Cherie Greenwald received a call about a month ago that would give her the opportunity to reach out to a new group of yogis.
“It was a company in LA that plans parties for small up and coming businesses,” said Greenwald, owner of NamaSTAY yoga towels.
The call was to to invite NamaSTAY yoga towels to the Emmy’s pre-party gifting suite Sept. 21.
“This is such an honor and opportunity,” Greenwald said about her 2-year-old business’ invitation to the gifting suite. “I think it would be so cool to meet someone like Jennifer Aniston, whose an avid yogi.”
Greenwald, a resident of Shaker Heights, said she and Bonnie Krohngold, NamaSTAY’s director of sales, will have a booth at the gifting suite where celebrities can buy and endorse her NamaSTAY yoga towel, which has a no-slip guarantee because of the towel’s sleeves that securely wrap around both ends of the yoga mat to provide protection from slippage due to sweaty hands and feet.
“Our job is to get the celebrity to basically have their picture taken with us and the towels so we can put it out and they Facebook, Instagram or Tweet us to give us a shout out,” said Krohngold, a resident of Orange. “It’s going to turn a small business into a large, successful business– that’s my goal. I think it will change our lives.”
Greenwald launched her yoga towels in 2010 and now sells them in Canada, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom and around the U.S. In Cleveland, her yoga towels can be found at Bikram Yoga Cleveland in Shaker Heights, Chagrin Yoga in Chagrin Falls and Cleveland Yoga in Beachwood.
Greenwald came up with the idea after slipping, sliding and falling on her yoga mat while trying to hold key poses during her power vinyasa class at Cleveland Yoga.
“I was going to hot yoga class and found myself slipping on my yoga mat and witnessed yogis around me falling on their towels,” she said. “They were constantly distracted making sure they didn’t fall so they could form their yoga poses.”
The towel, made out of plush microfiber, received a patent about a year ago. Greenwald said she sees her creation of NamaSTAY yoga towels as a way she can give back to the yoga community.
“It’s the most fabulous thing that has happened to me,” she said. “It makes you more centered and focused and feel together. It changed my life, and that’s why I like to give back to those who practice and be able to help them be more comfortable during yoga.”