Handshake with nature - where wellness meets design blog by Mache
the wellness onion design journal

design a healthy + sustainable lifestyle, one layer at a time

Mache yoga mats, blocks, straps, and storage tubes arranged together, with a puppy amidst the products.

How to Use a Yoga Strap: 7 Poses for Beginners and Advanced Practitioners

Brienne Derosier

Discover how a yoga strap can improve reach, support, balance, and alignment with seven poses designed for every level of practice. From beginner-friendly stretches to advanced variations, learn how to use, choose, and care for a yoga strap as part of a more mindful practice.

Woman organizing rolled Mache yoga mats in a yoga studio, highlighting thoughtful mat storage and care.

Non-Toxic Yoga Mat: The Chemicals to Avoid and What to Buy Instead

Brienne Derosier

Explore what makes a yoga mat a more thoughtful choice, from PVC and additives to natural rubber, cork, and textile alternatives. Learn what to look for when choosing a mat that fits your practice, comfort, and values.

Woman using Mache eco-friendly cotton-covered yoga bolster to support her spine during a beginner-friendly reclined pose.

What Is a Yoga Bolster and How Do You Use It? A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Brienne Derosier

Discover how a yoga bolster can make your practice more comfortable, supportive, and approachable, whether you're just starting out or building a calming home routine. From beginner-friendly poses to choosing the right bolster and smart storage solutions, this guide helps you create a practice you'll look forward to every day.

Woman practicing yoga beside a black Mache Homi Yoga Block Wall Bracket with neatly stored eco-friendly yoga props and a yoga block.

How to Clean a Yoga Mat After Hot Yoga Without the Smell

Brienne Derosier

Hot yoga leaves your mat exposed to sweat and moisture, making proper cleaning and drying essential for preventing lingering odors. Discover simple, material-specific care tips, effective storage solutions, and easy habits that help keep your yoga mat fresh, clean, and ready for every practice.

Woman using Mache wall-mounted yoga storage with yoga blocks and an eco-friendly yoga mat for a zen yoga setup.

How to Design a Zen Den at Home: A Wellness Designer’s Room-by-Room Guide

Brienne Derosier

Your calmest space may already be hiding in an overlooked corner of your home. Discover simple, room-by-room ideas to create a restorative Zen Den that supports daily rituals, mindful movement, and a more intentional way of living.

Mache yoga storage tubes with yoga mats, cork blocks, and a strap arranged in a wellness-inspired setting with a puppy.

Best Yoga Mat Storage Ideas for Small Spaces: Tubes, Racks, and Wall Mounts

Brienne Derosier

A clutter-free practice starts with a home for your yoga mat. Discover stylish, space-saving storage ideas—from sleek tubes to wall-mounted racks-that keep your wellness essentials organized, accessible, and beautifully integrated into your home.

Affordable Mental Health Support Starts at Home: A Wellness Designer's Guide

Affordable Mental Health Support Starts at Home: A Wellness Designer's Guide

Brienne Derosier

I have spent my career at the intersection of design and wellness — and if there is one thing decades of designing homes, yoga studios, health clinics, and workplaces has taught me: your environment is not a backdrop to your mental health. It is an active participant in it. The spaces we inhabit are either quietly supporting our nervous systems or quietly depleting them. 

Why Bees Are the OG Wellness Practitioners — And What They Can Do for Your Health

Why Bees Are the OG Wellness Practitioners — And What They Can Do for Your Health

Brienne Derosier

The bee is not just a pollinator. It is a symbol, a healer, a builder, and one of the most intelligent collaborative systems on the planet. In this article, I nod to the millennia-long partnership between humans and bees and I share what I know — and what the science says — about why bees matter for our personal and planetary health.

How to Claim Your Own Wellness Corner in a Family Home

How to Claim Your Own Wellness Corner in a Family Home

Brienne Derosier

In a home shared with children, partners, pets, and everyone else's stuff — your wellness practice is usually the first thing to get crowded out. Discover how to carve out a dedicated wellness space in your family home — even without a spare room. Tips on exercise snacks, sunshine breaks, screen-free evenings, and yoga storage that protects your investment.

AI + Self Care: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Wellness, Yoga, + Everyday Health

AI + Self Care: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Wellness, Yoga, + Everyday Health

Brienne Derosier

AI is rapidly transforming self care, mental health, yoga, and fitness—pushing us toward hyper-personalized wellness while also raising big ethical and emotional questions. So let’s explore how AI and wellness intersect, and how you can design a self care plan that still feels deeply human.

Solo on Valentine’s Day? 5 Self Care Ideas to Make It a Day of True Self Love

Solo on Valentine’s Day? 5 Self Care Ideas to Make It a Day of True Self Love

Brienne Derosier

Every February, the world throws its full marketing budget at couples’ Valentine’s Day and even Galentine’s Day. Cute for them—but where’s the love letter to the single human who also has a heart, a nervous system, and a calendar? Review this powerful invitation to practice self love in a way that actually supports your health, wellness, and future self.

Lights, Camera, Declutter! Hollywood Teaches Us the Power of Organization

Lights, Camera, Declutter! Hollywood Teaches Us the Power of Organization

Brienne Derosier

Whether it’s a yoga studio, a classroom, or your personal home office, we all know that clutter is the enemy of calm. But don’t worry—Hollywood has been quietly showing us the way. From reality TV gurus to comedic elves in department stores, on-screen transformations teach us that storage and organization aren’t just functional—they’re transformational.

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Launching July 28

Ready to peel back the rest of your layers?

The Wellness Onion app turns your results into a personalized, layer-by-layer Lifestyle Detox plan — expert lessons, guided audits, and daily practices from Wellness Designer Brienne Derosier. Get on the list and be first inside when it opens.

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