Budget Yoga

SKIDLESS the first towel made for the top of your Yoga Mat!

From Ann Pizer,Your Guide to Yoga.
About.com

How to Do Yoga on the Cheap?

Taking yoga classes from an experienced instructor is the best way to begin and sustain a yoga practice. But at $15-$20 a pop, quality classes don't come cheap. If you have found that yoga classes put a strain on your wallet, here are some ideas for doing yoga on a budget.

1. Buy Classes in Bulk
By committing to a class card good for 10 or 20 yoga classes, you can save some real money. Most studios offer a substantial discount on class cards, which can bring the price of a class down to as low as $10. You will need to have the money up-front for the class card, and be a regular student to ensure that you attend all the classes you have paid for before your card expires.

2. Invest in Your Own Yoga Mat and Water Bottle
Two dollars for a mat and a dollar for bottled water may not seem like a lot, but it will quickly add up over time. With yoga mats available for purchase for a little as $20, it doesn’t take a math whiz to figure out how many rentals it takes to equal your very own mat (uh, 10?), which, by the way, will also be a lot cleaner than a communal studio mat. And carrying your own water from home not only saves money, but helps reduce waste too.

3. Do Karma Yoga
The truly broke, such as students and the unemployed, need yoga too! Those with flexible schedules (i.e., more time than money) can often trade work for classes at yoga studios, especially if they have been regulars in the past. This type of work, called karma yoga, may include simple cleaning, front desk work, carpentry, publicity, or graphic design, so you might even get something for your resume out of it. Don't be shy about asking your studio if they do karma yoga; many studios are more than happy to trade classes for services they value.

4. Seek Out Inexpensive Classes
Many yoga studios offer community classes at a discounted rate. These classes are often at off-peak hours, so you will need a flexible schedule for this one. Community centers, university extension programs, YMCAs and gyms are also places where yoga may be offered for less. The quality of the teaching will vary quite a bit, so it's best to go with a teacher you already know, or at least make sure the teacher is Yoga Alliance certified. In warm weather it gets easier to find free yoga classes in parks and other outdoor spaces.

5. Practice at Home
Doing yoga at home along with a video or audio download is definitely more cost-effective than attending classes, though the trade-offs are boredom and missing out on the advice of a teacher. You can even find free yoga videos and audio on the web (search free yoga). If you go this route, try to treat yourself to a class every few weeks to keep yourself inspired and on the right track.

Yogitoes Founder - Susan Nichols

Susan Nichols, a former artistic director in the toy industry turned to the ancient practice for rehabilitation after a debilitating back injury led to surgery in 1994; she found it so rewarding that she became a yoga instructor. Then she slipped.

'I was practicing yoga and I slipped on my "sticky" mat - the irony is, they become slippery when wet,' Nichols says. 'It was one of those "divine" moments. I thought, why doesn't someone design a towel that you could put over your mat to absorb moisture and keep you from slipping?'

Nichols envisioned a full-size towel that would not only absorb moisture, protect against slipping and extend the longevity of a yoga mat, but would also allow travelers to practice on a hotel room carpet, as well as protect yogis from the bacteria that collect on your yoga mat. A smaller towel, Nichols thought, would be ideal for Pilates, Spinning, weight-lifting and sculpting.

She went on an international search for the perfect fabric from which to create the towel. In Korea, she found microfiber, an extremely absorbent fabric that is soft, lightweight, machine washable and dryer safe. Nichols then combined the non toxic nubs patenting, SKIDLESS® under the brand in 2003.

"It's not a towel, it's not a mat, it's a SKIDLESS®," Nichols explains. "It's a brand, like Kleenex or Levis, that defines itself by its name and the distinctive dot that serves as the logo."

In January 2005, launched the SHIVA prop pillow. The first prop pillow designed to give you extra support during restorative poses, the Shiva prop pillow has a uniquely narrow, sloped shape that supports the head to keep yogis awake while practicing savasana (the "corpse pose" that concludes each yoga class). Created from memory foam and covered in SKIDLESS® fabric, the SHIVA prop pillow again filled a void in the yoga world.

In October 2005, Nichols introduced SKIDLESS® BIG, designed for tall yogis-especially men-who use an extra-long mat. BIG is available only in the indigo color which, like all colors, has an association with a specific chakra; indigo pertains to the third-eye chakra and psychic perception.

Other products are available in these seven chakra colors:

• red (root chakra for grounding and abundance)
• orange (sacral chakra for sexuality and creativity)
• yellow (solar plexus chakra for power)
• green (heart chakra for love and compassion)
• blue (throat chakra for communication and self-expression)
• purple (third eye chakra for psychic perception)
• white (crown chakra for spirit and higher consciousness)

continues to expand, with several products set to launch in 2006, including yoga totes, a blanket, prop pillow, strap, bolster, meditation pillow, yoga mat, and a collection of yoga accessories for children.

Acting on her "divine" inspiration, Nichols didn't intend to revolutionize the yoga market - she was simply designing for her own need.