An Aerospace Engineer Who Went To Madagascar

It started on a handwoven mat

At the end of 2019 Maysun Hassanaly took a break from a career in aerospace engineering and went to Madagascar, where she was born. She practised yoga there with her favourite teacher on traditional Malagasy handwoven mats, and found she rather preferred it to the PVC she had been rolling out in London. She trained as a yoga teacher in India, came back to a city in lockdown, and launched Ladina Yoga in April 2021.

Made by the people whose designs they are

The mats, bolsters, blocks, bags and meditation cushions are designed with African artists and made in Madagascar. Natural rubber rather than PVC, with the grip that comes with it. Colours that are frankly the opposite of the beige most yoga equipment settles for, which on a February morning in Britain counts for something.

A family of four, across two countries

Maysun runs it. Her mother Sahira handles the logistics. The artists Laurea and Olivier manage the making in Madagascar. Four people, two countries, one brand.

A tree per mat

For every mat sold, Ladina plant a mangrove in Madagascar through a reforestation initiative that also teaches sustainable farming locally, which is the part that makes it last beyond the planting. Madagascar is among the most deforested countries in the world.

Find them here

Have a browse through The Yoga Room, our Sport collection, the Women-Led edit, or our other family-owned brands.