Last week, I ordered a Christmas present for myself.
It is a Manduka PRO yoga mat in a special edition Black Magic color, a deep shade of purple on the way to me now even as I write this, from Amazon.com.
The day I ordered my mat, I had completed the nine-month-long total renovation of my studio, a huge personal accomplishment, as well as mailed off about 30 pages of documents to sort out a 12-month-long struggle to untangle a financial mess that had been dropped in my lap.
It seemed the appropriate time for celebration, so I ordered myself the best yoga mat in the world.
Now, I can’t afford the best car in the world, or the biggest diamond. I can’t buy myself an island or take time off to tour the world, but I can afford the best yoga mat in the world – $104, including free shipping.
I had heard about the Manduka mats from my yoga teacher, Erich Schiffman, whose teacher training I have taken not just once but twice.
I remember Erich once discussing the three essentials for a yoga teacher.
He had a brass bowl he used to get everyone’s attention, a Manduka yoga mat, and a Timex Ironman watch to time the poses.
I never got a Timex Ironman watch. And I never bought a gong. And until now I did not fall for the Manduka yoga mat.
But having sorted through countless phone calls to accountants, financial planners and other assorted left-brain money types, having been hung up on the line literally and figuratively for months on end, along with cleaning up, clearing out, giving stuff away, painting, redecorating and rebuilding my studio literally from floor to ceiling, it seemed time to move into the big time by getting a Manduka mat.
I time my poses using my Apple iPhone.
I am not quite sure how I get attention during my classes, but somehow I manage without having to whistle, yell or thump my fist.
I already have the best dog in the world, little Belle, a.ka., Belle Belle, Sweat Pea, my favorite girl.
I already know what is great about her, and soon I will discover what is so great about a Manduka PRO yoga mat.
