The Original Yoga Sheep Skin Mat

Written by Vera Del Vecchio.

I love my Sheep Skin Yoga Mat! I love to feel and touch the soft lush pile fur on my hands and body against my skin. It feels like a natural extension of me to the bond with the earth, nature and life around me.

I not only use them for my yoga, but also use them as a floor mat and rug, over a bench and couch, and I even have one custom made for under my bed sheets. I also have a coat, slippers, pillows and gave one as a gift for a baby for her stroller or car seat.

I do have a rubber synthetic yoga mat (what do you call it - a fake one?), but it feels toxic or manufactured like so many unnatural things in this world. I can't imagine how these synthetic mats are made? And how much energy and fumes come from making them? And how do they break down or what damage does it do to the environment?

You may be asking - do yoga on a dead animal skin?!!!

Sheep skins were recommend for yoga and meditation by Yogi Bhajan (the Spiritual Leader who brought Kundalini Yoga to North America, www.3ho.org) He said; You are free to use other things to meditate on. I suggest sheep skin because of the prana from the sheep.

Sheep are not killed for their skin but for their meat. The skins are a by-product of the killing. When we meditate on the sheep skin, we even help the sheep get to a higher place in their spiritual evolution. The same thing goes for wearing leather shoes. The cows are killed for the meat and not the leather. If people did not use these then they would go to waste. If they were killed for the skins, then I would not use them. If you do not feel comfortable doing it, then choose something else such as a cotton mat or a wool rug (which is from a sheep also).

Sheepskin is the hide of a sheep. The leather side is the pelt, and the woolen side is the fleece. Sheep skin breathe naturally and are warm in winter and cool and in summer. Sheep skins have been used all over the world for centuries for it's many benefits.

More Benefits of Sheepskin (according to U.S sheepskin inc.)

• Sheepskin will not give off an electrical charge. Synthetic seat covers are a 100% insulator of electrical energy. All natural sheepskin is a partial insulator providing you undisturbed release of static electricity created by the natural friction of your body and the environment.
• Sheepskin is able to absorb sweat immediately and can submit it in to the air seven times faster than synthetics.
• Sheepskin against the body activates the blood circulation and the immune system supporting the relaxation and regeneration of the body.
• Sheepskin is gentle on your skin because it contains lanolin, a basic substance similar to that found in human skin.
• Sheepskin helps heal sensitive or inflamed skin or rashes.
• Sheepskin is dirt and bacteria resistant. It has been known for centuries that the lanolin in natural sheepskin provides it with a self cleaning quality when the sheepskin is hung in fresh air.

Related Links

• Read more of Vera Del Vecchio.
• Has Yoga Become Too Commercialized?
• The Search for the Perfect Yoga Mat
• Accessorize with your Yoga Bag
• How to Stay Young through Yoga
• Trace Minerals from the Sea
• Yoga Nature Walking
• 101 Karma Quotes
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