Cheap yoga mats...What you need to know before you buy one!
Cheap yoga mats, the most widely searched mat related word on the internet. They are a child of Dr. Frankenstien, toxic chemicals molded in huge waffle irons, not exactly the best way to find your inner peace. It is understandable that new students to yoga want to seek out an affordable option, until they decide if they are interested in yoga enough to even seek out a good mat. Yoga poses need a good foundation and a strong practice develops as you can focus on letting go, not staying on the mat. I am guilty of it too, I went to a local big box retailer and picked up a mat for $22.00. Not a second thought about what it was made of or how well it would work. They are made of PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride). The same stuff that vinyl siding is made of; come to think of it oh yea, drainage pipes too! I found it to be rather slippery and it started to separate (rip) after about 4 months of use (2-3 classes a week). After months of struggling to hold my down dogs, as my hands slipped forward; I put a towel down. Not much better grip, and my practice trudged along. I went out and bought another cheap mat. Who knew? One fortuitous day my teacher approached me and said the words that would lead to a transformation that would change my practice and eventually my life. "You need to get a good mat." It had never occurred to me that good mats were out there, I had only seen sticky mats advertised besides the one I had bought. I learned that the sticky mats were basically raw PVC, yum! When comparing the cost of cheap mats and good quality mats, there is a two to four time increase, depending on the mat you choose. If you practice 5 times a week, for a year you have logged 325 hours of practice. If you purchased a $55 mat that lasts for at least two years, that comes out to 8.4 cents a practice hour. That is a real deal considering the quality of your practice will considerably improve.
Not cheap but worth every penny, as this mat will last you years. I have distributed many of these mats over the past 4 years and have never received a complaint or return.
I began to notice the difference immediately. I no longer struggled, I was stuck; in a good way. My postures did not become stretched out as my cheap yoga mat spread from underneath me. My down dog went from being a slippery, frustrating experience to bliss. Wow, this is good! I went from doing the pose to being the pose. What an amazing difference. This natural open cell rubber allows good gripping power when needed, but also provides enough "give" to allow smooth transitions to the next posture. They also stay in place, and keep buckling to a minimum. The cheap yoga mats have a tendency of flipping up when drawing your foot forward from Warrior poses, and other standing poses. Here is where our eco friendly light bulb goes off. Natural rubber, harvested from a renewable resource by people who need the employment to survive. The mats are made here in the USA so the transportation "carbon" footprint stats are lower than cheap mats made In China. Hmm, sounds like a good choice. They are shipped in plain cardboard boxes with a minimum of packaging. The mats have a small paper label showing the Reforestation initiative that they began. For every mat that is purchased, a tree is planted. I love these mats so much that I became a distributor. I never hard sell them. I always lend one to a student to try before they buy, the mat sells itself. At $55.00 they are a steal considering that if cared for, they can last for years. These are the only mats that I have confidence in recommending because I know that they really work wonderfully. Think of a good mat as an investment in your practice, like runners and their shoes. No runner would ever dare to use cheap shoes, it would ruin their efficiency. Companies will continue to sell sub-standard, ecologically damaging cheap yoga mats and sticky mats because the public doesn't know that there are better options out there, so they keep buying them. Help break the cycle! Invest in a good mat then recycle it when you are done!
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Not so cheap yoga mats: the high end I know a few people who have Hugger Mugger mats and really enjoy them, they run around $90.00. Manduka is another popular mat that retails for around $100.00. Both are a little thicker and "squishier" than the Harmony, which might be good for you if you do a lot of Pilates mat work. Traditionally, Yogi's used cotton mats on bare ground. Many modern Yogi's still use cotton mats and there are also woven grass mats too. Can't comment on these yet, until I try them. Another interesting yoga mat related item is a yoga sock that has grippy nubs on the bottom. They allow you to have a portable "mat" on you feet. I have two pairs, I usually use them when I am teaching. They are great in the Winter when floors can be cold and drafty. They cost $10.00. My friends who practice a lot of Vinyasa in really hot rooms swear by the yoga mat towels with the silicone nibs that absorb sweat and keep you in place. They run around $60.00. Besides a mat and a towel,some classes use blocks, straps and blankets (these are usually provided). Because there is so little to buy, investing in the best is recommended. Leave the cheap yoga mats to rot on the shelf!
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