I told my trainer the other day, "Hey, don't be messing with my sacred space." He looked at me like I was crazy, but I have come to think of my yoga mat as my personal sacred space.
I have three mat towels. Two are cheap ones I picked up at Target of all places. The other is a non-cheap yogi toes towel that is - somehow - not as beloved as the two cheap ones. It's pretty and it has little rubber nubies on the bottom, but I just don't like it as much.
The red/grey target mat towels have acquired a patina to them. There's grass from Amarillo, dirt from Taos, and dust from the home studio. (Yes I wash them, but those things are still there. In some form or fashion.)
When I visit a studio while traveling, I roll out one of the studio mats and place my travel-towel on top. Hey presto, sacred space!
I've only carried my actual sacred space, the manduka mat I've used for the past year, when I'm traveling specifically for yoga, a retreat or workshop. And, yes, I take it to class when I'm home in Nashville. But when I travel, I always bring along my trusty cheap yoga mat towel. It turns any spot on earth into your own personal sacred space.
Do you consider your mat to be a sacred space? Am I just crazy, as Joe suspects?