Go Green With These Sustainable Yoga Products & Tips

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Another Earth Day has come and gone and chances are you made an effort to be a little kinder to our planet. But have you considered ways to incorporate a greener yoga practice all year long? Fortunately, there are already plenty of resources available to help us be a bit more earth-friendly when it comes to our yoga practice.

From commuting to class to cleaning your mat afterwards, here are some sustainable yoga products and tips for going green and showing Mother Earth you care!

Commuting to Class:
Start manifesting positivity before you get to your yoga class by being considerate of how you get there and home again. Next time you finish savasana, talk to your classmates about carpooling to yoga. If your yoga studio is close enough, ride your bike, walk, or even run. This will increase your daily time for physical activity and help reduce your carbon footprint. If it’s too far, or if the weather doesn’t permit, try hopping on the bus or light rail instead.

Yoga Mats:
Look for mats that are certified as environmentally friendly and made sustainably and locally. There are sustainable mats made from natural rubber like the Premium Eco Friendly Yoga Mat by Hanalava or, one of our favorites, the Cork Yoga Mat from Yoloha. Remember that a good ‘green’ mat should not contain any PVC or other synthetic rubber. There are plenty of good eco-friendly mats out there, so choose one that’s durable and comfortable to use.

Yoga Clothes:
There are a wide variety of quality eco-friendly yoga brands made from recycled and/or organic materials. Many companies are committed to ensuring their clothes are made responsibly and are certified as Fair Trade. It’s important to know where your clothing is made, and what it is made with. This makes a huge difference for our planet. Look good saving the planet! Here are some of our favorite brands doing it right for the environment:

Teeki

Jala Clothing

Yoga accessories:
You can find everything from bamboo yoga blocks to 100% recycled yoga towels and hemp yoga straps . And don’t forget to hydrate! Ditch the bad-for-the-earth disposable plastic bottles and get a reusable water bottle instead. It may take a few days to get used to carrying a water bottle around with you and not throwing it way after your done, but this is a new habit that you should welcome.

If you are an active, on-the-go yogi there are a few companies making water bottles specifically designed for you. A quick google search for “BPA-free water bottles” will introduce you to hundreds of options. In order to make the search a little easier for you, here are our 3 favorites:

Nalgine – Made in the USA and guaranteed for the life of the product. This is the number one selling water bottle of all time.

AlexBottle – ALEX is an acronym for “Always Live Extraordinarily.” ALEX unscrews in the middle for easy cleaning and compacts small for storage.

The Hydroflask. Our favorite for it’s ability to keep your beverage cool or hot all day. It is BPA-free and keeps hot beverages hot for 12 hours, and cold beverages cold for 24 hours. Great for hot yoga fans or yogis who love the outdoors year-round!

After class:
You can still be green for clean up time too! Don’t clean your sustainably-made yoga mat with harsh chemicals! Products like Jo-Sha wipes clean your mat gently and leave only fresh smelling scents like lavender and peppermint behind. They are also organic and free of oily residue. Since they’re all-natural, they’re great for wiping down hands and feet before or after class as well. Or, if a spray cleaner is more convenient, there’s an all-natural product called Rebel Green made with tea tree essential oil. This spray smells amazing and doesn’t require wiping down after use—just spray and go.

As humans sharing this planet, it’s our responsibility to take good care of it. Earth is our only home! Our yoga practice teaches us to honor ourselves, others, and nature. Apply this to every aspect of your practice, and go green!

What are your favorite eco-friendly yoga products? Have you found other ways to be ‘green’ when you practice? Please share in the comments below, and help spread the love!!