Let me first state that a yoga mat is not a necessity for yoga practice, although now everyone practices yoga on a yoga mat, including myself. But this is more of a habit, or a sense of ritual.
Let’s first talk about the characteristics that a yoga mat must have to facilitate practice, and then let’s talk about how beginners choose a yoga mat.
A good yoga mat must have three characteristics.
1: Anti-slip.
We all know that the foundation of yoga postures is very important. The foundation must be stable and solid, and the hands and feet should be rooted wherever they land. If the mat is slippery, the foundation will not be stable. It may not be obvious in postures such as Mountain Pose Standing, but it will be more obvious when you do postures such as Downward Dog, Fighting One, Fighting Two, and Triangle. You will focus more on preventing your feet from shifting and slipping; you may desperately grab your feet with your toes to prevent them from shifting; or you may not have enough strength to root down, resulting in through muscle or joint compensation. These are not what we want to see. So anti-skid is the first priority.
2, environmentally friendly materials, no smell
This is easy to understand. Many yoga movements are performed while lying on the floor mat. Some postures will cause the tip of the nose, chin or forehead to directly contact the mat. In addition, yoga postures pay great attention to breathing. Regardless of whether you can accept the smell, a mat with a peculiar smell that is not environmentally friendly will not be good for our body. We are here to detoxify, not to get gassed.
3, good water absorption.
Although we don’t sweat profusely every time we practice, there are still sweating sessions. If the mat cannot absorb the water quickly, it will affect our practice.
These are the three most basic functions that I think a qualified yoga mat must have. With these three functions, it will not affect our practice. For beginners, in addition to considering these three points, there is one more thing to add.
4, moderate thickness.
If you choose a yoga mat, you will find that the mats come in different thicknesses. Beginners can choose a slightly thicker mat. The main reason is that there are a lot of knee landing movements in the asanas, and a thicker one can protect the knees. Because beginners have insufficient muscle strength, or cannot activate the muscles, they may put their strength on the knee joints when their knees are on the ground. A thicker mat can play a good protective role.
Yoga mats on the market come in various thicknesses, as thin as 3 mm, as thick as 6 mm, and even 9 mm or 10 mm. I personally recommend that beginners choose something around 6 mm. Too thick is not good. If it is too thick, it will be soft and collapse like a mattress, which is not conducive to our practice.
Finally, let’s talk about the posture lines on the yoga mat. The body position line does provide us with a lot of convenience. It is easier to judge whether it is balanced, whether it is in a straight line, what angle it is at, etc. But I personally don’t recommend using posture lines. This will lead to laziness and dependence in our judgment. Of course, everyone has their own opinions about body position lines. This is just my personal suggestion. You can choose freely according to your own preferences.
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