Green Cleaning: DIY Yoga Mat Spray

Let me start off with a bit of vulnerability and honesty: I take forever to do things. I don’t mean it takes me 30 minutes to unload the dishwasher because I get distracted by everything or I move one dish at a time (though, that’s all true as well). I mean, when I decide that I want to try something new, or begin a project, etc. I always take forever to start it, and don’t usually finish it, to be honest yet again. It’s a character flaw that I have, and I’m not sure where it came from. Add that to my “things to work on with my counselor” list.

I have been saying since late college that I wanted to try yoga. I graduated college in 2014. I tried yoga for the first time last year. 2016. Two years. I’m not messing around when it comes to procrastination, people. I’m not sure if it really is procrastination, though. Maybe somewhere deep down I have a fear of starting things, because I fear failure. I’m not talking about school projects. Those are easy. I mean bigger projects, like an etsy store, or a blog, or a youtube channel. There’s a million things I’ve started, and most things I’ve quit. I can literally count on one hand major projects that I’ve followed through with: high school graduate, college graduation, and so far marriage. Just kidding. But really. College was probably the only project I willingly started and actually finished. However, it took more than four years (probably because I changed my major seven times – SEE?), a crap-ton of tears, and many, many moments when I wanted to quit. I’m glad I didn’t though, because now I’m a housewife with student loan debt. YAY AMERICA.

Back to the point of this blog – I finally started doing yoga. I started and quit it numerous times, but have slowly begun to do it more frequently. About a week ago, I told my husband (and my counselor because let’s be honest they both are equally important) that I wanted to commit to doing yoga everyday for an extended period of time. Enter: Yoga with Adriene. She’s the only yogi I’ve ever followed, and I didn’t really commit or finish her 31 Days of Yoga Revolution when she rolled it out a few months ago. However, this time I was committed. I stumbled for the first few days (read: there was a two day gap between Days 2 and 3), but since Day 3 I have been doing it everyday, and I have to say: it feels great. I don’t know that I’ve gotten the mental reward from it yet, but it is rewarding knowing that I’m strengthening my body, as that’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, and just never did.

       

Here’s the embarrassing part: after a particularly sweaty and smelly session, I realized that I’d never cleaned my yoga mat. I’d had it since last year when I first decided to try it. and no, I DON’T wear socks on my mat, and YES, I have very clammy feet. That’s what happens when you’re an anxious mess all the time. So, while I was laying in child’s pose and kept having to “inhale deeply” but all I could do was thing about how bad I smelled and now how gross my yoga mat was, I decided I was going to make a mat spray. I’d seen a few YouTube videos on DIY sprays, including one on Adriene’s channel, so I took notes from theirs and made my own! The amazing thing about this spray is it’s all natural stuff, no chemicals, and you can really make it pretty much anyway you want to. I do recommend using Tea Tree oil or some other antibacterial essential oil (lemongrass or eucalyptus, for example), even if you don’t love the smell. It will help keep your mat clean and sanitized. I personally don’t love the smell of Tea Tree oil, so I covered it with delicious Lilac Witch Hazel and Lavender oil. Between those ingredients and the distilled water, you’re all set! Happy spraying, and happy yoga-ing!

Ingredients:

1 spray bottle, preferrably glass

Witch Hazel (I used Lilac)

Tea Tree essential oil (or other antibacterial – such as lemongrass, eucalpytus, etc.)

Lavender essential oil (or whichever scents you’d like – play with it!)

Distilled (or boiled, then cooled) water

 

Directions:

1. Fill your spray bottle 3/4 full of the distilled water.
2. Fill the remaining amount with your Witch Hazel, leaving room for approximately 15-20 drops of essential oils.
3. Add in your essential oils – I did 10 drops of Tea Tree and 10 drops of Lavender.
4. Shake before use – spray onto your mat after each session, and before if you’d like. Sometimes it’s nice to smell the fragrances while you’re on the mat practicing.