"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Lao Tzu
We wanted to create a series of yoga mats that make a difference to people’s lives and had a powerful meaning to the people who buy them.
Improving men’s mental health through yoga & meditation is Warrior Addict’s social mission and this is even more salient now when so many more people are suffering from depression and anxiety due to the effect of social restrictions.
We therefore decided that our new yoga mats should serve to raise awareness and funding for men’s mental health issues. We wanted the mats to be unique and to have an emotive, visual reference for all of the brave Warriors out there to send a clear message that you will feel better and that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
We felt that Lao Tzu’s quote: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” was a powerful message and one that can easily be translated to encourage people to take that first STEP towards recovery. We teamed up with one of the UK’s leading street artists @sprankenstein to create a unique piece of artwork based on this quote.
The artwork is of peaceful Japanese and Chinese Warriors, which serve to represent both strength and solidarity amongst men. The Warriors and landscape show a figurative journey through mental health, from the beginning – starting with that very first STEP, all the way through to the end and recovery.
We called our new collection WARRIOR STEP to serve as a reminder and encouragement that you can be brave and take that first STEP towards feeling better, whether this is through talking to a friend, calling a helpline or perhaps starting yoga or running. It’s the first STEP towards feeling better.
The three mats come together as one to complete the quote, however, each one has a separate meaning of its own:
‘A journey of strength’ ‘We will brave a thousand miles to stand together’ ‘It all begins with a single step’
We have also partnered with UK charity C.A.L.M (Against Male Suicide) and have pledged to donate £5.00 from the sale of each mat to them.