Supported. Connected. Grounded. Cared for. Free.
I tried a new kind of yoga mat today with qualities similar to a beautiful relationship, but better in a way. If you’ve gotten what you needed out of one side, you can flip it over and use the other side to serve a new purpose. And what’s more? The whole way through your practice, you can take heart in knowing you are making the world a better place.
Kharma Khare, a new eco-conscious yoga company, has an exceptional vision: to support yoga practitioners in caring for themselves and for the planet. Feeling inspired by their cause, I sat down with visionary Aseem Giri, the founder of Kharma Khare. What I learned from him is invaluable: allowing a sign to redirect your path makes space for the most successful type of endeavor… the creation of a passion-based business.
Emily: How did you discover the power of yoga?
Aseem [paraphrased]: When my son was a toddler, he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease that behaves like leukemia. Just after we first learned of his condition, we had to take a trip to the emergency room because he wouldn’t stop bleeding. In the hospital, he was fighting, flailing and had a vice grip around my neck. At some point, I realized nothing the doctors were doing was working, so I focused on the power of opposites.
I tried to make myself as calm as possible in hopes that he would too. I closed my eyes, ignoring everyone else, and started to breathe with a specific rhythm. My son felt my energy, and we began to breathe in sync. Finally, he fell asleep. Once he fell asleep, the bleeding stopped and they were able do the transfusion he needed to survive.
In this moment, I had an epiphany. A focus on breath, the foundation of yoga, offers you a sense of calm that can positively affect other people too. From then on, I knew I needed that daily inner peace that yoga creates. Integrating the practice into my lifestyle has carried me through the good times and the bad.
Emily: What prompted you to start Kharma Khare?
Aseem [paraphrased]: I was with my daughter at the playground to take a break from the hospital room, and she wanted to do the monkey bars. This was nightmarish to me, until I realized that the rubber ground they use these days was a lot safer than using concrete or gravel beneath the bars. I thought, “Wow, it would be great to practice yoga on this type of grip and cushioning.”
I did my research and found the ground was made of recycled rubber tire material. I worked with a business partner to design an eco-friendly method around the safety measures that make recycled rubber safe for children, then further enhanced the process from there.
Ten methods and eighteen prototypes later, Kharma Khare mats were born.
Because of our process, we have a one-of-a-kind internal recycling program. If you have a mat and you’d like a new one, order it online and send us your old one back, then we credit you half price. Eventually, we will donate any unused material and old yoga mats to children’s playgrounds, and we want to move toward processing that locally.
Emily: There’s this driving force in our society to pick a dream and stick with it. What gave you the courage to start with your new dream to build Kharma Khare into a business?
Aseem [paraphrased]:
When I worked in finance, I lived by the “money, money, money” mantra that supports that industry. I kept diluting myself and felt my happiness was reliant on the next big piece of my career schedule. “I’m sure I will be happy when I make more money. Or when I build this new business. Or when I make partner.” Well, when I did make partner at 27 years old, I realized I was just as miserable as I was before.
When my son got sick, I made the clearest decision of my life – to drop everything. This was my sign, and in that moment, I thought, “I have one shot to save my son. I can always make money later in life.”
That experience completely changed my perspective – it made me realize how precious life is. It stimulated the desire I had to create a business that would care for people and for our environment.
My advice would be this: if you feel a pull in your heart, by all means, pursue it. It’s not the easiest thing to do. I had to learn a lot of new things to build this business, but it has been a joy every day. Being a father, I wanted to be a role model for my kids. I wanted to teach them that you should never stay stuck in something because of someone else’s dreams or vision for you.
Emily: In what ways does Kharma Khare help communities to thrive?
Aseem [paraphrased]: We are broadly focused on the idea of care. For us, care is about community too. Bodhi Khare, our line natural body care products, stemmed from my desire to take part in a women’s initiative in Nepal. By integrating their skills into our process, we are able to make them economic agents. As economic agents, they have a voice in their households and protection over their children.
This is just one example of the community initiatives we are planning, but at the end of the day, we want people to feel good about buying our products. We want them to know they are contributing something back to the world community. With our Kharma Khare mats, you have a sense that you’re keeping a tire from being burned for crude energy or thrown into a landfill. With Bodhi Khare products, you know you’re helping rid abuse of young girls in a community where the odds are stacked against them.
Emily: What quote keeps you going through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship?
Aseem [paraphrased]:
“Don’t wait for the world to acknowledge your company’s brilliance. Be brilliant and let them catch up.”
I’ve never been one to lean on business books to learn more about my business. I’ve watched other people. I’ve learned from experience. What has worked for me is focusing on what I’m passionate about, learning what I’m good at, surrounding myself with good people, and applying those things to my business.
Emily: What are the best features of your Kharma Kare yoga mats?
Aseem [paraphrased]:
► The hybrid mat is like two mats in one, because you can use one side for Iyengar yoga and one side for Vinyasa.
► The more you sweat, the better the grip.
► Our exchange program is cost effective and eco-friendly – once you own a mat, you get all future mats at half price.
► Our mats provide excellent joint support.
► The non-slip grip is amazing, so no extra towel for the top of the mat is needed.
Emily: What is next for your company?
Aseem [paraphrased]: We intend to produce new products that address the entire experience of yoga – to approach the yoga practitioner on a holistic level. From yoga mats, the core of your experience, to mat straps, mat bags, aromatherapy, Epsom salts, massage oils, and mat cleaning wipes, we are working toward providing more ways to care for yourself and for your planet.
Ready to buy a Kharma Khare mat? They’re on sale here!
ABOUT ASEEM GIRI
Aseem Giri is the CEO of KharmaKhare, Inc, providers of yoga lifestyle products, including high performance yoga mats and a body care line. His prior experience includes private equity investing, Wall Street investment banking and managing companies. His passion for yoga was sparked in recent years and it gets fed every time he steps on a mat. His ambition is to provide products that enhance the experience of yoga across the full spectrum of one’s practice, pre- and post-activity.
©Emily Hudson, WorldLifestyle
I tried a new kind of yoga mat today with qualities similar to a beautiful relationship, but better in a way. If you’ve gotten what you needed out of one side, you can flip it over and use the other side to serve a new purpose. And what’s more? The whole way through your practice, you can take heart in knowing you are making the world a better place.
Kharma Khare, a new eco-conscious yoga company, has an exceptional vision: to support yoga practitioners in caring for themselves and for the planet. Feeling inspired by their cause, I sat down with visionary Aseem Giri, the founder of Kharma Khare. What I learned from him is invaluable: allowing a sign to redirect your path makes space for the most successful type of endeavor… the creation of a passion-based business.
Emily: How did you discover the power of yoga?
Aseem [paraphrased]: When my son was a toddler, he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease that behaves like leukemia. Just after we first learned of his condition, we had to take a trip to the emergency room because he wouldn’t stop bleeding. In the hospital, he was fighting, flailing and had a vice grip around my neck. At some point, I realized nothing the doctors were doing was working, so I focused on the power of opposites.
I tried to make myself as calm as possible in hopes that he would too. I closed my eyes, ignoring everyone else, and started to breathe with a specific rhythm. My son felt my energy, and we began to breathe in sync. Finally, he fell asleep. Once he fell asleep, the bleeding stopped and they were able do the transfusion he needed to survive.
In this moment, I had an epiphany. A focus on breath, the foundation of yoga, offers you a sense of calm that can positively affect other people too. From then on, I knew I needed that daily inner peace that yoga creates. Integrating the practice into my lifestyle has carried me through the good times and the bad.
Emily: What prompted you to start Kharma Khare?
Aseem [paraphrased]: I was with my daughter at the playground to take a break from the hospital room, and she wanted to do the monkey bars. This was nightmarish to me, until I realized that the rubber ground they use these days was a lot safer than using concrete or gravel beneath the bars. I thought, “Wow, it would be great to practice yoga on this type of grip and cushioning.”
I did my research and found the ground was made of recycled rubber tire material. I worked with a business partner to design an eco-friendly method around the safety measures that make recycled rubber safe for children, then further enhanced the process from there.
Ten methods and eighteen prototypes later, Kharma Khare mats were born.
Because of our process, we have a one-of-a-kind internal recycling program. If you have a mat and you’d like a new one, order it online and send us your old one back, then we credit you half price. Eventually, we will donate any unused material and old yoga mats to children’s playgrounds, and we want to move toward processing that locally.
Emily: There’s this driving force in our society to pick a dream and stick with it. What gave you the courage to start with your new dream to build Kharma Khare into a business?
Aseem [paraphrased]:
When I worked in finance, I lived by the “money, money, money” mantra that supports that industry. I kept diluting myself and felt my happiness was reliant on the next big piece of my career schedule. “I’m sure I will be happy when I make more money. Or when I build this new business. Or when I make partner.” Well, when I did make partner at 27 years old, I realized I was just as miserable as I was before.
When my son got sick, I made the clearest decision of my life – to drop everything. This was my sign, and in that moment, I thought, “I have one shot to save my son. I can always make money later in life.”
That experience completely changed my perspective – it made me realize how precious life is. It stimulated the desire I had to create a business that would care for people and for our environment.
My advice would be this: if you feel a pull in your heart, by all means, pursue it. It’s not the easiest thing to do. I had to learn a lot of new things to build this business, but it has been a joy every day. Being a father, I wanted to be a role model for my kids. I wanted to teach them that you should never stay stuck in something because of someone else’s dreams or vision for you.
Emily: In what ways does Kharma Khare help communities to thrive?
Aseem [paraphrased]: We are broadly focused on the idea of care. For us, care is about community too. Bodhi Khare, our line natural body care products, stemmed from my desire to take part in a women’s initiative in Nepal. By integrating their skills into our process, we are able to make them economic agents. As economic agents, they have a voice in their households and protection over their children.
This is just one example of the community initiatives we are planning, but at the end of the day, we want people to feel good about buying our products. We want them to know they are contributing something back to the world community. With our Kharma Khare mats, you have a sense that you’re keeping a tire from being burned for crude energy or thrown into a landfill. With Bodhi Khare products, you know you’re helping rid abuse of young girls in a community where the odds are stacked against them.
Emily: What quote keeps you going through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship?
Aseem [paraphrased]:
“Don’t wait for the world to acknowledge your company’s brilliance. Be brilliant and let them catch up.”
I’ve never been one to lean on business books to learn more about my business. I’ve watched other people. I’ve learned from experience. What has worked for me is focusing on what I’m passionate about, learning what I’m good at, surrounding myself with good people, and applying those things to my business.
Emily: What are the best features of your Kharma Kare yoga mats?
Aseem [paraphrased]:
► The hybrid mat is like two mats in one, because you can use one side for Iyengar yoga and one side for Vinyasa.
► The more you sweat, the better the grip.
► Our exchange program is cost effective and eco-friendly – once you own a mat, you get all future mats at half price.
► Our mats provide excellent joint support.
► The non-slip grip is amazing, so no extra towel for the top of the mat is needed.
Emily: What is next for your company?
Aseem [paraphrased]: We intend to produce new products that address the entire experience of yoga – to approach the yoga practitioner on a holistic level. From yoga mats, the core of your experience, to mat straps, mat bags, aromatherapy, Epsom salts, massage oils, and mat cleaning wipes, we are working toward providing more ways to care for yourself and for your planet.
Ready to buy a Kharma Khare mat? They’re on sale here!
ABOUT ASEEM GIRI
Aseem Giri is the CEO of KharmaKhare, Inc, providers of yoga lifestyle products, including high performance yoga mats and a body care line. His prior experience includes private equity investing, Wall Street investment banking and managing companies. His passion for yoga was sparked in recent years and it gets fed every time he steps on a mat. His ambition is to provide products that enhance the experience of yoga across the full spectrum of one’s practice, pre- and post-activity.
©Emily Hudson, WorldLifestyle
