverse snob anyone? Two years later and lots of crumbles, I wish I had bought the Manduka.

Now I finally own a Manduka. I've opted for the PROlite which is the equivalent to the Jade Harmony in terms of size and weight. I carry my mat around a lot to classes on public transport so the Manduka PROlite fits nicely into my Saka bag, best birthday present ever.

Manduka also offer a lifetime guarantee! I was concerned about the crumbling of the Jade Harmony but was assured that I could send the PROlite back and get it replaced if it ever broke down like that. Really? I guess I'll believe that if and when the time comes. But for now, I love my PROlite. I've practiced on a Manduka PRO mat before and I know they're the "Rolls Royce". I just had to get over my reverse snobbery.

Big shout out to Skippetty for her reviews on the Manduka which ultimately made me realise I just had to bite the bullet and do it. prAna was also another mat lots of yogis are mentioning at the moment but it was time, Manduka baby. They're popular for a reason.

Yoga mat linkage:

• Jade Yoga
• Manduka
• prAna

Back to Basics - Week 5

I tried working through my running issues on Saturday by revisiting my old haunts and it just wasn't happening again. Something tells me that Kathryn and Lucinda aren't going to let me off that easy though. We've been through a lot together over the years with each other's weight loss journeys and I reckon Kathryn, you can smell a big fat lazy rat with me!

But I've worked it out. Since moving and my yoga routine being messed about, I've been planning my running mornings straight after a big yoga session the night before. When I was running a straight 5 km with no problems before moving, I was only ever doing yoga after my runs in the morning or on every alternate day. I think this has made a huge difference in my performance ability - I either plan to exercise only in the mornings, or the evenings. So with that in mind, I need to look at which days I run and work that around my yoga. I also plan to start the Couch to 5km running plan again this week and go from there.

See...my virgo trait of keeping a diary of my exercise and eating habits pays off in the end! But I still hate hills and there's all the mental stuff to work out which no doubt I'll be thrashing about on the mat.

This week's plan:

Sat 7 - 45 min run/walk

Sun 8 - 75 min jivamukti yoga (DW)

Mon 9 - 75 min walk + 60 min jivamukti yoga DVD

Tue 10 - C25km (WK1) + 20 min meditation

Wed 11 - 20 min meditation

Thu 12 - free day

Fri 13 - 60 min walk

Back to Basics - Week 4

The secret to success? Danielle LaPorte has a fabulous blog about self realisation (basically) and her recent post was like a cold hard slap to the face. It's funny, you know the truth but sometimes we need to be told again and again. It reminds me of what Sharon Gannon, founder of Jivamukti Yoga, is very much about as well - say what you mean and mean what you say. Walk the talk.

This past week I've been a little sidetracked by starting a twitter account, and online socialising in general. Time to get back to the books. There is not a chance in hell that my degree is going to pass itself. I have exams in three weeks and I need to get on with the task at hand which is currently studying disgusting diseases that I will never see in clinic, nor am I able to diagnose by law! No wonder I've been procrastinating, right? Hmm. The excuses need to stop.

In terms of eating, it's been great. I have the week off work which makes it so easy to eat well and get back to real basics. There are no temptations of 3pm lulls in the day or even the continuous birthday cakes. I also have a very strict rule of not having junk in the house.

Exercise on the other hand? Running. It's not happening. Well it is, but it has become really hard since we've moved and I can't avoid the initial hill starts. I'm not sure if it's simply the hill starts that are giving me grief so I need to either change my route or my nutrition. I gave up halfway through my run today and actually thought I hate running. My nutrition is getting back on track though so I will try a new route on Saturday. This means I will walk/ride my bike to where I used to run and start again. I want to try and fall in love with running again before I completely quit.

This week my moving plan goes a little like this:

Sat 31 - 75 min walk

Sun 1 - 75 min jivamukti yoga (MB)

Mon 2 - 5 km run

Tue 3 - 75 min walk + 75 min jivamukti yoga (DW)

Wed 4 - 5 km run/walk

Thu 5 - 75 min walk + 120 min jivamukti yoga (MB)

Fri 6 - free day

Oh, and yoga classes. I need to get back to having a more consistent home practice. Spending around $240 AUD per month on classes is getting out of control and now after my tattoo consultation today, I will be out of pocket for a small fortune over the next several months. Yikes, but worth it. You wait 'till you see what a beauty she'll be after approximately 9 hours of work.