Yoga Mats

So you thought yoga mats were yoga mats.  You buy one, you tie yourself in knots, you get fit – right?  Wrong, unfortunately.  Buy the wrong yoga mats for the discipline or disciplines you are practising and you’ll tie yourself in knots for real and permanently.  Buying the correct yoga mats for one’s discipline is as important as getting the right tires for a car, or the right kit for all-terrain running.  You wouldn’t go on a cross-country marathon in plimsolls and you wouldn’t drive up the M6 on wet-weather F1 tires – you can’t do Ashtanga or Bikram Yoga on slippery yoga mats.

The thing about “yoga” is that the word encompasses a universe of different styles, aims and practices.  Ashtanga and Bikram, for example, are speed-reliant “heavy” forms of yoga that aim to promote strength by a form of repetitive yogic cross training:  as such, the yoga mats they require must be well padded (to cushion against impact caused by rapid changing of poses) and non slip (to prevent the mat from sliding out from underneath one at the wrong moment).  However – yoga mats suitable for Bikram and Ashtanga also have to balance cushioning with resistance (you can’t do fast pose changes on something that feels like a water bed): so, although yoga mats suitable for the two intense yoga disciplines have to have some cushioning, they can’t have too much.

An Iyengar yoga practitioner, completely conversely to those who practice Bikram or Ashtanga, must remain stationary for extended periods of time.  Thinner yoga mats are better for the Iyengar practitioner, because the thin barrier between body and floor doesn’t prevent sensory messages from getting through:  messages about the body’s exact position.  Iyengar yoga attempts to achieve perfect body alignment through the repeated holding of positions:  yoga mats that are too thick don’t let the body notice the small pains that poor alignment, in tandem with a long position, would produce. 

Novice yoga practitioners, or people who are going in for the more vigorous yoga styles, will want to consider the physical effect the exercise is going to have on them, as well as the ways in which their yoga mats will cushion or stabilise them.  Yoga, like any exercise, makes the body sweat:  which means that most yoga mats should be covered in an easy clean surface.  The surface of yoga mats should also retain grip on feet and limbs despite being sweat-coated.  Think about smell, too – spending a little more money on pro-quality yoga mats might seem painful in the short term but it’s a lot kinder on the nose after a few months’ training!

Yoga mats are tools, same as any piece of sports equipment.  When buying, remember the golden rule – yoga mats, like anything else, need their use to be matched to their purpose.  Buying the wrong yoga mats isn’t just a waste of money – it can lead to injury, which is a waste of health.