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Many more consumers are now much more aware of environmental and sustainability issues, but buying an eco yoga mat is not so much about saving the planet as the manufacturers might have you believe - it is about the core Yoga practice and philosophy.

In these extraordinary difficult times it is tempting to go for the cheapest mat you can find on the net - you know those brightly coloured Sticky mats you find everywhere now, on Amazon, in department stores and on Google.

But choosing a mat for its environmental credentials might be doing much more for you than just stem the guilt of filling up landfill sites with plastic waste.

Yoga is very powerful on the body - more than we can know sometimes. Most westerners cannot get a feel for it right away - this is normal.

The type and quality of the Yoga mat you use is likely to have quite a bearing on your success, especially if you are using regularly - on a long term basis.

This aspect is tricky in that most of us do not understand how subtle our bodies are - we never have enough time to listen to them well - we have to do Yoga to understand this.

Even in a Yoga class you may not be getting enough individual attention - or else some postures may not be good for WHERE YOU ARE AT RIGHT NOW.

Most of us look at postures in a COMPETITIVE way -and this competitive streak can also be VERY SUBTLE - in other words there is an underlying social / cultural pressure to DO THE BEST YOU CAN - which is an ethic that does not help most people in europe with Yoga (unless you are bored / lazy type of person I guess).

I have been to a few classes where it can be quite social and where I have felt that I HAVE to join in rather than just doing my own practice which has evolved over 16 years - all I do now is SIT WELL - STAND WELL - WALK WELL and COMMUNICATE BETTER - I hardly do any postures at all now - POSTURES are only 1/8 of the practice - too much emphasis is put on postures in Europe.

I do not teach myself - but I would say I am a Yoga teacher in as much as most of my work is about education / re-orientation of the core philosophy and practice which is an intuitive process, gradually losing its way in our modern lifestyles.

Things going on in your body/mind that you are not aware of either medically / biological / emotionally etc will be discovered through Yoga. It may bring up old habits from many years ago as we were children etc. - typically this is POOR / FORCED breathing - emotional blocks - muscle tension etc. Chronic dehydration is also common.

If you have not been trained in breathing techniques for a few months then you should avoid forcing or controlling the breath in pranayama AT ALL. Some teachers are very compassionate and good listeners - while others can be quite business-like, efficient, even ruthless, dismissive of complaints and unforgiving.

Have a think about what makes you uncomfortable in the class - rubbish mats - bad vibes - forward bends - backwards ?

Do you have high blood pressure ? How is your energy - are you fatigued ? restless ? frustrated ? Are you overweight ? are you low on energy ? how is your diet ?

All of these things (and more) to think about. Take some time for yourself - YOU are the Buddha for YOUR body - not your Yoga teacher !!!

I know it can be hard but with some slight adjustments Yoga is the best path I know for everyone and if you want to get off on the right track a cheap plastic Yoga mat might not be the best for you in the long run.

What price do you put on your wellbeing ?

An extra £10 for an eco yoga mat might be the best decison you make this year.