But then there is Chair Yoga.

Chair Yoga you say????

That’s right, I teach a style of yoga in which we use a chair as our base and as a prop to make yoga accessible for everyone. In addition to the retirement home, I also teach this style of yoga at a physical therapy center for patients recovering from knee and back surgery, and starting next month I will be teaching to individuals who are coping with MS.

If you looked in the exercise room at this retirement home you would not see anyone doing a downward facing dog. What you would see is a group of happy people who are working on posture, sitting up straight, opening their chests, joint mobility, coordination and breathing, just to name a few things. And you know what… they love it. When I come to teach, half of them are already ready and waiting for me.

So, if these 70 and 80 year young individuals can do yoga, anybody can!

I see YogaDance as a journey. It is a yoga and dance based fitness experience that uses music and movement to bring you to life, elevate your heart rate, lower your inhibitions, and connect you to your body with joy and acceptance. Your soul will soar to an electric mix of music from around the world that simply begs for your body to move from pulsating primal rhythms and funky, rocking beats, to soothing mediative flows.

I see YogaDance as an opportunity to connect to our roots. In many countries and cultures around the world people dance together as a community in celebration of or in devotion of something, just because. Over the years, as Americans, we have lost this connection and have attached a stigma to dancing. We worry about what other people will think about our dancing as opposed to how our dancing makes us feel.

Once you have experienced a YogaDance class, you will realize that no one is watching you, everyone is too busy enjoying themselves to be concerned about what moves you are making. No dance experience or dance partner is required. You simply need to bring yourself and have fun. If you ever have the opportunity to dance your yoga, I highly recommend it.

I have the opportunity to teach YogaDance this weekend and here is the playlist that I will be using.

• Where do you get yoga mats?
• What kind should I get?
• Which yoga mat do you use?

You can get yoga mats just about anywhere, in fact, my grocery store even sells them. But not all yoga mats are created equal.

The typical mat that you will see for purchase are the basic plastic ones made of PVC and other synthethic materials. These are the cheapest ones to purchase, usually less then $20. Since they are made out of synthetic materials, they are often very slippery because they are coated with a chemical layer. I have seen many times a student come into my class with a brand new yoga mat they just unwrapped, all excited to use it, only to have their hands and feet slip so much that they abandon the mat and just go back to using the floor. With time that chemical layer will disappear and the mat won’t be so slippery, but it is disappearing through your body and clothes coming in contact with it. Most of the mats are only about 1/8 inch thick, though you can find ones that are 1/4 inch thick. The majority of people new to yoga will find an 1/8 inch mat too thin for them and it does not provide enough padding for their knees.

So what happens then? You buy this yoga mat, all excited to give the yoga thing a try, you slip all over the place on it, you don’t have enough cushioning and the floor is bothering you, so you give up and say that yoga just isn’t for you. The mat goes in the trash where it sits in a landfill forever since it was made of plastic.

Like with any sport, having the right equipment makes all the difference. You wouldn’t start training for a marathon without a properly fitted pair of running shoes. You wouldn’t start swimming laps without a bathing suit and goggles. So why would you start yoga without a good mat?

So I’m going to tell you about the mat that I use and just LOVE!

I use a Jade Yoga mat. Their mats are made from natural rubber instead of synthetic plastics. They provide a non-slip surface right out of the box. In addition, the mat does not slide on wooden floors as the plastic ones can. The natural rubber provides better cushioning and is made from a renewable source. The company takes great pride in being environmentally friendly and plants a tree for each mat that is sold.

My first yoga mat was one of the plastic ones I described above, I hated it. I eventually got a thicker plastic mat and that one was a little better but still I was not a big fan. So earlier this year, I decided it was high time that I found a mat that I wanted to be on and not just use. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of other yoga teachers. Everything pointed me in the direction of the Jade mat. I do not regret for one moment purchasing it. They are more expensive then the plastic ones, but, the amount of money I spent on those 2 plastic mats I hated equaled the cost of my Jade one.

I encourage you to look into them, you can click here to see them in my store. They come in either 68 inch lengths or 74 inch lengths for those tall people. They also come in 3/16 inch thickness (that’s the one I use) or 5/16 inch if you want more padding. Overall, they have fantastic reviews. You will see some people who have reviewed it and said that it doesn’t last long and falls apart. As a yoga teacher, I use my mat 5 times a week and have been doing so for about 6 months now, and nowhere on my mat is it falling apart. The one thing to be aware of is that they are made from natural rubber so if you have latex allergy, you would not want to use this. Also, the natural rubber smell can be a tad strong when you first receive your mat. I recommend unrolling it and letting it hang in a well ventilated area. Trust me, the smell will eventually dissipate.