The Shakti Mat

With much luck, I was able to work (summer job 2008) for more or less four months in a pharmacy downtown. While attending to my tasks, I was able to learn a lot about the different medicines and health items here in Sweden. I guess it was during my second month there when a new health product was launched - the Shakti Mat.

It was a mat with a size of a pillow with hundreds of spikes on it (see photo of the spikes to your right). I was a bit hesitant at first if the item would sell as it looked so weird, painful and was a bit expensive.

Each mat has a size of 67x42 centimeters which costs between £40 to £70 depending on where you order it. It has a detachable foam mattress inside which will makes lying on it a bit comfortable and because it's detachable, you can easily clean the mat by hand washing it in lukewarm water. Anyway, each mat consists of 230 buttons of spikes (again, please refer to the photo to your right) wherein every button has 27 spikes each which therefore means that the mat has a total of 6,210 spikes. Doesn't sound friendly, right?

The idea behind the Shakti Mat being referred to as a health device is because the spikes are acupressure points which can help promote deep relaxation of the body.

Question is, have I tried it? Yes. There have been a couple of days during my stay there when customers can try the product to help them decide whether or not they will want to purchase one. Well, whenever there are not much people around, I get to lie down on the mat and try it myself!

It was a bit painful during the first few seconds as my body was adapting to it. But later on, I felt more relaxed and calmed. We sold lots of Shakti Mats which was a surprise actually. There were even some who came by the store and bought the mat as a present to their loved ones. Hmm... I am now wondering of purchasing one for me and my boyfriend and another one for my family back in the Philippines .

Before finally ending this post, here are some of the benefits according to our customers who have been using the Shakti Mat:

• reduced back, neck, shoulders, hips, joints and feet pains (If you are suffering from tired or achy feet, just step on the mat for a few minutes. You will slowly notice that the level of pain decreases.)
  
  

• improved blood circulation
  
  

• increased level of energy
  
  

• better breathing
  
  

• better sleep
  
  

• improved digestion
  
  

• calming, relaxing and rejuvenating effect on the body