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If you know (or don't know but want to know) what a Shakti mat is, could you stop in here, please? UPDATE in OP


plansrme
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So many months ago, I learned about Shakti mats on this page and promptly ordered one.  I've had a very sore back upon waking up for months, maybe a year.  A session on the Shakti mat (15 minutes or so) cleared it up.  I use the mat every couple of weeks to keep the pain from returning.  My husband has used it for headaches.  I big-puffy-heart-love my Shakti mat.  You should all get one.  But here is the question:  If you were my extended family, would you think it is weird if I gave you one for Christmas?  I'm talking parents, in-laws and siblings.  This is a typically hard-to-buy-for group.  In the past, gifts that I've given that have gone over well included the very awesome Picnic Time folding chairs (I removed the backs, opened up the seam and had them embroidered) and a slow cooker (this to my then-60-yo dad when he was single--he raved about it but has since remarried a lovely woman who cooks, so kitchen stuff is out for him now), so there is some history of practical but oddball gifts going over well.

 

So, verdict?  Weird or, "Oh, hey, that looks cool!  Everyone gets sore muscles once in a while; thanks for sharing!"

 

UPDATE:  'Cause I know y'all are dying to know how my Shakti mats went over.  I gave three of them last night to:  my brother/SIL,  my dad/his wife, and my mom.  I rolled them up inside this yoga mat carrier that I use for mine, printed out some instructions to include in the carrier pocket and then gave a mini-lecture on Shakti mat use as they opened them.  My demonstration and lesson included a disclaimer that they may think this was the weirdest gift ever but that I love mine.  So, this morning, I got a gushy text from my brother who woke up back-pain free for the first time since he can remember after using the mat before bed last night.  He is delighted, and his back issues are much worse than mine ever thought about being.  No word yet from my dad/his wife.  My mom and I barely tolerate each other, so I'm quite unlikely to hear anything from her (but that would be true regardless of what I got her).  But still, even if only 1 of 3 loved it, I think that's pretty good!  

Edited by plansrme
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I'd be weirded out by that as a random present from a family member. And I have back problems.

 

Maybe save it for the family members you know would be appreciative once you explained how to use it and just get gift cards or theater vouchers for everyone else?

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I'd be weirded out by that as a random present from a family member. And I have back problems.

 

Maybe save it for the family members you know would be appreciative once you explained how to use it and just get gift cards or theater vouchers for everyone else?

 

Gift cards would be weirder coming from me--I am very much in the "what's the point of swapping gift cards" camp; but if you have back problems, you should try it!  Well, if they're muscular, I suppose; I doubt it's going to do much for serious stuff--bulging whatever and the like.  (I don't know anything about back problems except that it fixed mine.)

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I am actually standing on mine as we speak.I would love to recieve a practical gift like that.

But I know a lot of my family would roll their eyes at that kind of a gift.

My suggestion would be to go ahead and gift one but maybe show them how to use it?

Lot of folks get intimidated when they don't know what or how something is supposed to be used.

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What sort of gifts do they give you? I love, love, love practical gifts. My mother and MIL hate practical gifts. We were at cross purposes for years. I begged and begged for doorknobs for Christmas one year and I was really stung when they wouldn't get them for me.

 

And I know I gave them useful gifts and probably insulted them with them. "Doesn't my daughter (DIL) know me well enough to get me something special? If I wanted a crockpot, I'd have bought my own."

 

But with that said, I think this fits into both categories. I think it's both a useful and personal gift. I would get it. :)

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Okay, ArcticMama, I value your opinion and usually agree with you, but I'm going with the Shakti mats.  They can't think I'm any weirder than they already do.  I'll include some cinnamon rolls; then they'll think, "This is the weirdest gift ever, but these cinnamon rolls are awesome."

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That would be an awesome gift in my family! Everyone would probably end up spread out and laying on the floor. We're weird like that. One year my grandfather made homemade kazoos for the whole family which started a twenty minute Christmas carol kazoo-along. It's one of my fondest Christmas memories.

 

I say go for it!

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Okay, ArcticMama, I value your opinion and usually agree with you, but I'm going with the Shakti mats. They can't think I'm any weirder than they already do. I'll include some cinnamon rolls; then they'll think, "This is the weirdest gift ever, but these cinnamon rolls are awesome."

Do that and then demonstrate on yourself and then each of them exactly how to use one, and that should smooth over any raised eyebrows :D

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okay, I'm buying one. The boards sure do influence my amazon shopping... :thumbup1:

 

I have shoulder pain that is bothersome, but mostly, I have trouble falling asleep. This mat intrigues me.

I just added it to my Christmas list. I'd never heard of one before, but I definitely need one!
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Is this one size fits all? One of the YouTube videos showed one that looked small to me. Even the Amazon picture shows it only cover one area at a time. So do you do two sessions to cover a wider area?

Yes, it is one size, although there are smaller, padded ones designed to fit under your neck. The larger one (maybe 18" x 30") also can be used under your neck, though--just put it over a rolled-up towel. You move it around to lie on the body part that is bothering you. One tip: it works eminently better for me if I am skin-to-plastic, not shirt-to-plastic. I pull up my shirt to lie on my back on my bed. The slight squishiness of my mattress makes it conform better to my back. There are YouTube videos, but I have never tried them out.

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Okay, ArcticMama, I value your opinion and usually agree with you, but I'm going with the Shakti mats. They can't think I'm any weirder than they already do. I'll include some cinnamon rolls; then they'll think, "This is the weirdest gift ever, but these cinnamon rolls are awesome."

This is what I was going to suggest, but I was afraid to offend, so I'll just like your post!

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Okay, ArcticMama, I value your opinion and usually agree with you, but I'm going with the Shakti mats. They can't think I'm any weirder than they already do. I'll include some cinnamon rolls; then they'll think, "This is the weirdest gift ever, but these cinnamon rolls are awesome."

Lol! Every present looks better with cinnamon rolls. Oh, and Amazon should pay you for advertising their product :)
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Which color? On the group on it looks like different colors have different acupressure points.

The description tells you about the colors. From memory, I think the green, orange and brown are 6000, the blue is 4000 and the other colors are 8000. The higher the number the lighter the pressure. They call the blue "advanced."

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A month or so ago, I heard about these on the WTM when I asked about dealing with chronic pain.  

OK, I want one!! I am going to try the original orange.

 

The pain is in my hands -would I place my hands on it?

 

I would think hands and arms, maybe arms extended in a Superman pose, but with your arms lying on the mat?  I don't really know; I've never had hand pain.  The weight is what makes the "nails" dig into you, so the heavier the body part, the more interaction you get with the mat.  Hands alone might not be enough weight.  The comments in the Amazon reviews have a lot of good advice (well, advice--I shouldn't vouch for how good it is).   Maybe someone in the Amazon reviews has a suggestion.  It's really not as painful as "bed of nails" would imply.  If I stand on it, I have to put it in front of me while I am sitting, though, and then stand up on it with both feet at the same time.  Stepping onto it with one foot and then the other does hurt because it's my entire body weight on the sole of one foot.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I would like to get it, but I am weird and into alternative things like that.

 

Full disclosure: we have one and a neck roll. We call it "bed of nails" and I'm impish enough to make sure recipients of such a gift knew that. ;)

 

Here's the combo for not much more than the groupon offer:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N24PK42/ref=twister_B00I3FNAUQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

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  • 1 month later...

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