If you are new to yoga, searching for a new mat for yoga can sometimes put your mind into a spin.
Jade yoga mats, pink, yoga mats, plastic yoga mats and sticky yoga mats overload your senses. “There are so many”, you say to yourself, “Which one should I choose”.
The list of items need for yoga practice is thankfully not too extensive. You need appropriate clothing and you will probably want to use a towel. You could buy yourself a nice set of yoga blocks for leaning on during your workout, or you could just use a chair or table. Nearly everybody who practices yoga uses a mat but with such a massive range available it can be very hard to choose the right one, especially for beginners.
It can be very easy to buy something and then find later that it’s not right for one reason or another. My friend recently made a mistake when she saw an advert to buy two mats at a discount. She worked out that she was getting a very good deal, they both had a nice pattern printed on one side and they seemed to be just what she wanted. However, on her very first session using one of them, she had to give up using it after about 10 to 15 minutes because the darn thing was slipping all over the place.
It just would not stay still in one place and every time she put the slightest bit of pressure unevenly on one of her feet the mat slid off, causing her to slip at least three times, but thankfully she said that particular yoga class was fairly empty with only about 6 people in, lucky for her. Her main error was obviously pressing the “Buy ” button without first reading up on the details of the product. A mat of good quality should be made of something that doesn’t slip when you are practicing.
Yoga mats come in every colour you can imagine and also in different sizes, with some smaller ones especially made for children. You can have virtually anything you like printed on your mat. There are some great mats for beginners available that have pictures of beginners poses printed on the mat so that you can see what you are supposed to be doing.
There are mats that are especially made for pregnant women to help them relieve some of the uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy. Certain yoga poses are printed on the mats for the women to follow. They would make a fantastic gift idea for a pregnant woman, and even for her partner.
Armed with a little extra bit of yoga mat knowledge, you can now get on with the task of choosing the perfect one for you. Make sure that you check all the product specifications before you buy anything.
You need a mat that wont slide about and one that feels good to you. You might even decide to get one that is ECO friendly which would be a great buy for everyone.
Liz Pennington has been practicing yoga for nearly twenty years and she gives more helpful information on MATS FOR YOGA and offers some great ideas on YOGA FOR BEGINNERS at YOGA BODY AND MIND