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The Nix Fix: The Mat Remembers

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The Nix Fix: The Mat Remembers

The Mat Remembers by Nicola Colville

“Let it go on the mat.”

We often hear this phrase as we begin or end a yoga class. It’s a gentle invitation to step out of the noise of daily life and into the present moment. Recently, I found myself pausing to consider what it truly means to “let it go on the mat” and where all that weight we carry actually goes.

My yoga mat is like a trusted old friend—one that listens without judgment, absorbs my struggles, celebrates my triumphs, and supports my growth. Every time I step onto it, I bring the full weight of my life, my thoughts, moods, stress, joy, uncertainty, or even exhaustion. And when class ends, I’m encouraged to let go of what no longer serves me. But here’s the thing: it’s the same mat I return to, again and again

The mat remembers. It holds the imprints of my journey, the echoes of my breath, and the energy of my practice. It never resists or asks me to be anything other than who I am. It simply allows me to be. Much like life itself, my mat is a reflection of everything I carry. It doesn’t erase my experiences; it transforms them. The frustrations I release today may return in a different form tomorrow. The emotions I shed linger in the fibers, waiting to resurface when I’m ready to face them again. And just as my mat always welcomes me back, life continues to offer new moments to process, heal, and begin again. So, how much does the mat quietly carry—not only for me, but for all of us who return to it?

I’ve started to think of my mat as a place for integration and transformation. The act of “letting go” isn’t about discarding our past or erasing what we feel or experience. It’s about learning to move with it, finding balance amidst the weight and creating space to see it differently—to soften, to shift, to understand. The mat remembers our process, our breakthroughs, and our resistance. And just like life, it meets us exactly where we are, each time we arrive.

Some days we might feel light, other days heavy. Sometimes practice feels like freedom, and other times it feels like friction. But regardless of how we show up, our mat always welcomes us back. It doesn’t hold grudges. It doesn’t expect perfection. And in this quiet reliability, there’s a powerful reflection of how we might live our lives off the mat, too.

Because life isn’t about constant release. It’s about integration. What we carry, what we confront, and what we choose to set down—all of it belongs. Yoga doesn’t ask us to forget our stories; it invites us to move through them with more grace, awareness, forgiveness, compassion, and curiosity.

So, the next time you roll out your mat, consider it a sacred space—not only one that holds you, but one that holds space for you. A place where your story can unfold, breath by breath.

The mat remembers. And in its quiet remembering, we learn to remember ourselves.

Namaste,
Nix

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