Does the colour of your mat reveals your personality?

Have you ever wondered how do you pick your mat? Apart from having a good grip, cushioning etc, what does the colour say about your personality? This article came up the other time at "Y is for Yogini" website and I was trully amazed as - up until then - I thought I was the only one looking for the perfect colour for my practice, or felt frustrated when my perfect mat came in a particular colour range. Sometimes it was the mood that was defining the perfect mat, sometimes the association that came along with the colour name such as "aqua", water, summer, sunsets, vacations, his eyes etc. Which one I went for? Well my first yoga mat, was a baby pink mat, trully great to look at but it turned out that I could only surf while on it other than practise and I was seriously flirting with an injury. The cushioning was ok but maaan... the grip was non existing. Little did I know, the mat was not even a mat.. it was something like a bedding for a camper's tent. Bingo! My second mat, was a darkish blue one. Again from the same budget store, sometimes I am not a quick learner, but it could stick on the ground quite good, whereas the cushioning was bad! Thank God the yoga studio I was attending at the time, provided me with one of their own, regardless the fact, that I was quite conscious about the hygiene issues around the commonly used yoga mats (yeah like you can get all kind of stuff while on them.. nasty nasty thoughts but keep your mat clean guys.. seriously!). The mat I was using there was a deep green one, and then I switched to a really thick black mat, as the weather made my hands

sweat quite a lot and I was loosing my concentration over the slippery mat.

Then I decided that the time had come to buy my very own professional yoga mat. But.. which one should I go for? Which one was good for slippery palms like mine? I began reading and reading and researching, asking around - I know I can get quite obsessed about research, its my weakness - and then I concluded to buy a Manduka mat. When I went in the store I forgot anything I had ever read about cuschioning, gripping, durability etc. I was obsessed over the colours. Long story short, I asked the woman there of her opinion, as If I hadn't had enough information in my head already, and she suggested a Jade mat for me. When she showed me the stock of Jade mats, the colour range was such a dissapointment.. Like for real girl? You are suggesting me a mat, which comes only in 4 colours in your store? As if I wasnt undecisive enough.. I chose the olive one because after 50' walking up and down the aisle she wasnt that happy, as I noticed she raised her eyebrow quite a few times, not to mention the eye rolling I saw when she was not looking.. By the time I got off the shop, I begun having second thoughts about... not the grip.. no!.. not the cuschioning.. no!.. but THE COLOUR! I was thinking maybe I wasnt that happy afterall with this purchase but I wasnt able to return it.. DUH. Anyway..This mat served me well for some years, but the grip was not what I was going for. It was failing me all the time, especially after prolonged practices or sun salutation events.. However we conquered the world together and it made me proud to carry me in honour and respect =) A little while back I decided to spend my yoga money into a mat that would be an INVESTMENT this time. I tried out few mats and I concluded in LIFORME mats. It was like heaven was open and the angels were singing for me. Perfect grip, perfect cushioning, but.. BUT?!? the colours.. man the colours! Too bright, too vivid, too disturbing at times.. and then came the white mat.. OMG the white mat!! My eyes popped hearts but then the voice of reason spoke "are you for real? as if you couldnt see the toes imprints on the other colours and now you are thinking of getting the white? It will look like a doormat in a short time with grey little toes here and there.." and the dream was over. My reason implied that despite the fact that I wasnt super crazy over ANY colour apart from white, I should consider which one would it look like well preserved and clean after some heavy use? TADAAAAA ... buzz killer music now... and I ended up with the grey one! Wait what was I talking about? ah right the colours.

The colour can actually affect your practice. From my architectural backround I know quite a bit about how the colours can mess up or elevate an experience. Now someone would ask "so grey is the best option you should go for?" Well the short answer is 'no', but again I suppose it is down to whether you have some red lines about what is important. For me LIFORME mat was great, in all aspects, so I had to sacrifice colour over comfort for my "pretty special mat". So back to what I was saying, it turns out there are more weirdos out there like myself and this article I found on "Y is for Yogini" website trully opened my eyes about how we pick the colour. Have you ever thought about it? What are your criterias of choosing the perfect mat and after all... is there a perfect mat?! Here is the link of the article for you to read and see whether or not, the colour of your mat, reveals a little secret about you and/or your practice http://yisforyogini.com/what-color-is-your-yoga-mat-it-holds-hints-about-your-personality-and-secret-quirks/

Enjoy Stathoula