How Buying A Gorgeous Yoga Mat Turned Me Into An Unattached Minimalist

When I was in Australia, and as I was getting more into yoga, I had the idea that I had to make a symbolic gesture to state I was getting serious about my practice.

So, I decided I would own a beautiful yoga mat. I was thinking it would become my inseparable friend, that I would take it with me everywhere, and that it would be the epitome of my practice.

I spent a few months researching. Turns out there are heaps of yoga mat options. I won’t bore you with the details.

What’s important is that I finally decided on a gorgeous one. It was also pretty expensive—I was thinking it was an investment that would be worth it.

What happened after I got it?

I became obsessed with my mat.

Because it was expensive, I was over-cautious with it. I wanted to make sure I didn’t damage a single corner of it.

During my classes, when there would be a little speck of dust on it, that would bug me and distract me from my practice.

It was annoyingly heavy.

It took up space in my small bedroom.

I couldn’t spontaneously opt-in a yoga class anymore, as I couldn’t carry it around everywhere I went.

Gosh, why did I do that to myself?

Thankfully, I was able to return it. The experience led me to this conclusion.

I got really surprised by how much anxiety an object I had wanted so badly had generated. It was supposed to be a symbol of my yoga practice—persistent, acceptant, calm and kind.

It had turned into a source of pure stress and distraction.

I had cues of this earlier on. I had envied some friends who own cars, only to realize how much trouble they faced with maintenance.

When I first moved away from home, I was eager to take everything with me. Yet I faced the painful challenge of syncing that with my somewhat nomadic lifestyle and moving everything again, and again, and again.

So, I arrived to Berkeley with one big suitcase, and one small one for the whole year.

I have very few clothes, and don’t feel like I need more.

I’ve become allergic to stuff.

I used to buy useless little things, now I abhor that.

Keeping my room tidy and free of clutter makes a huge difference in my mood.

For the record, I did end up buying a yoga mat eventually.

Why ? Because I have been practicing a lot and have judged that it would be useful.

This one is different though. I made it a personal point to not get attached to it. I take it to the beach, get it dirty, clean it whenever needed, and that’s pretty much it.

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