Nader Sabry first set up his online retail company, Timez5, to tend to the health and wellness needs of Muslims’ lifestyle; little did he know he would end up creating the world’s first physiological prayer mat. Five years since his company’s establishment, Sabry talks about his firm’s “Physio-Spiritual experience” philosophy and why non-Muslims are also in his target market.

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What exactly is the world’s first physiological prayer mat? How does it work?

It’s a NASA Space Certified technology product. We used space technology through 5 years of research and development to develop this product.

The [mat] works because it solves three basic problems: it reduces pain, improves posture support, and increases energy when praying or meditating. It has a five-layer system, and the five-layer system works to achieve those three benefits.

What is the science behind the 5 layers? How do they work to achieve those three benefits?

The 5 layers are designed so that the upper half does something called weight absorption, and the bottom layer does what is called weight burn. They actually do the complete opposite of each other. And they’re managed by a weight transfer grid, which is in the middle, which allows the ratio between absorption and burning to respond to the individual body weight, posture, and position.

The bottom [layer] uses an anti-slip grip, which doesn’t allow the product to move, preventing any slippage or injury. And the top uses what’s called a chromogenic technology.

Can you briefly explain what Chromogenic technology is?

Chromogenic technology is our Space Certified technology, which is currently also being tested on the international space station on its antimicrobial capabilities. So what it does is its nanotechnology built into the fabric of the surface. It basically kills and disinfects against microbes, so fungus, bacteria, other types of germs that potentially can grow on the mat or the individual’s skin while he’s using the product. Not only that, but it also protects the respiratory system, which is actually more important.

Why and how is that more important?

So several people will have their mats sitting around for periods of time. It collects dust, or if they’re buying cheap counterfeit mats with sponges or foams in the middle, they grow dust mites that end up going in the fabric. Initially, you start inhaling them, and it goes into your respiratory system, and in some cases, it can reach a point where you can get a case of asthma.

So it’s a hygienic surface that protects the individual’s respiratory system [as well].

Where did the idea of a physiological mat come from? Where did it all start from?

About eight years ago, we started five years of research and development, where we looked at particular types of sciences—the result of all that is a science that we created called Muslim Physiology.

The reason we called it is that there are three sciences that we specialize in. One is ergonomics, the other is physiology itself, and the other is biomechanics.

What we did through clinical tests is we discovered that those who meditate frequently, and when we say meditate, meditate meaning across the board. So whether you’re doing a formal praying process or doing your own creative or a different type of meditation method, the point is that your body is doing meditation. So when we looked across the board of the kinds of people who perform the properly prescribed meditation, the biomechanics and the physiology was different than those who do not do meditation.

How was it different?

It’s different in many ways: things like flexibility, blood flow, energy levels. For example, in certain positions, like the prostration position, it allows an energy discharge in the body. When that energy discharge takes place and [awakens] our energy fields in the body, we align. So if you do that 5 times a day, your body is recharging and refreshing itself frequently.

Or for example, when you bow or bend forward, so in Japanese culture, they also bow, and they were also doing research on why the bow had been created. And they had learned, through the same science in which we were researching, that it allows for blood to flow in the upper body in a way that it moves forward and back. It gives a way of refreshing the energy in the body. By doing these activities daily, many people do these activities daily without even knowing the science behind it and how beneficial it is to them. We learned a lot about what are some challenges that come with it. And that’s the science we use to develop this product.

Who would you say is your target market? Is it only Muslims? Why or why not?

We primarily look at Muslim markets, [but] we have many non-Muslim customers around the world. And we have a lot of non-Muslim customers because they have the same problem.

So, whether they have a formal or informal meditation process, they also suffer the same problems. They have back problems, knee problems, and physiological issues that prevent or make the meditation process more complicated or more difficult.

So they’re looking for solutions as well. So we’re an interface product. We do stretch across many different faiths. Even people who don’t have faith who are involved in their own meditation process also face the same challenges.

Can you give an example of a non-Muslim customer and how your product has helped them? You mentioned earlier that you had received a purchase from Ukraine, from a church.

Yes, he was one of our very early customers, who we learned a lot from. We always follow up with as many of our customers as possible, so we got to know the customer. He shared an interesting story with us where he uses a Timez5 mat at his church because it’s made of hardwood floors, and they have their own meditation process. So this is why he bought it.

So he was telling me, ‘I’ve never seen a Muslim technology impact my life daily.’ And we found that to be really profound in a sense that here it is, it’s a technology that’s coming from a world that’s actually shaken the world of technology in many ways, but is not visible in today’s world.

You currently only sell the prayer mat. Do you have plans to create new products using the same or different technologies?

We have several products in the pipeline that we are working on that relate to a physio spiritual experience. Our brand is all built around a physio spiritual experience, which is a positive physical and spiritual experience combined.

The three sciences I mentioned to you that we do in our research and development all lead to products and services that relate to helping enhance people through their physical and spiritual experiences regardless of what kind they are.

We’re launching something caller the prayer capsule. It’s a unique product inspired by some of our customers who have their own spiritual spaces at home. And they wanted to enhance their spiritual space at home and make it more special, and have better forms of energy in that specific space.