How to Care for Your Yoga Pillows: How to Keep Your Meditation Pillows and Bolsters with Organic Spelt Hulls Looking Great for a Long Time

A good yoga pillow will be with you for many years—through meditation, peaceful yoga sessions, little breaks here and there—and all those moments when it’s just nice to have it there.

It doesn't take much care to keep a meditation cushion or yoga bolster looking nice, clean, and comfortable to use for a long time. However, there are a few things that are definitely worth keeping in mind when it comes to a natural filling made of organic spelt husks.

How do you wash a yoga pillow properly? Can you wash spelt husks? How often should the filling be aired out? And when is it time to refill or replace the spelt husks?

In this care guide, you'll find the most important information about caring for yoga cushions, meditation cushions, and bolsters filled with spelt husks.

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Why Spelt is a Special Filling

Spelt husks are the hard shells that surround the spelt grain. After the grain has been processed, they can be cleaned and used as natural filling for meditation pillows and other seating and yoga cushions.

What makes it special is that the individual husks are lightweight yet retain their shape. They move against one another, allowing the pillow to conform to the body without losing its supportive properties.

A meditation cushion helps stabilize your sitting position comfortably. A yoga bolster provides a firm yet adaptable surface for restorative poses, Yin Yoga, or final relaxation.

However, since spelt husks are a purely natural material, caring for them differs from that of synthetic fillers.

The most important rule here is:

Spelt husks like air—but not moisture.

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Can you wash a yoga pillow filled with spelt husks?

Yes—but not the entire stuffed pillow.

In a high-quality yoga pillow, the outer cover, inner lining, and filling are separate. This allows the fabric components to be cleaned while keeping the spelt husks dry.

That's why our Manna Yoga pillows consist of a removable outer cover and a separate inner cover with a zipper.

In most cases, washing the outer cover is enough to remove dust and surface stains.

If you'd like to wash the inner cover as well, be sure to remove all of the spelt husk filling first. Afterward, you can wash the outer cover and the empty inner cover according to their respective care instructions.

The spelt husks themselves are not washed.

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How to Wash Your Meditation Pillow or Yoga Bolster

For a more thorough cleaning, it's best to follow these step-by-step instructions:

1. Remove the outer cover

Open the cover and remove the filled inner cover.

2. Remove the spelt husks from the bag

If you'd like to wash the inner cover as well, open its zipper and carefully transfer the hulls to a large, dry container or bag.

Here's a little tip from real-world experience: Choose a spot that's as sheltered from the wind as possible and use a container with a wide opening. Otherwise, the light husks will scatter surprisingly quickly.

3. Wash the duvet cover and the empty duvet insert

For Manna Yoga, the outer cover and the emptied inner pillow can be washed on the delicate cycle at 30 °C.

For yoga cushions from other manufacturers, you should always follow the instructions on the care label, as fabrics and construction may vary.

4. Let everything dry completely

This step is especially important. Both the cover and the inner lining must be completely dry before refilling the spelt husks.

5. Pour the spelt husks back in

Once the pillowcase is completely dry, you can put the filling back in (using a homemade funnel made of cardboard, if necessary), close the zipper, and reassemble the pillow.

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How often should you wash a yoga pillow?

There is no set schedule for this.

How often a yoga cushion should be cleaned depends on how intensively it is used. A meditation cushion that you sit on every day is subjected to different wear and tear than a bolster that is used only occasionally for restorative yoga.

The big advantage of a removable cover: Often, it's enough to just wash the outer cover.

The inner cover needs to be washed much less frequently—or not at all—since it rarely comes into direct contact with skin or clothing during normal use.

Small stains on the cover can often be carefully spot-cleaned—depending on the fabric. This helps you avoid unnecessary washes and preserves the fabric and colors.

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Do you need to air out spelt?

Spelt husks do not require constant maintenance. However, it is a good idea to air them out occasionally if the pillow is filled with natural material—especially if the pillow is used frequently or has been stored for an extended period of time.

To do this, you can simply place the pillow in a dry, well-ventilated area for now.

For more thorough airing, remove the filled inner cover from the outer cover while airing it out; this allows more air to reach the spelt husks.

If moisture gets on the spelt husks, you can remove the filling from the cover using the zipper and spread it out loosely or air it out in an open, sufficiently large container.

What matters most is not so much a specific interval as how moisture is handled:

Spelt husks should always be kept dry and allowed to air out properly.

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Can spelt be left in the sun?

Fresh air and a dry spot are ideal for spelt.

For occasional airing out, the filling can also be placed in a bright, dry location. Above all, it is important that it not be exposed to moisture.

However, you should avoid exposing the fabric cover itself to intense direct sunlight for extended periods of time. Natural and vibrant fabric colors, in particular, can fade over time due to UV light.

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What should you do if your yoga pillow gets damp?

If only the outer cover has gotten a little damp, it's best to remove it and let it dry completely.

If moisture has penetrated the filling, you should remove the spelt husks from the cover and spread them out generously in a dry, well-ventilated place.

Don't use the filling again until you're sure it's completely dry.

If the pillow was heavily soaked, or if the filling smells unusual or musty after drying, it's safer to replace the spelt husks.

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Can spelt husks get moldy?

Yes. As with other natural materials, mold can develop under persistently unfavorable conditions.

However, that doesn't mean spelt pillows are delicate. When used normally in dry indoor environments, caring for them is absolutely straightforward.

The main problem is persistent moisture —for example, when a damp pillow is stored in a closed container for an extended period of time, or when the filling has not been able to dry completely after coming into contact with water.

Therefore, be sure to use it when dry, air it out occasionally, and refill it with spelt husks only after the fabric parts have dried completely.

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Why does a spelt and wheat pillow flatten over time?

It's completely normal for a meditation cushion or yoga bolster to lose some of its volume after prolonged use.

Due to regular use and movement, the husks become more compact over time and may partially wear away after months or years. As a result, the pillow feels flatter or less plump than it did at first.

That's no reason to replace the entire yoga pillow.

A zippered cover makes it easy to refill with organic spelt husks.

At Manna Yoga, this philosophy is part of our commitment to the longevity of our pillows: If your pillow loses some of its volume over time, we’ll refill it once for free with organic spelt husks.

This way, your pillow can continue to be used for many years—without having to replace it just because its natural filling changes over time.

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How much spelt husk should you add?

That depends less on a specific amount than on how you personally feel about it.

With a meditation cushion, for example, the amount of filling affects the seat height and firmness. A more heavily filled cushion is taller and more compact, while a slightly less filled cushion conforms more to the body.

With a yoga bolster, too, the amount of spelt husks affects how it feels when you lie on it.

So it's best to add small amounts gradually and check the pillow as you go.

By the way, this also works the other way around: If your meditation cushion is too high or your bolster is too firm, you can simply remove some of the filling from a zippered cover.

This allows you to customize the pillow to suit your personal yoga practice and your body.

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When should spelt be completely replaced?

There is no general expiration date for spelt filling.

As long as the husks are dry and the pillow serves its intended purpose, they do not need to be replaced.

A complete replacement may be advisable if, for example, the filling:

• has come into contact with excessive moisture and could not be dried reliably,
• shows visible signs of moisture damage,
• or has deteriorated so much after very long and intensive use that refilling alone no longer seems practical.

In this case, too, there’s no need to replace the entire yoga pillow. At Manna Yoga, we can replace the existing filling entirely with fresh organic spelt husks upon request for an additional fee.

For us, this is an important part of creating a long-lasting product: As many components as possible should be maintainable, renewable, or replaceable so that the pillow itself will last for many years.

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How do you store a yoga pillow properly?

In everyday life, a yoga pillow doesn't need a special place to be stored.

It’s best to keep it standing or lying where you use it regularly—in the yoga studio, next to your mat, or at your personal meditation spot.

However, if you're storing your meditation cushion or bolster for an extended period, make sure the location is dry and, ideally, well-ventilated.

Damp basements, plastic containers that are kept closed at all times, or other places where moisture can accumulate are less suitable for natural spelt husk filling.

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The Most Important Care Tips at a Glance

A yoga pillow filled with spelt husks requires surprisingly little maintenance. The key is, above all, to be mindful of moisture and to be able to separate the individual components from one another.

In a nutshell:

• Do not wash the spelt husks.
• Always keep the filling dry.
• Air out the pillow or its filling from time to time.
• Wash the removable outer cover as needed.
• Before washing the insert, remove all the spelt husks.
• Allow the cover and inner lining to dry completely before refilling the pillow.
• If the pillow loses volume, refill it with spelt husks instead of replacing the entire pillow.
• For long-term storage, choose a dry, well-ventilated place.

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Proper care is part of a product's longevity

For us, sustainability doesn't just start with choosing natural materials. It's also reflected in how long a product can be used.

That's why our meditation cushions and yoga bolsters are designed so that the outer cover, inner lining, and filling can be separated. The cover can be washed, and the natural filling can be aired out, removed, or refilled.

Our pillows are filled with organic spelt husks from South Tyrol —a natural material that combines stability and adaptability and is particularly well-suited for meditation, Yin Yoga, and Restorative Yoga.

And because even natural fillings can change over the years, we continue to support our pillows long after your purchase: We’ll refill your Manna Yoga pillow with organic spelt husks once, free of charge, if needed. If at any point it makes sense to completely replace the filling, we’ll also provide this service upon request for an additional fee.

A good yoga pillow doesn't need to be replaced just because some of its components need care or change over time.

It’s here to stay—as a trusted companion for your practice and for many moments of tranquility.