YOGA MAT LIGHTS UP AFRICA

YOGA instructor Judes Yang is stretching out to make more than mats and money from her Gold Coast business.

The founder of Sahaja Yoga Mats has designed her enterprise around giving, with the aim of funding solar lights for families in Mozambique. She’s sold 150 of the brightly-coloured yoga mats since launching in March, stocking them online and at retail outlets along the Coast.

“The printed mats are inspired by geometry and yoga philosophy,” Ms Yang said.

“The designs help foster natural alignment to support the student during practice and the mats include extra padding and length, allowing the yogi to train comfortably in a range of studios. It was also important to me to build a brand that was sustainable, so the mats are made from recyclable rubber and printed with water-based ink.”

Ms Yang, 39, was boosted by the Bond Business Accelerator program, which provided her $5000 seed funding and a 12-week practical course to help her commercialise her idea.

As well as the solar lights project, Ms Yang also hopes to provide free yoga classes for victims of family violence, supported by the RizeUp Australia community.

“I bumped into a lady at the gym who had one of my mats, and I told her that I was the designer. It was so humbling and satisfying to find out how happy she was with the product.”