If your yoga mat has outlived its yoga function or you simply acquired another, don’t discard that mat that once served you so well. Clean it up and donate it to a charity, school, or gym. Additionally, consider these options below.
Use Old Yoga Mats to Prevent Sliding
The yoga mat is unique for its sticky quality so you don’t slip. This nonslippery surface works in other places as well. Here are some suggestions:
- Cut the mat to fit the car floor and use it as car mats.
- Use it under scatter rugs to prevent movement.
- Place the cut yoga mat in canoes or kayaks to prevent slipping with wet feet.
- Place under pet food bowls to prevent sliding all over the place as the pet eagerly eats.
Old Yoga Mats can be Used to Provide Extra Cushioning
Hard floors aren’t always comfortable for practice even with a yoga mat under your knees. Place the old one under the new one for more cushioning. Simply roll them up together when leaving or finsihed practicing in order to make carrying them easier as well as for easier storing.
Place old mats, cut up or whole, in children’s play rooms to cushions their feet and knees where they sit or stand. They are easily washed too.
Old Mats can be Used for Walkways and Entrances
Cut up a mat for a foot mat when entering the house from the back yard or on the porch. Use the yoga mat in these other ways too:
- Place it under the welcome mat to support it and elevate it..
- Use the mat in the garage if washer and dryer are out there. Use in the garage if this is a place where you might be walking to get supplies or store things and don’t always wear shoes.
- Use it as pool mat to prevent slipping and to drip on.
Multiple Uses for Old Yoga Mats
There are many uses for mats. Consider some of these before throwing old the old yoga mat.
- Place in the car trunk as covering to keep the trunk clean and prevent objects banging around too much.
- Cut the old mat to make hand or foot pad mats to use at home for exercise.
- Use in pet carriers or place where a cat might like to scratch it. It is difficult to destroy despite the little cat claw marks.
- Cut up or fold up for garden work when on hands and knees.
- Keep it in the car for those times you forget the new mat and end up in class without a mat. An old mat is better than no mat or worse, some places ask for payment to borrow a mat. Old mats save money.
- Place the mat under your beach towel when at the beach. It cushions you on the sand as well as smooths the surface and helps absorb wetness.
Practice and experiment making custom designed mats on the old mat before attempting on a new one. Mats can be cut to fit the desired space or function with pinking shears, exacto knives, or everyday strong scissors.
Amy Andersen - Amy Andersen, MSN, ARNP, family & pediatrics certified, practices yoga and explores the inter-relationships of mind body fitness and ...
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