Tuesday, May 7, 2013
A brief history of the humble Yoga Mat
While working on another blog post here at DownDog Boutique I became interested to learn about the origins of the Yoga Mat that many of us practice on.
After a little digging around I came across this post by Steve
at the http://theconfluencecountdown.com it seems to cover the topic nicely and briefly therefore no need to reinvent the wheel (or that mat) so here is the story:
Famously, ancient yogis practiced on tiger skins, if they were highfalutin, or deer skins, if they were closer to the 99% than the 1%. If you were near the bottom of the 99%, chances are you practiced on bare ground.
As yoga — speaking in terms of asana, now — got popular, newer practitioners began bringing along towels or cotton mats. As we all know, just putting a towel down on a wood floor is a recipe for yogic disaster.
Enter Angela Farmer. She seems to be credited with being the first person to grab a piece of “carpet underlay” — you know, that multi-colored squishy material — and cut it down to size. She did so when teaching in Germany in 1982, and when she returned home to England, the idea caught on in her local yoga scene. Her father then worked with the German manufacturer, and voila! The first yoga sticky mat (apparently in white) was born.
Hugger Mugger gets the nod for being the first mass producer or yoga mats, sometime in the early 1990s. In other words, 30 years ago.
But back to the rug. According to Nancy, you shouldn’t be taking time out in the middle of your practice to roll it out, or squirt it with water or anything else that draws away your focus and your breath. And being able to stay balanced on the rug is the point, and will help you build strength.
Check out a full range of Yoga Mats at www.downdogboutique.com
After a little digging around I came across this post by Steve
at the http://theconfluencecountdown.com it seems to cover the topic nicely and briefly therefore no need to reinvent the wheel (or that mat) so here is the story:
Famously, ancient yogis practiced on tiger skins, if they were highfalutin, or deer skins, if they were closer to the 99% than the 1%. If you were near the bottom of the 99%, chances are you practiced on bare ground.
As yoga — speaking in terms of asana, now — got popular, newer practitioners began bringing along towels or cotton mats. As we all know, just putting a towel down on a wood floor is a recipe for yogic disaster.
Enter Angela Farmer. She seems to be credited with being the first person to grab a piece of “carpet underlay” — you know, that multi-colored squishy material — and cut it down to size. She did so when teaching in Germany in 1982, and when she returned home to England, the idea caught on in her local yoga scene. Her father then worked with the German manufacturer, and voila! The first yoga sticky mat (apparently in white) was born.
Hugger Mugger gets the nod for being the first mass producer or yoga mats, sometime in the early 1990s. In other words, 30 years ago.
But back to the rug. According to Nancy, you shouldn’t be taking time out in the middle of your practice to roll it out, or squirt it with water or anything else that draws away your focus and your breath. And being able to stay balanced on the rug is the point, and will help you build strength.
Check out a full range of Yoga Mats at www.downdogboutique.com
Monday, May 6, 2013
Aspen Yoga Mats
Find Aspen Yoga Mats at DownDog Boutique.com
The inspiration for the designs and colors of Aspen Yoga Mats personalized mats reflects the original Aspen Idea of nurturing mind, body and spirit - something we are all trying to achieve on and off our mats. Aspen Yoga Mats come in five fashion colors. Choose your customized mat to match your personality or choose your mat to match your mood that day. Who says we can only have one mat?
Aspen Yoga Mats combines a practical, well designed yoga mat with the beauty and balance of everday life found in Aspen, Colorado. Each of the 5 custom colored mats has a unique embroidered icon to reflect your interests and energy. Our colors and embroidered designs help personalize your yoga practice. Choose your color...pick your favorite icon design....and your mat is uniquely yours!
Our Mats:
After years of practicing yoga, we understand how important it is to create a mat that is non-toxic and dense enough to provide stability and comfort. Our mats are made of pvc foam and are free of latex, heavy metals and phthalates (harmful chemicals). Whether you are practicing in a yoga studio or in your home, our mats will provide the needed support for your body in any pose. Before using your mat for the first time, we suggest wiping it with a damp cloth to ensure the surface is sticky. Aspen Yoga Mats are 24 inches by 72 inches, 1/4 of an inch thick and weigh 3.3 lbs.
Aspen Yoga Mats are embroidered with one of our 5 distinct designs: the Laughing Buddha, the Yin/Yang, the Orchid Branch, the iconic Aspen Leaf and the word BALANCE. And our mats are available in 5 unique colors: Pink, Turquoise, Tangerine, Aloe and Plum, creating 25 exciting options to choose from.
Find Aspen Yoga Mats at DownDog Boutique.com
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Joseph Pilates
I recently was followed on Pinterest by the Joseph Pilates Pinterest page from New York and discovered some great vintage photo's of Joseph and his methods (which I of course immediately pinned to our
Vintage Yoga Pinterest board.)
I had read a little about the great man and his work but this prompted me to look up his biography and reprint it here with some of the great photo's. Bio is courtesy of Wikipedia.
Joseph H. Pilates was born in 1883 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. His father was a prize-winning gymnast of Greek ancestry, and his mother worked as a naturopath. His father's family originally spelled its surname in the Greek manner as "Pilatu" but changed to "Pilates" upon immigration to Germany.[citation needed] The new spelling caused Joseph Pilates much grief as a child because older boys taunted him calling him "Pontius Pilate, killer of Christ".
Pilates was a sickly child and suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever, and he dedicated his entire life to improving his physical strength. Besides skiing frequently, he began studying body-building, yoga, "kung fu" (probably what is now known as qigong), and gymnastics. By the age of 14, he was fit enough to pose for anatomical charts. Pilates came to believe that the "modern" life-style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health. He ultimately devised a series of exercises and training-techniques and engineered all the equipment, specifications, and tuning required to teach his methods properly.
Pilates was originally a gymnast, diver, and bodybuilder, but when he moved to England in 1912, he earned a living as a professional boxer, circus-performer, and self-defensetrainer at police schools and Scotland Yard. Nevertheless, the British authorities interned him during World War I along with other German citizens in an internment camp, first inLancaster Castle where he taught wrestling and self-defence, boasting that his students would emerge stronger than they were before their internment. It was here that he began refining and teaching his minimal equipment system of mat exercises that later became "Contrology". He was then transferred to another internment camp on the Isle of Man. During this involuntary break, he began to intensively develop his concept of an integrated, comprehensive system of physical exercise, which he himself called "Contrology." He studied yoga and the movements of animals and trained his fellow inmates in fitness and exercises. It is said that these inmates survived the 1918 flu pandemic due to their good physical shape.
After the war (WWI), he returned to Germany and collaborated with important experts in dance and physical exercise such as Rudolf Laban. In Hamburg, he also trained police officers. When he was pressured to train members of the German army, he left his native country, disappointed with its political and social conditions, and emigrated to the United States.
The year 1925 is the approximate time when Pilates migrated to the United States. On the ship to America, he met his future wife Clara. The couple founded a studio in New York City and directly taught and supervised their students well into the 1960s. His method, which he and Clara originally called "Contrology," related to encouraging the use of the mind to control muscles. It focuses attention on core postural muscles that help keep the human body balanced and provide support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and of alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso and abdominal muscles.
Joseph and Clara Pilates soon established a devout following in the local dance and the performing-arts community of New York. Well-known dancers such as George Balanchine, who arrived in the United States in 1933, and Martha Graham, who had come to New York in 1923, became devotees and regularly sent their students to the Pilates for training and rehabilitation.
Joseph Pilates wrote several books, including Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health, and he was also a prolific inventor, with over 26 patents cited.[4] Joe and Clara had a number of disciples who continued to teach variations of his method or, in some cases, focused exclusively on preserving the method, and the instructor-training techniques, they had learned during their studies with Joe and Clara.
Joseph Pilates died in 1967 at the age of 83 in New York.
Vintage Yoga Pinterest board.)
I had read a little about the great man and his work but this prompted me to look up his biography and reprint it here with some of the great photo's. Bio is courtesy of Wikipedia.
Pictured above is Pilates in 1937 at age 57
Joseph H. Pilates was born in 1883 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. His father was a prize-winning gymnast of Greek ancestry, and his mother worked as a naturopath. His father's family originally spelled its surname in the Greek manner as "Pilatu" but changed to "Pilates" upon immigration to Germany.[citation needed] The new spelling caused Joseph Pilates much grief as a child because older boys taunted him calling him "Pontius Pilate, killer of Christ".
Pilates was a sickly child and suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever, and he dedicated his entire life to improving his physical strength. Besides skiing frequently, he began studying body-building, yoga, "kung fu" (probably what is now known as qigong), and gymnastics. By the age of 14, he was fit enough to pose for anatomical charts. Pilates came to believe that the "modern" life-style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health. He ultimately devised a series of exercises and training-techniques and engineered all the equipment, specifications, and tuning required to teach his methods properly.
Pilates was originally a gymnast, diver, and bodybuilder, but when he moved to England in 1912, he earned a living as a professional boxer, circus-performer, and self-defensetrainer at police schools and Scotland Yard. Nevertheless, the British authorities interned him during World War I along with other German citizens in an internment camp, first inLancaster Castle where he taught wrestling and self-defence, boasting that his students would emerge stronger than they were before their internment. It was here that he began refining and teaching his minimal equipment system of mat exercises that later became "Contrology". He was then transferred to another internment camp on the Isle of Man. During this involuntary break, he began to intensively develop his concept of an integrated, comprehensive system of physical exercise, which he himself called "Contrology." He studied yoga and the movements of animals and trained his fellow inmates in fitness and exercises. It is said that these inmates survived the 1918 flu pandemic due to their good physical shape.
After the war (WWI), he returned to Germany and collaborated with important experts in dance and physical exercise such as Rudolf Laban. In Hamburg, he also trained police officers. When he was pressured to train members of the German army, he left his native country, disappointed with its political and social conditions, and emigrated to the United States.
Pilates Own Studio
The year 1925 is the approximate time when Pilates migrated to the United States. On the ship to America, he met his future wife Clara. The couple founded a studio in New York City and directly taught and supervised their students well into the 1960s. His method, which he and Clara originally called "Contrology," related to encouraging the use of the mind to control muscles. It focuses attention on core postural muscles that help keep the human body balanced and provide support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and of alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso and abdominal muscles.
Joseph and Clara Pilates soon established a devout following in the local dance and the performing-arts community of New York. Well-known dancers such as George Balanchine, who arrived in the United States in 1933, and Martha Graham, who had come to New York in 1923, became devotees and regularly sent their students to the Pilates for training and rehabilitation.
Joseph Pilates with Opera Singer Roberta Peters 1951
Joseph Pilates wrote several books, including Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health, and he was also a prolific inventor, with over 26 patents cited.[4] Joe and Clara had a number of disciples who continued to teach variations of his method or, in some cases, focused exclusively on preserving the method, and the instructor-training techniques, they had learned during their studies with Joe and Clara.
Joseph Pilates died in 1967 at the age of 83 in New York.
To see more great Vintage Photo's see our Vintage Yoga Pinterest board here: Vintage Yoga
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