There's a difference between being hygenic and a germaphobe. Given the evidence that MRSA among other communicable things flourish in gyms and similar warm, humid environments, I think it's not only smart but totally appropriate to keep your mat to yourself- you wouldn't share your gym shoes, would you? (Besides, for many of us who practice yoga for both physical and spiritual reasons, our mats are personal, sanctified spaces.) If you do share, or use community mats, take the time to sanitize them properly when you're finished as a courtesy to the next user at the very least.

That's gross. It's not only bacteria we're worried about here, but fungus. If mats are going to be shared, they must be cleaned after every use!

Thanks for sharing Kristin! Well, I left my. Mat in my country and I used my boyf's mat, he seems happy and confortable with it and I always share mine if somebody wants it. As we try to remove our "mental and body bacterias" its our responsability to be clean enough which means take care of our World (mat)] so we can share it because that's what Yoga is all about, Sharing! Namaste :)

Your germs and immune system may be good, but your germs may also carry a virus that could kill someone with a weak immune system. A public yoga studio is not a good testing ground for germ homeopathy. What you call fear many call common sense.

I've gotta say, I'm with Clay on this one.
I've only used a borrowed mat twice at studios, and the second time I had a towel on top because it was a bikram class. Either way, I wasn't much a fan of the idea.
Now I have 3 yoga mats of my own. Though I don't think I would mind lending them to family, come to think of it.

p.s. I hover.

I contracted a staff infection from a rented and cleaned item. For some it might be best not to share.

I'm a sweatter. That's the way it is and I'm down with it. My teacher has mats down on the floor before class, so I just roll my own mat over top. It catches any drips and also provides extra cushioning for my knees. Win-win! I'm the only one who does this though. I wouldn't call myself a germophobe, but rather germ-conscious.

The first prana flow class I ever took started out with everyone standing up, and running around the room in a circle "dancing"/flowing/moving however we felt comfortable. That meant, stepping on everyone's mat as you went around... which meant that as I returned to my mat, I had to practice on it without it having yet been cleaned of all those feet "germs". Talk about get rid of any germophobia I might have (which thankfully I don't; I'm a teacher; people borrow my mats, step on my mat at the front of the room, hug me after class, etc.). LOL.

I teach a Hatha Yoga/Vinyasa class twice a week at the Salon where I work. We have collected a bunch of colorful mats that have endured being in a room where some heavy plumbing was installed. WHOA! After a brief wash off with some Tea Tree Oil & water...the mats were good to go! I personally think that a bit of dirt on a mat adds to the grip factor. If we wash our hands after class....I think we will live!
Kristin....
I LOVE your column...I look forward to it every week!
Regards to your lovely man.
Shanti
Donna

I lclean my mat at least twice or three times a month. But I'm not freaked about grems, There everywhere anyway!

I have to say that I am with Clay too! I think sharing germs with your family and perhaps close friends is fine, at least I know where their germs have been. I don't know where stranger germs have been and perhaps I would not want to share them. There is a difference between hygene and germaphobe, I like to think that the phobia of germs is not knowing where they have been. As long as I know, from family and friends, I am fine with it.
I love hearing your thoughts, sometimes it is as if you have been in my brain. Thanks Kristin!

is this really an either/or question?

with someone you know or trust, it's one thing

with mass group sharing, hmmmm ;-)

i have always sat on public toilet seats as well, but just wait until you sit down on a seat that someone else didn't sit on, but did the bad helicopter imitation! (think tinkle sprinkles) you will stand up feeling more than a bit damp on the back of your thighs!!! even though urine is sterile i'd rather not have someone elses on me, so now i go through the extra step of wadding up lots of toilet paper and wiping down the seat before i sit down! it seems like that shouldn't be my job!

I'm not a germaphobe but a few wks ago I used a studio mat. A few days later my right foot started to itch and get scaly. I think I have athletes foot. Gross.

I'm not a germaphobe but a few wks ago I used a studio mat. A few days later my right foot started to itch and get scaly. I think I have athletes foot. Gross.

Here's a page that gives natural and home remedies for athletes foot that also work for ringworm and jock itch, which are very closely related. http://www.best-mens-skin-care.com/jock-itch-home-remedy.html

I think you are dead on Kristin. The skin is a fascinating body system, and, if healthy and intact, will offer plenty of resistance to most organisms.

To develop an infection, it isn't just a matter of exposure, it's also a matter of entry and then replication. For example, fungus is pretty much everywhere - on yoga mats, on doorknobs, on the shower floor. So if you go on a yoga mat with a high quantity of fungus (exposure) with dry cracked skin ( entry) and don't dry off afterwards (replication) then you will probably get infected. There's a reason that high school wrestlers get fungal infections but not ballerinas - its called taking a quick shower and drying off with a clean dry towel afterwards! Anyway, a little common sense goes a long way - in yoga studios as in life.

I understand your belief in your bodies ability to fight infection, including other peoples germs and bacteria. However, if you think about the first Niyama of Patanjali "Shaucha" you may want to rethink your premises. Namaste.

I have used public mats at my studio, the blocks and blanks and bolsters too. If I don't think about it too much, it won't bother me. Yet, I refuse to place my bum on a public toilet (I use that time to practice chair pose, ha!) and will not touch a restroom doorknob with my bare hand. After witnessing far too many people NOT wash their hands after using the bathroom, I can't.

I'm completely with you - i've shared mats in the past and didn't even consider it! When we're at a yoga class, we all walk around barefoot on the same floor! Same with the swimming pool, or any other place of exercise.
I think people worry too much about "germs"!

Fantastic column, I'll definitely read again :)
Leah x

This is why we have hand sanitizer and showers and sani-wipes, folks.

If you're too paranoid to sit down on a public toilet seat, you probably shouldn't be attending any kind of group class. Droplet infections spread within a three-foot radius and some folks carry MRSA in their respiratory systems.

Meh, we all have to die of something. I'd rather be connected with my fellow human beings than worry about every germ that crosses my path.

For myself I don't sweat it (sorry for the cheesy pun). I have never had an issue with infections from sharing a mat, I still clean my mat though not just because of potential infections, but as a sign of respect for my studio and fellow yogis.

Interesting debate. There's a lot of science out today that details the longterm negative impact of over-sanitizing our children. Because we're not allowing them to touch anything in the outside world anymore--and if we are, we're immediately applying anti-germ gel onto their hands--their little bodies aren't building the necessary antigens they'll need to build a strong immune system and fight colds, flus, and other contagious illnesses. On the flip side, I'm not so sure that using a communal yoga mat then NOT properly washing (if not scrubbing!) your hands of all those germs is a good idea either. That's how colds and flus are passed around. And we should do our part to maintain a healthier community by washing our hands more, especially if we're sick. My bottomline: moderation :-)

For myself I don't sweat it (sorry for the cheesy pun). I have never had an issue with infections from sharing a mat, I still clean my mat though not just because of potential infections, but as a sign of respect for my studio and fellow yogis.

I stopped using studio mats long ago when, during a class, I saw the bottoms of the feet of the person in front of me. They were gross and disgusting, peeling and shedding skin everywhere! He may have been a runner and they may have just been blisters that had broken open, but they were horrible to see.....at least to my clean-minded eyes. Fungus is really the issue here, with athlete's foot at an all-time high. It is hard to get rid of. Germs? No problem, i'm with you on that one; they help keep our immune systems stronger (unless one is challenged in that area anyway) Plus, I simply don't like placing my body on a mat that is damp from the previous person's sweat.....eeeeuuuuwwww!

Friends or family sharing a mat occassionally is an entirely different matter. Let your guilt go on that one, I think. Interesting sharing on this one....obviously a hot topic to many.

I'm with you, Kristin. That's what my skin is for!

That's what my skin is for! hah.
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Kristin, I'm totally with you all the way, toilet seats and all. But I keep my own yoga mat for another reason now, despite periodic urges to buy one of the really pretty ones with leaves and vines. I keep it because it has been with me all this time, when I've on and off with yoga, with relationships, with all the emotional and physical things I've brought to it. And its all still there, because I've never cleaned it... May have eaten dirt as a child, too...

I treat friends, family, my yoga students, strangers and all yogis the same in this manner. I'm happy to use a shared mat or to share my mat, but I also make an effort to clean the mat if possible and to clean myself. Cleanliness has always been important in yoga, but many use it to justify jealousy and attachment.

Kristin, like you I sometimes assume others are sharing when they aren't - embarrassing for those of us on both sides. All we can do is offer to clean the shared item.