The
whole point of Yoga may be to check your ego at the door, but that
doesn't mean you can't assume Downward Dog with style. As yoga has
grown in popularity in the U.S. over the past several years--15 million
Americans practiced it in 2003, according to a Harris Interactive poll
published by Yoga Journal--so too has the availability of the requisite
mats, blocks and stretchy clothing.
Americans spend an estimated
$20 billion a year on yoga products--everything from $400 Marc
Jacobs--designed mat bags to Juicy Couture yoga pants. Celebrities like
Gwyneth Paltrow, Sting and Madonna have been photographed toting their
mats to Ashtanga classes, and some, like model Christy Turlington, even
began marketing their own line of yoga gear.
Yoga-related products, once limited to the provinces of privately owned
studios and niche catalogs, are turning up on the shelves of big-time
retailers. All kinds of yoga-related accessories are now available at
sporting-goods stores and department stores; you can even buy yoga gear
at Costco and Wal-Mart. At REI, the specialty outdoor store, sales of
yoga mats, blocks and other props were up 98% in 2004 compared with the
year before.
Two
new players in the market are adding travel bags and ergonomic mats to
their roster of products. Tumi, a leading luggage and business-case
brand, just introduced a line of yoga bags, seen here, with special
features to facilitate traveling with yoga gear. "We wanted to address
women's growing interest in yoga and its role in a healthy lifestyle,"
says Alan Krantzler, Tumi's vice president of product management. The
company's new Signature collection features an antibacterial-coated
mat, with moisture-proof pouches for damp towels and clothing, and
several outside pockets for water bottles, cell phones and other
accessories.
What about a special mat that would help yoginis
align themselves into perfect positions? "Because your shoulders are
wider than your feet when you stand up straight, we created a shape
that reflected that ergonomically," says Anne Appleby, founder of the
California-based company YogaForce. For those who can't quite align
their Warrior I pose, the mat also has a grid--a yoga cheat sheet of
sorts--so that you can see how to line up your front foot with your
back foot's middle arch. And there's a bonus for those who find
themselves perpetually late for overcrowded classes: there's no need to
fuss with a bag. A YogaForce mat comes with a Velcro carrying strap
that detaches so you can grab a spot fast.