How to Choose Yoga Mat Thickness

Consider where you will be using your yoga mat when deciding its thickness.

Fifty years ago, yoga practitioners did not use mats, which sometimes meant slipping and sliding on hardwood floors or sweating onto carpets. Yoga teacher Angela Farmer is credited with bringing carpet padding into yoga studios, creating a new market for the sticky mat. Standing, sitting and reclining postures each benefit from a different amount of yoga mat thickness.

Instructions

1. Consider where you will use your mat. If you practice at a yoga studio, you may not want to carry a thicker, heavier mat to and from class. Travelers often prefer a medium thickness mat with indentations for folding, rather than choosing one that must be rolled. Those with a home practice may have the luxury of focusing solely on function for their choice of thickness.

2. Decide on the features you need for your style of yoga practice. Heated vinyasa classes combine standing poses with plenty of sweat, so you may want a textured or sticky mat that is thinner, about 1/8 inch, so that your feet can feel the floor through the mat. Using a mat that is too thick in this style class will likely cause you to slip in your standing poses. Yin-style classes focus on seated and reclined postures where extra padding, up to ½ inch, is a plus. Many yin teachers suggest that you fold your mat in half to fit more people into the practice space, so you may be able to use a ¼-inch mat as well.

3. Make note of any sensitivities you have had in the past. If your wrists are painful in the downward facing dog pose, you may want an extra long mat so that you can roll up the edge to provide more padding in just one area of the mat. If you have a latex allergy, or are sensitive to scent, avoid mats made of natural rubber.

4. Consider your budget and what type of material you can afford. The most economical mats are made of PVC or vinyl. Expect to pay a bit more for rubber, jute or cotton. Choosing organic or recycled materials will also add to your cost.

5. Decide whether you prefer a pattern or a plain color for your mat. Some designs are purely decorative, while others offer alignment assistance with guidelines printed onto the mat. You may not be able to combine all of the features you are looking for with a specific color and design preference.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your yoga teacher and practitioners for recommendations on what they like and dislike about the mats they use in class. This can help you avoid choosing a mat simply because you like the way it looks, only to find out that it does not meet your functional needs.

References

• Yoga Journal: Sticky Business
• Gaiam Life: How to Choose the Right Yoga Mat