Finding the perfect balance : Handcrafted accessories for your Yoga practice

The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’, meaning ‘to join’ or ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. The practice aims to create union between body, mind and spirit, as well as between the individual self and universal consciousness : a state of perfect harmony between the mind and body, Man & Nature.

The beginnings of Yoga can be traced to the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in Northern India over 5,000 years ago. The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts, the Rig Veda, a collection of texts containing songs, mantras and rituals to be used by Brahmans, or Vedic priests. Brahmans and Rishis (mystic seers) documented their practices and beliefs in the upanishads, containing over 200 scriptures. The most renowned of the Yogic scriptures is the Bhagavad-Gîtâ, composed around 500 B.C.E. The Upanishads took the idea of ritual sacrifice from the Vedas and internalized it, teaching the sacrifice of the ego through self-knowledge, action (karma yoga) and wisdom (jnana yoga).

At Jamini, we have spent the past years creating handcrafted pieces : a perfect harmony between aesthetics and the spirit of our master artisans.

We are thrilled to bring you a range of hand printed yoga accessories in collaboration with French brand Yogom. Our passion for textiles and our love for the practice of Hatha yoga come together in this capsule collection that aims to bring a touch of Indian savoir-faire to the ancient Indian practice of yoga.

Yogom, a French brand of yoga accessories made from ecological materials was founded by Mathilde Corbin.

Mathilde's journey :

Bolster yoga cushion and Zafu meditation cushion © Imdad Barbhuyan

Palla Meditation Bolster © Imdad Barbhuyan

Mathilde, tell us about yourself?

After a childhood in Aveyron and business studies in Toulouse, I started working in Paris in an event management firm for a few years before moving to Montpellier. I worked in marketing and communication before deciding that corporate life was not for me and that entrepreneurship was calling out to me. I went to Costa Rica to take stock of my life and discovered yoga there completely by chance. It was love at first experience with this ancestral practice that is as physical as it is mental! I undertook an initiatory and spiritual journey after which I decided to continue to travel and to create a brand of ecological, efficient and elegant yoga equipment: Yogom was born between Barcelona and Naples where I lived during the first year of the creation of the brand before coming back to Montpellier where I currently live with my husband from Mauritius and Reunion Island and my 3 year old son. Daughter of a linen merchant, granddaughter of a fabric merchant, inspired by painting since I was a child and more recently by ceramics and soap making, my desire to create constantly challenges my desire to undertake.

I have also given courses in event management and communication in a hotel school for ten years and I regularly coach entrepreneurs.

Mathilde, creator of Yogom © Yogom

Tell us about your first experience with yoga: when did it ignite a passion in you?

I am not a very athletic person, but more cerebral. I had tried a yoga class in a youth center in Montpellier about ten years ago, but the gym atmosphere and the sequence of yoga postures without explanations did not convince me. I went to Costa Rica thinking about surfing and learning Spanish. It wasn't a yoga destination par excellence as one can find in India or Asia, but I found myself living in the jungle on the waterfront near a hotel with a beautiful Shala (studio) in the middle of palm trees, monkeys and birds. Gentle but intense yoga classes, with a background of mantras (sacred chants), in a magical wilderness... This is how yoga really entered my life and has never left me.

Doing yoga is a bit like "practicing sports", it doesn't mean much: there are thousands of different types of yoga and as many ways to practice yoga, so it can be difficult to find the formula that suits you, whether it's a face-to-face class, an online class, an internship, a retreat, Hatha yoga, Vinyasa yoga, Yin yoga, Yoga Nidra, Kundalini, Iyengar, etc. For my part, having discovered yoga in an unusual context, that's how I enjoyed practicing it when I returned to Europe. I went to yoga retreats in Italy and Greece once or twice a year. It was a way to be good to myself, to refocus: a real rejuvenation cure or the equivalent of a few psychoanalysis sessions in a hurry! Since I became a mom, it's not as easy to go on a yoga retreat and I don't need it as much. I'm much more in tune with myself and I need to do yoga on a more regular basis, so I make sure I never miss the Monday morning online yoga class from my living room: a mix of Iyengar, postural and therapeutic yoga to make up for my sedentary lifestyle and start the week off on a rightnote!

How has yoga influenced all aspects of your life? How do you try to apply its mantras in your daily life?

For me yoga is a way of life, a remedy and a refuge. First of all, it allowed me to know what I really wanted in my life, who I really was and allowed me to believe in myself. It has been a real tool for personal development. Through a physically challenging practice, whether it is with gentle yoga that stretches deeply and allows the release of deep tensions and therefore blocked emotions, or through dynamic yoga that requires a surpassing of oneself, a rigor and a great investment, or with the philosophical concepts hidden through the history of postures, mythology, sacred texts, yoga is a magical tool. Yoga can act on the mind and on the body. I think that once you experience it, you never want to forget it. Sometimes we think we are straying from its path, but yoga is always there in our daily lives even when we are not practicing. Yoga guides us on the path of wisdom with principles such as non violence, detachment, etc. Yoga encourages me to develop more and more ethical and ecological products.

Your favorite yoga position: what does it do for you?

I love all yoga poses on the floor, especially with the bolster: the famous cylindrical yoga cushion. So to name just one of many, I love the butterfly pose while lying on the bolster. Sit with your knees bent, hips on either side and feet touching. Place the bolster along the spine from the sacrum and lie on it, arms outstretched palms up on each side. Breathe deeply and gently and stay as long as you like!

Tell us about your life as an entrepreneur, how did you launch your brand?

I launched Yogom with a mix of instinct and intuition: slowly, with passion and devotion. Meeting the Yogom community, whether it was customers or social networks, allowed me to shape the brand in a collaborative way. I think I instilled a certain idea of accessible, no-frills but demanding yoga in the community, which also guided the path of Yogom with a strong ecological focus. I started by creating a yoga mat that was non-slip, shock-absorbing, recyclable, pleasant to the touch, odorless and with a good price-quality ratio. The Yomad yoga mat still exists today and is a best seller! I quickly added designs with lines and markers to the yoga mats to help position the body and improve alignment in the postures. This is the Bodyline system: very popular among yogis and now available in all 6 ranges of Yogom yoga mats.

Slowly,as the yoga market became more competitive in France with the boom of Covid19, which encouraged people to practice sports at home, I developed other ranges of yoga mats: more non-slip, softer, foldable and washable travel mats, wool mats, cork mats, etc. as well as a range of useful accessories for the practice: bricks, stretching straps, transport bag, cleaning spray, etc.

Today Yogom offers about fifty yoga mats, and continues to innovate by seeking to design mats that are more and more ecological. Yogom is clearly positioned as the specialist in yoga equipment in France by offering efficient, elegant and eco-friendly products.

What was your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge has been to continue the entrepreneurial path, the climb. The competition is fierce and it is very easy to be overwhelmed by doubt. I move forward, I create, I love what I do. Everything can stop, but in the end it's just a beautiful reflection of life.

What Jamini inspires you?

For me Jamini is a taste of India in our interior design. Jamini embodies authenticity, elegance, a source of creativity and an invitation to travel.

Your favorite piece from our yoga capsule collection that you can't get rid of?

Then you might have guessed it but the bolster is my favorite yoga accessory! But I also have to admit that the zafu sits in my living room adding a little decorative touch and a friendly seat by the fireplace. Finally, I'm going to praise the merits of the large yoga bag: a perfect travel companion for all yogis on yoga retreats with their mats and accessories, or for yoga teachers to carry their tools. I'm very proud that we have designed the largest yoga bag available in France!

Finding the perfect balance : Handcrafted accessories for your Yoga practice