buying yoga mat in India/Rishikesh?

I have a practical question:
I am ready for a new yoga mat. I am thinking about buying it when I will be in Rishikesh or somewhere else in India.
Is it easy to find a shop there with yoga props?

You won't find a yoga mat in Rishikesh...Some of the ashrams have yoga mats and blocks and bolsters (Parmarth had the most equipment) - but realize everyone uses these, and I doubt they are ever cleaned. Most other places to practice use blankets and again, they are rather dusty as is the floor.

I would recommend bringing yours - you can bring it back to your room each night and clean it and you can leave it there when you time there ends.

Best of luck.
Nicc

I agree: they don't sell yoga mats. When I was there, I found it impossible to find a meditation cushion. In fact, I don't think the shopkeepers I talked to could even understand the concept of using a cushion for meditation. Eventually I resorted to a rolled up mat. This time I'll bring my own.

Hi Nicc and Chris,

Thanx for the advice. I had to laugh when I read your answers. Funny, no yoga props in the Mecca of yoga... But hey, that is what WE in the west need, they don''t need it. So I will bring my own.
Somehow I like the idea that there are no shops focused on foreign visitors. I remember when I was in Israel that they sold maps, books, posters with Jesus on it. He was a real superstar there.

Bye!
Dikke doei!

This is amazing. I gave my friend my yoga met when I left Rishikesh last year. There were no yoga mets in a place where almose every one practises yoga.

So if u want to make some money import yoga mets and sell them over there...

The place is set up for tourism in most other ways -- you will find you will be able to find almost anything else you need. It does seems strange, but Parmarth was does have mats, blocks, blankets and just added blosters when I left -- and most places have blankets at the very least -- but mats are an curiously absent. When I was studying in the south my teacher thought it strange that a blanket wasn't sufficient for me -- but I was so glad to have it and happy to pass it on to a fellow student when I left.

Best of luck in your practice -
Namaste

To answer the "India" part of your question, it is definitely possible to buy yoga mats here. I bought one ten days ago in Kolkata. It was in a Reebok store and all they had was a Nike mat! I imagine that if you can find them in Kolkata, you can find them in Delhi (on your way to Rishikesh) and the other major metropolitan areas.

Note that a mat is expensive by Indian standards (I paid 1200 Rs) and you may want to just bring your own. Here in Puri they use reed mats in my yoga class, and I find them relatively comfortable (and inexpensive).

Pillows for meditation exist as well - though they have to be special ordered. You can do this and pick them up the next day at a nominal cost. Mattress makers and shops that sell sheets and blankets are your best bet.

Seraph

Should'nt that tell you something? Seems oronic, that one would wan't contort their bodies into all those painful asanas (positions), yet want a mat/cushion for comfort? I don't think Patanjali used these props.

The concept importing these props and selling it to tourists, to me, seem like the first step in the self-destruction of these pristine places. What next? A McDonald's in Rishikesh?

No doubt Patanjali never used props or (plastic) yoga mats!

Nonetheless, it is my (limited) understanding that props and mats are meant precisely to avoid painful asanas. As B.K.S. Iyengar has noted in his writings, ahimsa (non-violence) is the first principle of yoga and the first rule of yoga is non-violence to your own body. Like charity (which starts in the home), he argues that non-violence to yourself is the first step in establishing a non-violent relationship with the rest of the world. Hence the props are necessary to prevent pain and (self-inflicted) physical violence.

I agree. Too many people seem to think that asanas are supposed to be painful, or even that they are some sort of pain tolerance exercise! Although naturally there will be pain in the beginning, it should eventually become a great pleasure to perform asanas, especially in a meditative frame of mind. I don't see any problem with using special mats, props and cushions, unless you have sadomasochistic tendencies. The whole point of asanas is to make the body comfortable and relaxed for meditation, not to create further pain and tension.

Smiling smiling ;-) I still find it funny that there is no way you can find any of these props in Rishikesh. I see the beauty and the fun part of it.

crvlvr:
"Should'nt that tell you something? Seems oronic, that one would wan't contort their bodies into all those painful asanas (positions), yet want a mat/cushion for comfort? I don't think Patanjali used these props.

The concept importing these props and selling it to tourists, to me, seem like the first step in the self-destruction of these pristine places. What next? A McDonald's in Rishikesh?"

I believe yoga is a gentle way to research and approach yourself, psychologically, mentally and biologically (body, bodylogically.. )
If you choose to go to (beyond) the limit it''s oke, but for those who want to stay within their possibillities (and expand from there), props can be a good help.
Be mild and gentle to yourself as you are to others.

Well, these were my last words before I go to bed.
Thank you so much for yours in this thread! Very very helpful, and I also enoyed reading them!

Bye,
Still smiling So

The yoga asanas range widely in difficulty. Shavasana or padmasana may be some of the more "peaceful" postures. But mayurasana, now that is a whole different ballgame. If the objective of yoga is toprepare the body for meditation, then I wonder why they have asanas that, "speeds up the circulation quite vigorously and tends to increase the amount of toxins in the blood as part of the process of purification. Therefore, it should never be practiced before any inverted Asana as it may direct excess toxins to the brain. Mayurasana should not be practiced by people with high blood pressure or any heart ailment, hernia, peptic or duodenal ulcer. This pose should not be attempted if there is any sign of illness or physical weakness..."

Some asanas are designed to be uncomfortable, and for good reason too.

My concern is the westernization (or modernization) and commercialization of almost everything around us. A friend of miine recently went to a "Yoga to Techno" class -- a yoga class set to techno music. Pathanjali must have turned in his grave.

The concept of 'yoga' as a modern exercise system is largely a western/American concept. When I got into yoga 20+ years ago things like plastic 'sticky' mats and foam bricks hadn't been invented. The only tools were ropes and/or belts. The focus was also much more on spirituality, and things like pranayama were a major part. About the time Madonna got into Ashtanga, suddenly everyone wanted to be lean and ripped out, and things like 'sticky' mats and yoga clothes and videos and cds and everything else exploded.

In India yoga was pretty much a lifestyle, and the exercise part one small aspect. Being somewhat clever, a lot of Inidans realise westerners want to go to India for a western cliche Indian experience, so they cater to it. I actually know a teacher in LA who brought a lot of stuff to Parmarth Niketan. She considers Muniji, the Guru there, to be her teacher, and wanted to help him 'modernise'. She also markets his place to yoga people in LA.

The first sentence of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is:

Yoga chita-vritta nirodha (roughly translated as) “Yoga is the cessation of the turning of thoughts” (according to Stoller-Miller’s translation and “modification of thoughts” according to other translations.) Clearly the Asanas (which are only one part of a much broader philosophical system) are meant to be performed in a meditative state and also help one to prepare for meditation (i.e. “the cessation of the turning of thoughts”).

As for Mayurasana, even the website you linked to articulates the need for ahimsa.

“Make sure not to strain yourself. In the final position the weight of the body should be supported by the muscles of the abdomen and not by the chest. Maintain yourself in this pose for a short period of time, then slowly return to the base position.”

Hatha yoga appreciates that each and every body is different. Hence, as it states in the Mayurasana link, those who have certain conditions should refrain from performing this asana. At least for the time that they are experiencing a certain condition.

Babes, I don''t believe in -the one and only way-. Don''t believe in dogmas.
I think man is creative. If someone gets inspired by the traditional yoga and ads a bit of fitness (e.g. poweryoga), than there is a new thing born.
One way isn''t better than the other way, it is just different. And the big question is:what is good for your personality. What works for you. A puzzle is needed.

I follow a yogastudy in Europe and for me this study brings yoga in an unnatural way. Personally. So I shop around. And I hear too often ''this is better, that way is not original blabla bla''.
There are so many ways to interprete literature.
Just make yoga something of yourself.

Well, this is my last comment on this thread.
If you want to mail me personally: sylk@freemail.nl

Ciao, Adeus, Adios, Auf Wiedersehen, Dag, Bye, Au revoir,
So