Meet the Yogini

Working in a corporate environment and packing in those long hours is financially rewarding but it takes a toll with growing complaints of obesity, depression, blood pressure and type II diabetes. Having worked as an HR professional for eight years, Shalini set out to find nature’s solution to these lifestyle diseases that plagued her.

This quest motivated her to start practicing yoga and eventually go on to complete a Post graduate diploma in Yoga studies and spend a year in one of the oldest ashrams in India. It was here that she first encountered the uncomfortable pvc foam yoga mats that were the norm. These mats were not sturdy, slippery, difficult to clean, and just not designed for yogis. Furthermore, the PVC mats cannot be recycled and release dioxin, a known carcinogen when incinerated. A search online to find an eco-friendly option came up with rubberized cork sheets that were washed with chemicals.

“I wanted to use mats that were built for yogis and biodegradable, but the options were either scarce or extremely overpriced,” she reminisces. Since then, Shalini has completed her teacher’s training certification in Rishikesh and has been teaching yoga in India and the Philippines.

Taking it a step further, she is the driving force behind Ida Yog, an Asian company that designs eco yoga mats and accessories ground up and precisely engineers them to help elevate the yoga practice. Shalini obsesses over every small feature that goes into our products to create the finest yogic experience for you. The entire product range is designed and developed across Asia and made from sustainable, renewable and 100% biodegradable materials.

She lives by the ideology of Ida Yog – to engage local communities in the handmade product range and make it available for the environmentally conscious yogi who strives to maintain the ecological balance of this planet.

We are always looking for product designers and artisans across Asia and rest of the world to collaborate for our range of products. If you have any potential product collaboration ideas do drop a line with your portfolio and the idea to founder@idayog.com