Fitness

Folks, get into warrior pose, because I have some bad news. It’s slim pickings in the world of eco-friendly, non-toxic yoga mats. Isn’t yoga meant to be a mindfulness practice? Frankly, I can’t think of many things less conducive to a clear mind and a healthy body than breathing in toxic VOCs while you practise your asanas.  So, what to do if you're looking for a safe, … [Read more...] about Say Namaste to the 6 Best Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats

If it's more than fifteen years since you bought a yoga mat, you probably remember not having a lot of choice. For the most part, your options were limited to blue PVC or purple PVC. Thankfully, you can now choose from a plethora of yoga mats, including several seemingly eco-friendly yoga mats in various designs. The thing is, most of the yoga mats manufacturers market as green … [Read more...] about How to Choose the Right Yoga Mat for You

You’d think that an industry that prizes itself on being a peaceful practice would maintain some robust standards for using non-toxic and eco-friendly materials. Sadly, as with so many everyday items, yoga mats may be advertised as natural, green, and eco-friendly, but these claims and labels are often just 'greenwashing'. As I've discussed elsewhere at Leaf Score, there are a … [Read more...] about A Quick Guide to Yoga Mat Certifications

Love it or hate it, that 'new yoga mat smell' may be bad for your health. While some natural yoga mats have a perfectly benign ‘new’ smell when you first unroll them, this smell can also be caused by the off-gassing of a variety of chemicals, some of which are classed as carcinogens.  If you're looking for our top picks as far as yoga mats go, two companies, in … [Read more...] about Chemicals in Yoga Mats: What to Watch Out for