Business like any other

For those who are counting, the numbers are 4 down, 26 to go.

I was thinking about yoga as a business the other day, as yoga in Vancouver is such a huge thing. I never really came across it in England, as at least in Southsea and Portsmouth were we lived there weren't any yoga-specialised shops. But here, the amount of consumables around yoga is staggering.

For example, yoga mats. They are in fact extremely durable and last even in heavy use for ages - so shops need to come up with some plan to get people to buy new ones once or twice a year. I've actually go four mats myself... but I can rationalise them all, honestly! I've had my purple sticky yoga mat since I started doing yoga almost three years ago, and it's still in pretty good shape. I replaced it about six months ago with a Halfmoon's "raspberry red" luxury sticky mat - I prefer this mat as it's twice as thick which I find more comfortable. Dragon (and other visiting yogis) still uses the the purple one when he comes to yoga with me, so it's not completely retired. Then I have a what's called "Mysore rug", a cotton loomed rug - I got it because some people recommended it - but don't use it in ashtanga as I find it too slippery. This mat I use at yin classes, on top of my sticky mat - when lying down a lot it's more comfortable, and two mats gives me even more padding which is important in yin. My fourth mat I don't actually use - it's one of those hybrid mats that have fabric on other side and rubber on other - I got it because it sounded like a good idea, in practice I don't much like it as it's both slippery and uncomfortable.

Anyway, as seasons change, I've figured out how the shops get people to buy new mats even when they don't need them. It's as simple as any fashion - you bring out new "models". This season I've seen brand new colours (I love those pinks and blues from Halfmoon!) and some new style textured extra sticky pretty mats by Lululemon (in pretty colours, too, of course). And the embarrassing thing is - it works. I've really got my eyes on this gorgeous light blue/turquoise mat that I don't need (and I'm not going to buy either... no... I'm resisting...), and certainly the new mats are popping up in class.

With mats come new mat bags, and I've got five already. Big ones, small ones, fabric and nylon... and the fifth is indeed a new season's bag from Lulu. I've been considering the Timbuk2's bag on and off for a while, but now that Lulu brought in their model under half that price it seemed like a perfect time to buy. My excuse was that Dragon has been using my other large bag that would fit both mat and clothes in so I needed a new one, but I freely admit it's really just an excuse.

And of course, that brings us to yoga clothes. This is perhaps the least durable of all consumables - still, even in constant use, these clothes can last years. I'm still actively using the first gym outfit I bought for myself when I started my active life about four years ago, and although some wear and tear is visible, it's still very usable. This is were the fashion element really kicks in, of course. Lululemon brings out new clothes practically every month - they have small stock that sells out quickly, and they replace it with something similar but not exactly the same. Models change slightly, colours change... And Lulu is just one of the retailers here. I'm not even going to count how many outfits I have... still, I'm always ready to add something to my collection if I see something I really like.

Temptations are everywhere, and yoga is indeed a million dollar industry.

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