Fifteen years ago there was only one basic type of mat - made of PVC and noted for its stickiness - and your only choice was whether to buy purple or blue. Now there's a yoga mat to suit every priority and preference.
Beyond a colour and pattern that make your heart go pitter-patter, your yoga mat needs to keep you stable in your poses; and it needs to be storable and portable, yet comfy and cushy. You may also want your mat to be environmentally friendly. These aspects of your mat's personality are all affected by how the mat is made: how thick it is, what it's made of, and its surface texture.
Use this guide to help you find a yoga mat you can be blissfully happy with - one that suits your practice, priorities, lifestyle, values and budget.
1. Thickness
Why it's important: The thickness of your yoga mat has a lot to do with how comfortable it is - too thin, and your knee may get banged up during crescent lunge. The tradeoff is that thick mats (some as thick as more than 6 mm) can make it harder for you to feel a strong connection to the floor, making you more wobbly in tree pose, for example.
Options: A standard mat is about 3 mm thick, while the tickest swells up to 6 mm. There are also wafer thin mats, often billed as "travel mats", that are a mere 1.5 mm thick. They fold easily and dont weigh much, making them a cinch to fit in a suitcase.
Basic buying guide: Consider how much room you have to stow your mat, how important portability is, and where your sweet spot is on comfort versus being able to feel a direct connection with the floor. If you're short on storage space, have a long shlep to the studio, and like the feel of a little padding, opt for a standard 3 mm mat.
If you dont mind carrying and storing a little more heft for the sake of cushioning, consider a premium mat that about 6 mm thick.
2. Material
Why it's important: The material of your mat is made of dictates its texture, stickiness, eco-friendliness and sponginess (how much it yields to pressure), and how it wears over time.
Options: Most standard mats are made of 6P Free PVC. (Click here to find out more about 6P Free PVC). Newer and even more earth friendly options included natural and recycled rubber, jute, and organic or natural cotton (which means the fabric is not treated with synthetic finishes during manufacturing).
Basic buying guide: If you're allergic to latex, avoid mats made of natural rubber. If you want to stick with the tried and true sticky mat, choose a mat made of 6P Free PVC, which can endure your use and abuse for more than a decade. Sponginess can vary widely with different blends of materials, but in general, PVC has the most "give" of any yoga mat material; jute and cotton have the least.
Beyond these fundamentals, read on and let your other priorities - texture, stickiness and eco friendliness - be your guide.
3. Texture
Why it's important: The texture of your mat dictates how much traction it provides. Like stickiness, texture affects how much slipping and sliding you do. It provides physical barriers to sliding (whereas stickiness relies on suction). And because texture affects the way a mat feels, it's also a component of everyday comfort.
If you're a Princess and the Pea type, any bumby texture will likely aggravate you in savasana. Texture can be either man made (a pattern of raised bumps, for example) or dictated by the materials - jute mats have an organic roughness to them, while PVC mats, though slightly textured, have a softer feel.
Options: There's a yoga mat texture to suit every whim - from completely smooth to downright rough.
Basic buying guide: If you're looking for a mat that prevents slipping and you'd like to avoid PVC mats, look for a rubber, jute or cotton mat that has a raised, tactile pattern. The added grip the raised texture provides can help you stay put no matter how sweaty or vigorous your practice gets.
If smoothness is of prime importance to you, a PVC mat is the way to go. And if you relish stickiness but are curious about the newer, more earth-friendly options, test drive a few before you buy. Some eco-friendly mats may suprise you with how much traction they provide even though they don't have the traditional "sticky" feel.
4. Stickiness
Why it's important: A sticky mat keeps you from sliding all over the place and helps you maintain your alignment as you move from one pose to another, as well as when you hold poses for several seconds.
Options: PVC mats have the highest sticky factor.
Basic buying guide: If you need help staying put in your poses but you bristle at the thought of practising on a mat with raised texture, a PVC mat is probably your best bet. Just remember that these mats are only sticky when they are clen. If you buy a PVC mat, wash it before your use it and again whenever you notice your hands sliding forward in downward dog.
5. Eco-friendliness
Why it's important: As yogi's, we hold dear the tenet of ahimsa, or non-violence. That makes practising on a mat that will ultimately end up clogging landfill for decades to come troublesome.
Options: Earth-friendly yoga mats are typically made from natural or recycled rubber. These mats may also include natural materials, such as jute or organic cotton.
Basic buying guide: If eco-friendliness is important to you, avoid mats made from non phalate free PVC. (Click here for more information on Gaiam's 6P Free Yoga Mat) Rubber, jute and cotton mats, while available in a range of thicknesses, tend to be thicker and slicker than PVC mats. You can get a mat that's eco friendly, has a thickness that meets your needs for comfort and portability, and has a texture that prevents slippage.
6. Price range
Typically, a basic 3 mm thick, plain solid colour PVC sticky mat will be toward the low end of the price range. From there you pay more for patterns, designs or logos; premium thickness, antimicrobial treatments; and cool textures, especially raised tactile patterns. Eco-friendly mats tend to be toward the high end of the price range.
- Article by Kate Hanley
