If you’ve ever visited the studio, you know that the anchor of the props closet has always been our substantial collection of mats, both the original, purple set and the additional ones that have been donated over the years.

Providing plentiful props to loan at no charge supports our mission as a community yoga studio to make yoga affordable and accessible. Even folks who typically bring their own mats have found occasion to borrow studio mats, whether to double up for additional cushioning or to substitute for personal mats that have been left at home or in another vehicle.

A generous donation of new mats from longtime community member Susan James has given us the privilege of donating our existing mats to a new organization! Whitney Jenkins, a social worker and trainee in the yoga teacher program at Steadfast & True yoga studio in Nashville, is working to launch a nonprofit organization that focuses on yoga and mental health. Whitney will be taking mats and props to various locations to reach the people she is serving, and we are grateful to have been able to donate our mats to her program.

On Thurs., Oct. 26, Uta Ziegler and Angie Jones cleaned all 17 of our studio mats and loaded them in Uta’s car for their trip to Nashville. We appreciate Uta for connecting us with Whitney and for delivering the mats to her!

[Full disclosure: since Aparigraha (non-hoarding or non-attachment) is still a work in progress for Angie, she may have stashed one of the original purple mats in her campus office for workplace use.]

Angie then wiped down the first set of the new mats and made them available—they have already been used by several students in the last few days. We much appreciate Susan’s generosity in purchasing and donating a collection of new mats, and we look forward to practicing with them for many years to come!