Business - Business News

POSTED: Monday, Oct. 12, 2009

Point Roberts woman's round yoga mats create 'freedom of movement'

Each week The Bellingham Herald takes a closer look at a business or construction project. This week: Mandala Yoga Mat.

What it is: Desiree Kleemann, a Point Roberts yoga instructor, has created 6-foot round yoga mats. The round mats allow "yogis freedom of movement in all directions with no boundaries or restraints," Kleemann said. She also created a DVD featuring five sequences for clients to use on these types of mats.

Ownership: Desiree Kleemann owns the business. Her brother, an artist who lives near Medford, Ore., makes the mats from his home.

How it started: Kleemann said she wanted to get away from the confines of a rectangular mat and, for months, looked for a round mat as an alternative. When she couldn't find any, she decided to create her own. Her brother designed nine prototypes and Kleemann used them in her first Mandala workshop. "I was just making them for myself, but then everyone wanted one," she sad. Kleemann found material to make more mats and began the process of cutting and embossing each mat by hand. She and her brother have made more than 600 mats to date.

In Sanskrit, the word "mandala" means "circle," Kleemann said. Buddhist monks use colored sand to make circular designs, and these sand circles are called "mandalas." The monks put time and energy into creating beautiful designs and then they throw it into the river or let the wind blow it away, Kleemann said. For Kleemann, that's what yoga is all about. "It's about the process rather than the end result," she said.

What makes it different: None of the scrap material from the mats goes to waste, Kleemann said. "Unlike other companies, all of Mandala Yoga Mat scraps are taken to a recycling company that reuses the scraps in a variety of ways," she said. "Nothing is disposed of in the landfill."

What's next: Kleemann said she plans to attend the Yoga Journal Magazine conference in San Francisco at the end of January. The conference sets aside a large area for vendors , and Kleemann said she wants to set up a display for her mats. "There are still many people who have never heard of round yoga mats," she said. "I just want to get the word out."

Mandala Yoga Mat

360-945-5536

E-mail: info@madronayoga.com

Online: mandalayogamat.com.