Where's Your Yoga Mat Been?

Do you bring your own exercise mat to the gym? Do you wash it often with warm, soapy water? If not, and you are using a public mat, you may want to at least swipe it with a portable disinfectant, like Lysol Sanitizing Wipes, before setting foot on it. Anne E. Maczulak, Ph.D. and author of The Five-Second Rule and Other Myths About Germs says that a variety of germs, bacteria, and other sickness-inducing nasties can swim in the thin film of sweat left behind by the last person who used it. You could contract athlete's foot, rashes, ringworm, E. coli, flu, viruses, and staph bacteria. Eww... You really might want to break down and buy your own mat!