Just bought a new yoga mat and it's time to take it to its first yoga class? Not a lot of time? No sewing machine?
This instructable is for you!

Preamble (You can skip this.)
We all know there are really only 2 things that stand in between us and fitness---time and convenience. While I have found that leaving my yoga mat stretched out in my living room does encourage me to use it more often, I’m too lazy to take it with me and too eco-friendly (or cheap) to buy a yoga bag, which also seems like a pain, for my eco-friendly mat. Then….I discovered the yoga sling. I saw a woman with something like this at a yoga class I went to a while back and immediately came home to see if there were any good Instructables for these. I couldn't find any so I decided I'd have to reverse engineer this mental image I now had.

This instructable will show you how to quickly make a yoga mat carrying device, possibly for free!

Time: 5 minutes

Step 1: Materials

Materials

* scissors
* 2 yards of wide ribbon
* yoga mat

Comments/Optional alternatives
* t-shirt or fabric substitutes for ribbon

T-shirt
I made one of these out a t-shirt cut into 1.5 inch strips. It "works" but the fabric is really stretchy so it no longer fits right against my back and there is more pressure on the small part of my body it makes contact with. I then made one from 3 inch strips of t-shirt and made it a little small to start with and it stretched to about a perfect size.

I think the ribbon one is nicer and both ways are free if you happen to have these things sitting around your house.

Fabric:
I think you could actually make a really nice one of these out of fabric with a sewing machine. You should try it!

Step 2: Making the Yoga Sling

1. Cut the ribbon to about 2 yards. The length is dependent on the thickness of your mat and the width of your chest.

2. Wrap the ribbon over one end to encircle the rolled up yoga mat.

3. Take the piece of ribbon on top and make a loop around the bottom piece of ribbon.

4. Put two fingers inside this loop. This is how much room you will want to leave so the loop can slide over the other piece of ribbon.

5. Tie an old fashioned kindergarten knot to make the loop secure. I'd do this twice to make sure it's not going to come undone.

6. Move to the other side of the yoga mat and repeat. The amount of ribbon that is inbetween these two loops is where you'll slip your body in so you may need to adjust the length of the piece of ribbon depending if you're larger or smaller than me.

7. Once both sides have securely made loops, try picking up the yoga mat like a purse. It should pull the mat snug.

Step 3: Using the Yoga Sling

1. Slip your arm and head through the opening "handle" of the sling.
2. Head to yoga class!

Bonus: You can use it as a yoga strap once you get there. (The circles the yoga mat usually goes through even work as handles.)

Step 4: Removing the Yoga Sling

1. Pull the loop up a little to loosen the circle of ribbon around the yoga mat.

2. Slide the main strap over the end to release the yoga mat.

Enjoy your new 5 minute yoga sling!