Charitable Gift Giving

Looking for the perfect gift for the yoga practitioner in your life? Manduka is a company that creates top-notch yoga gear, from yoga mats, to towels, to headbands, to bags, to props.

The Manduka PRO Yoga Mat is both stylish and supportive. It has a lifetime guarantee, and measures 71 inches by 26 inches, with a thickness of 6 mm.

Its surface is closed to keep moisture and sweat from swwping into the mat and breeding bacteria, while the high-density cushion provides exceptional comfort and joint protection on virtually any surface, from carpet to hardwood and even cement or concrete.

It has a fabric-like surface that’s slip resistant (even with a light amount of sweat on it), and actually improves with use over time. There’s a dot pattern on the bottom to resist sliding.

This limited edition was created by Ryan McGinness and the great organization Bent on Learning, a non-profit organization which helps bring yoga instruction to New York City public schools (a city where a little calm and meditation is critical, especially for kids). For every yoga mat sold, two children get a free yoga class.

Another fantastic product by Manduka is their line of Yogitoes towels. I had the pleasure of trying one out. The towel comes rolled up like a yoga mat:

But when you unroll it you’ll see that it’s made of absorbent fabric that acts like a towel, absorbing all your excess sweat during your practice. The design you see here is a beautiful limited-edition design called “Cloudbreak” that’s as beautiful as it is functional. In total it measures over 5 feet (68 inches). In the picture here you’ll see how beautiful the design is–it looks like a watercolor painting. 

More than just a towel, it actually grips your yoga mat so that you can perform your yoga right on it. With their patented Skidless technology, no matter how much you move or sweat the towel won’t slip.

After your session is over, you just take the towel off and throw it into the washing machine.

Each yogitoes towel is made from no fewer than eight discarded plastic bottles, preventing them from entering landfills or polluting the ocean. The recycled bottles are woven into 50% poly yarn that requires 66% less energy to produce.

From products that help children to products that help the environment, you won’t do much better than Manduka for finding a great gift for the yoga fanatic in your life.