Make Sure Its Long Enough
Your mat should be long enough for your entire body when you lie down in Savasana. If your legs are longer than the mat, the difference in temperature might make it difficult for you to relax. Standard yoga mats are about 68 inches long. If youre taller, make sure to get an extra long yoga mat. Extra wide mats are also available, so keep that mind if you need more space.
How To Choose The Best Quality Yoga Mat
Choosing a yoga mat that looks great, doesnt cost an absurd amount of money and keeps your bones cushioned from the floor requires a discerning eye. But unfortunately, theres no this is the mat for everyone yoga mat.
We all have different requirements and tastes and what works for me may not work for you. For that reason Ill tell you how we evaluate yoga mats so you can make your own decision and find the best mat for your needs.
How Much Do I Sweat
If you tend to sweat during your yoga practice, an ordinary yoga mat will not help you so much. You will probably need a sticky grippy yoga mat. You can look for natural rubber yoga mats or yoga mats layered with PU material. These yoga mats are known for their super sticky feature that prevents you from slipping during the Downward Dog or Warrior poses.
You can also consider buying a hot yoga towel to place on top of a regular yoga mat. However, it is not always convenient to bring both a yoga mat and yoga towel for every practice.
So instead of buying both yoga mat and yoga towel, you should probably consider investing in a high-quality natural rubber yoga mat that can solve your slipping problem.
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Buying Guide For Yoga Mats: How To Choose The Right One
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Why do you need a yoga mat?
- A yoga mat gives you your personal yoga space. If you are practising yoga in a public park, defining your space with the help of a mat prevents public intrusion in that area to let you do yoga without any disturbances.
- It is made up of anti-skid material. Thus, it will prevent you from slipping due to sweat leading to injuries while performing the yoga asanas.
- A yoga mat will always be your friend on a rainy morning. If it had rained all night and your lawn grass is wet, performing yoga on special yoga mats will let you continue your yoga without getting wet.
Types of yoga mats
- Sticky yoga mats
- Travel yoga mats
- Natural rubber yoga mats
- Jute yoga mat
- Cotton yoga mat
Image Source: Pexels.comThings to consider while buying a yoga mat?Types of yoga mats with price & features
| Type of yoga mat |
Testing Out Yoga Mats
In addition to checking a yoga mats cushioning and traction and how it feels underfoot, consider that some styles of yoga, such as Bikram yoga, also dictate what type of yoga mat is most safe and effective. “Hot yoga entails a lot of sweating,” says Murty. “Therefore, cotton yoga rugs are generally used in place of the latex mats.”
Once you buy a yoga mat, the next test is to see if its a good fit for you. Sometimes thats a matter of trial and error since not all yoga mat materials have the same “feel.”
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Consider The Best Thickness That Will Protect Your Joints
Your joint health also determines the yoga or Pilates mat you need to choose.
- If you need extra cushioning and your mat is too thin, fold it under your knees or wrists when youre in a more challenging pose so that your joints are protected and you dont suffer from any pain during or after practice
- Some mats have an extra layer of material inside them to give you that extra joint protection, such as an inner layer of antibacterial cottonthats there to for added comfort as well as to keep your mat hygienic for longer.
The above should cover you perfectly unless you have a health condition, are working out with an injury or are pregnant. Ask your yoga teacher or even your physician to make sure, especially if you are practicing with swollen ankles, sensitive joints or have certain pain points that you are trying to protect while working out. Its always best to practice extra care as there is not a one-size-fits-all in terms of yoga or Pilates gear so make sure you pick whats best for yourself.
How Much Of An Advanced Yogi Are You
If you are an advanced Yogi then you are likely to be comfortable with holding poses in most environments . But for most of us who are either beginners, intermediate or accustomed to a certain standard of comfort when practicing, a yoga mat thats too thick is just not acceptable neither is one that is too thin. When your hands and feet start to sink into the surface of your mat youll know its too thick for sure. Also, most likely a 4mm mat, which is just the optimal thickness for most of us, can give you the support you need to enjoy your practice and progress to the next level or workout goal.
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What Should I Look For When Buying A Yoga Mat
Jazzy patterns catch the eye, but put them aside and youre left with four simple criteria:
Grip: This applies to both the top and underside of the mat. Its impossible to enjoy a relaxing yoga session when you cant plant your hands in downward dog without slipping. Consider mats made from sticky materials, such as rubber, or those with a non-slip coating. Your mat should lie flat on any surface, from carpet to tiles, and provide the most stable base possible.
Support: Look for a mat thats thick enough to protect your spine from hard floors but not so cushioned that your limbs will sink into it, throwing you off balance. Mats that are between 4mm and 6mm thick tend to be just right.
Durability: Your yoga mat wont have to withstand intense HIIT workouts or dropped dumbbells , but it should emerge unscathed from dynamic practice, without any rips or dents.
Portability: A mat with great get-up-and-go credentials can be a great yoga companion if youre a fan of an al fresco session. Look for thinner mats that roll up easily and have a carry strap if you prefer Pilates in the park to flows in your front room.
On our quest to find the best yoga mats, we also considered sustainability, style and any original features before naming our favourites.
Yoga Mat Materials And Durability
When selecting the material for your yoga mat, you can choose anything from inexpensive PVC to environmentally friendly natural rubber. Which material you choose will affect the mats price, weight, grip and durability. Generally, thicker mats last longer than thinner mats. That said, mat durability is also related to the material the mat is made from.
PVC is a plastic-based material that is highly durable, easy to clean and offers excellent floor grip. However, PVC mats are non-absorbent and can become slippery when you sweat heavily. PVC is latex-free, a benefit to those with latex allergies, however, it is not biodegradable or as environmentally friendly as other options.
TPE is a man-made blend, usually of plastic and rubber polymers. TPE mats may be more environmentally friendly than PVC, and some are fully recyclable. TPE mats are generally less durable than PVC mats of the same thickness, but still deliver good traction.
Eco / naturalmats come from a variety of sources, including natural rubber, organic cotton, and jute. Compared to other options, eco mats are slightly less grippy on the floor, but their natural texture provides traction for your body. Eco mats lack the decade-long durability of PVC, yet they top the list if sustainability is your priority.
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Whats The Standard Size Of A Yoga Mat
The standard size of a yoga mat is 68 inches long and 24 inches wide.
The normal thickness of a yoga mat is 4-5 mm. Thats about 3/16ths of an inch.
How does that translate to your height is the real question here. A standard 68 inch mat should be okay for someone who is five foot eight inches right?
Its not always that simple though
This is where a lot of first-time yoga mat buyers go wrong in the process. First, we consider how tall we are. Then as long as we are not taller than the yoga mat we think, This will work! So we buy the mat and regret our decision later.
Or worse yet, perhaps youre almost six feet tall and the clerk tells you, its just the standard size so youll be fine.
Lets talk more about finding whats best for your height.
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How To Choose A Yoga Mat Size
The size of your mat is all about what works best for your body and your yoga. Typically, mat dimensions are 68 x 24 inches, which works well for most students. If youre on the tall side, a 72 or 74-inch long mat might work better for you. You can also purchase extra-wide mats if you prefer more space.
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The Best Yoga Mat 2021
The best yoga mat right now is the Liforme Yoga Mat. Made from natural rubber with a unique eco-friendly polyurethane topper, it delivers outstanding grip straight out of the box, even when tackling the sweatiest hot yoga class. There are a series of marking on the top that are incredibly helpful in keeping you correctly aligned in your poses. They look a little abstract to begin with, but as you start your practice you’ll quickly see when and where different body parts are meant to line up. These are marked out with a textured finish, so they won’t rub off like printed markings, either. Compared to standard yoga mats, you’re getting a bit of extra width and length to give you plenty of room to move through your poses. We think the thickness is ideal: enough to keep bony bits comfortably off the hand ground, but not so much as to send you wobbling around in balance poses.
So what are the down-sides? Well, it’s at the top end of the market in terms of price. Like many rubber mats, it marks a bit with your sweat. And also because it’s rubber, it’s on the heavy side. A sturdy, zip-up carrier comes bundled in, which makes toting it around easier , but if you’re going to be travelling around with your mat a lot, you might be better going for lighter PVC. Head to our Liforme Yoga Mat review for more.
Why Do You Even Need One
The simplest reason is that unrolling your yoga mat subconsciously prepares you for meditation or aerobics. It helps you understand the gravity of the situation, and can help you settle down with the idea that you should calm down and let the Supreme Power help you with some tranquility.
A more scientific reason to go with the best quality of yoga mat is to know that meditation is a time- and resource-intensive exercise. It helps you produce and store positive electric charge in your body. Insulation of charges and offering a fatigue-free experience are summarily two crucial reasons for using such tailor-made mats.
Did you know? If you would not use proper insulation, you could lose all that advantage to Earth which is theoretically assigned a voltage of Zero. So it would suck up all the positive charge of yours to bring you down to zero again, thus leading you depleted of energy and feeling tired.
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Best Yoga Mats For Bad Knees To Protect Your Joints
Do your cat-cows in comfort!
As we get older, its important to keep ourselves active, even if that means embracing lower-impact exercises, rather than the heavy-duty training we might have done in our younger years. Yoga is an exercise thats known to have massive health benefits, but if you have bad knees, some of the poses may seem nearly impossible. Luckily, there are many ways to lessen the stress you put on your knees during yoga, beginning with the best yoga mats for bad knees.
What Is The Standard Size For A Yoga Mat
I recommend that you purchase a yoga mat that suits your body type and size. As you see in this article, yoga mats come in a wide selection of styles, colors, thicknesses, materials, and lengths.
While there are no fixed measurements set by yoga professionals, the standard size for a yoga mat is 68 inches long and 24 inches wide.
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The Pros And Cons Of Thick Mats
Just as with thin mats, thick mats also provide a series of advantages and disadvantages that every yogi should know about before purchasing one:
- Because of the extra padding that thick mats offer, they are a better choice for people who have different medical conditions or to those who often experience pains and aches.
- Those who practice outdoor yoga will also benefit greatly from the extra cushioning provided by thicker mats, especially if the ground is not leveled or is filled with debris.
- One of the first disadvantages of buying and using a thick yoga rug is the fact that you might not get enough contact with the ground. This could stand in the way of more complicated poses, as the extra thickness prevents proper balance.
- Needless to say, thicker yoga mats are heavier and bulkier, making them more difficult to carry around.
The Best Yoga Mat For Bikram Yoga
Yoga is all about enjoyment and relaxation, but when you sit on a mat so thin that you can feel your ankles digging into the floor below, it’s hard to focus on your breath, much less relax. Selecting the right yoga mat depends on a few factors, and once you have the ideal thickness of mat, you’ll be able to more easily focus on the teacher’s instructions.
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How Long Is A Yoga Mat Good For
You can expect it to last about 9 to 12 months before it begins to smell funny. That is if you bought a cheaper $10 to $20 mat.
More expensive mats will typically last much longer. Even upward of 5 years depending on how often you use them.
All of this typically depends on the materials that are used.
What Our Editors Say
âThis mat has been my go-to for over a decade, and while I donât specifically practice hot yoga, I can really work up a sweat in vinyasa classes. Itâs easy to clean and the weight makes it easy to carry around the city. Plus, Jade plants a tree for every mat sold!â Nicole Kwan, Editorial Director, Verywell Health
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No chemical smell or harsh odor
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Easy to tote around
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Edges remain slightly curled after unrolling
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Stains more easily than other options
While most rubber yoga mats can be a pain to lug around, the IUGA Pro mat weighs only 2.5 pounds while still providing 5-millimeter-thick cushioning. Made from sustainably harvested tree rubber, the eco-friendly yoga mat is both PVC-free and latex-free, and it doesnât have that unpleasant chemical odor that many other mats do.
The matâs polyurethane top layer provides excellent traction and grip along with sweat absorption for a slip-free yoga session. Meanwhile, the textured bottom adheres to any surface, keeping you safe and secured. The IUGA Pro Non-Slip Yoga Mat includes a carrying strap and comes in five fun and classic colors.
Thickness: 5 mm | Material: Sustainably harvested tree rubber | Size: 72 x 26 in | Weight: 2.5 lbs | Style: Closed-cell
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The Comprehensive Yoga Mat Guide
No matter where you are in your yogic journey, a great matcan help ease the way. We’ve identified the top characteristics every yogineeds to consider before making the all important purchase.
Before we dive deep, a word of caution. We have foundthroughout years of our own practice, that the most important thing to listen towhen purchasing a yoga mat is your own body. It will be the first to tell youwhat it needs to succeed, whether it be more cushion for achy knees or evenless if you can’t retain balance during specific asanas.
Properties Of Mat Materials
Each yoga mat material has some pros and cons that make it easier for a beginner to choose a good yoga mat from multiple options available in the market. Checkpoints of mat material include stickiness, durability, thickness, texture, absorption, cell construction of a yoga mat, and the traction it provides in stretching postures. Above all that, you should keep in mind whether or not mat material is friendly for the environment.
While selecting a yoga mat, keep the following properties of mat material in mind.
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