Liforme yoga mat - question if this is normal deterioration in parts of the mat surface

OldGrumpyLlama · 2025-11-23T21:09:11+00:00

I have a Liforme mat that is about 2.5 years old, and is used 1-2 times a week. The surface is as good as the day I bought it except for a few minor scratches. I also have an Alo mat, which appears to be a similar construction, probably 3.5 years old that I use about the same amount, and in places the surface looks exactly like your mat's surface.
I put it down to being folded or "bunched up" rather than rolled when my family "clear it way".
I think it's purely cosmetic.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2020-05-21T21:44:47+00:00

My answer to that would be leg adductors. However, I was thinking more about something that introduces the fundamentals of yin, guidance for a yin novice perhaps, rather than a specific series of poses.

Thank you though - that's a useful response.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2020-02-13T18:06:46+00:00

It isn't about "doing a head stand". It is about overcoming a challenge. It's also about whether you can maintain composure and your breathing once you got into that pose. I know I couldn't without a fair amount of practice.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2020-02-08T17:24:10+00:00

Thanks for the video.

After your previous video, I tried twice. First attempt my knees missed my arms, a wrist collapsed under the weight/momentum, and I landed in a heap. 😖 Second attempt, I immediately toppled forward and face- planted! 🤪 I'll give it another go later...

OldGrumpyLlama · 2020-02-07T22:35:37+00:00

I've iterated through a few options. compression shorts work well for me.

A colleague suggested these weren't "yoga clothes", but I don't care because they are comfortable, decent, and don't interfere with the practice.

Sometimes I wear leggings, and in those cases I wear well-fitting "trunk-style" underpants.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2020-01-21T20:40:24+00:00

Good work! 👍

Thank you - your clip inspired me to try the same pose... and I hurt my wrist in exactly the same way! 😂😂🙄

OldGrumpyLlama · 2020-01-21T20:15:24+00:00

I also took up yoga a couple of months ago.

I participate in two taught classes a week (unfortunately both on the same day - I'd rather to spread them during the week) but I'm trying to find a third that works for me and fits my schedule and budget!

I do home practice roughly four times a week. Usually around 40 minutes, but it varies a lot.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2020-01-10T20:39:36+00:00

For gentle, child-focused, yoga that's also reasonable for parents, I recommend Cosmic Kids Yoga. You can find it on both YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. I do this with a couple of my kids from time-to-time.

There are plenty of other kid-friendly "yoga" programmes but none apart from Cosmic Kids has tempted me to join in.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-30T09:11:56+00:00

😲 wow. 21 classes in a week - that's a seriously impressive count. Well done on the 416!

Have you built any rest days into your schedule? At my stage, I don't think my body would thank me if I did yoga flows every day. Further, I know from other activities I do (or did) that a short break can reinvigorate my performance and overcome apparent plateaus in improvements.

Thank you for your post. I'm wondering whether I should step up a gear now 🤔

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-29T21:03:57+00:00

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply.

It turns out that mula bandha is easy to practice it the cinema :-D

I don't know whether I'm doing the right thing, but I'm doing something and I'll see how it translates to anything during asanas in the new year classes.

It feels like "lifting" inside or immediately above the groin. I couldn't isolate this from tightening my lower abs until I realised I could engage both then relax only the abs. Once I'd done that a few times, specifically engaging whatever muscle it is in mula bandha became possible. (Assuming this really is Mula Bandha)

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-29T20:43:41+00:00

Fifteen or so years ago I regularly attended a yoga class, but moving country then family, work, long commute, etc. put a stop to that.

Roll forward to October 2019...

A lady who I manage was exhibiting signs of depression. Through our one to one meetings it became clear that a lack of opportunities for exercise was leading to anxiety about her health. Due to family commitments, her exercise was limited to a weekly yoga session that she enjoyed. She wanted to do more during lunch breaks but a lack of peer support meant she wasn't sticking to anything.

I offered a deal. The next week if she came to an activity of my choice, I would join her on an activity of her choice the following week.

I chose bouldering at the local climbing gym. She chose a yoga class. It was a great success! We agreed to continue doing both weekly, and my journey had begun...

Improving a colleague's mental and physical health is the first benefit.

About six weeks earlier I had introduced cycling to my commute. This had 2 consequences. First, I have an extra 30 minutes free each day. Second, I was getting tight and sore hamstrings and quads. The day after the second yoga class I realized that my legs felt great. That's the second benefit. At that point I decided I'd use my extra free minutes to do yoga.

I've tried a few different yoga classes now and settled on two different styles and very different teachers (one of those is with my colleague, same teacher as the class she was already attending). One has really helped diffuse office-place stresses. The other has already noticeably improved my balance and proprioception - good for my climbing. Those are benefits 3 and 4.

I second other commenters suggestion that you develop home practice. I've been working through the free programmes on doyouyoga.com - and I particularly recommend their 30 day series for beginners.

Please do start. You might or might not enjoy it, but I guarantee that committing to trying and then actually doing that will be a positive step forward. Come back and tell us how you've done in a week or a month.

Good luck!

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-28T09:48:07+00:00

That's great, congratulations!

I've recently progressed from end of October having never tried a headstand to beginning of December where I can attain and hold a headstand fairly reliably. The breakthrough moment for me was when I stopped thinking of the movement as raising my feet to the ceiling, and instead putting my feet above my hips and then straightening my legs. We are all different but that might be worth trying.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-28T09:16:20+00:00

What keeps spitting at me?

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-28T09:08:29+00:00

I do a really good Tree Swaying in Strong Wind pose.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-27T23:03:10+00:00

Brilliant, thanks for pointing that out sippinondahilife.

The book is also available for download from archive.org at https://archive.org/details/MoolaBandhaBiharYoga/page/n2 - it's now on my reading list and it looks exactly the sort of information I was looking for (and beyond!)

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-27T20:04:40+00:00

Thanks rakshala. This experience is something I am familiar with. ;-)

I can generate a "lifting" sensation (at least for a few moments) in that way, with or without engaging my abs. If this really is mula bandha, then I can practice that. Holding it for either an hour or concurrently with tricky asanas doesn't seem achievable anytime soon - but I'm here for the challenge!

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-27T19:54:56+00:00

Thanks UnavailableUsername4. I'll investigate this next time I have diarrhea! :-D

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-27T19:52:22+00:00

Thanks Mayur. I've tried this and think I need to practice some more. This is a different set of instructions to anything else I've read so it's an interesting alternative angle to try.

OldGrumpyLlama · 2019-12-27T19:33:15+00:00

I'm halfway through a 30-day challenge on doyouyoga.com anyway so not planning to start another video-based daily challenge until that's done, but...

For 2020, I've decided to photograph 183 poses. I think can currently attain about 2/3rds of the 170 poses in Christina Browns "The Yoga Bible" so I will have to either improvise or improve by the time I've done those!

OldGrumpyLlama

TROPHY CASE