Choosing the right yoga mat is important

Purpose of using the mat

As early as thousands of years ago, Indians did not use yoga mats for yoga. You can imagine them in the simplest environment, wearing loose clothes and trousers, doing movements and sitting respectfully.

But there was a time when today's yoga practitioners seemed unable to leave the mat?

Back to the root of the matter, why use mats? The main purpose of yoga mats is to prevent slip and protect knees, hands and feet from injuries caused by movement. Therefore, if you practice on a field that doesn't slide and the movements you do don't make some parts of your body uncomfortable, you don't need a mat. I once practiced not using cushions for a while, and I didn't feel uncomfortable. Instead, I felt like I was in direct contact with the ground and I felt solid.

Choose cushions according to your needs

Most classrooms now provide so-called "public mats", which are public yoga mats used by everyone in class. Some teachers even lay a protective mat in the classroom, so that everyone no longer has to use the mat in class. Most students use this kind of public mat because they don't want to carry mats to work or run around in class. However, I suggest that if you want to learn for a while, it is best to use your own mat. On the one hand, you can clean it yourself and make it more hygienic; you can also choose a suitable mat according to your personal situation.

If you feel that you still need a cushion to protect yourself, then how to choose the right cushion is very important. There are only two ways to choose a mat: choose according to your personal needs, or choose according to the material.

In terms of personal needs, this depends on what form of yoga you do, because different sects of yoga have different learning focuses, and your needs will be very different. If you are studying yoga that focuses on flexibility training and you sit on a mat most of the time, the mat will be thicker and softer, and you will be more comfortable to sit.

However, if the yoga you learn is Power Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga, which is mainly based on the beating style, the mat should not be too hard, but the requirements for anti-slip performance should also be higher. Why? Because the mat is too soft, it will be difficult to do many movements standing on it, especially balance movements such as tree pose are the most obvious. For this kind of yoga movement that sweats a lot, if there is no mat with better anti-slip, slippage will occur. I once used a cushion that made me slip and slip, and I never used that cushion again.

If you ask me, the movements you do are not as static and do not sweat as much as running, are they in between, which kind of mat should I use? I would answer,"Choose a thinner one." Because it looks like a car with a very soft suspension system, driving on a mountain road will be like a boat. The thick cushion of more than 5mm will lose the feeling of contact with the ground, and doing many movements will feel "distorted". In foreign countries, most yoga practitioners like to use thin mats. This is the reason. If you feel that your knees are uncomfortable with the thin cushion when doing some kneeling movements, you can put a towel under your knees.

Environmental protection is an inevitable trend

In addition to choosing according to your personal needs, you can also choose the mat from the material. Traditional cushions are mainly made of foamed plastic made of PVC or EVA. If these materials are not handled well, the smell of PVC will be very strong and will only disappear after being used for a while. Many people often smell this plastic smell. Uncomfortable. Moreover, materials made of PVC cannot be buried, decomposed, and burned after being discarded. Because carcinogenic substances will be produced, how to deal with them will be a big problem.

In order to solve the problem of recycling,"environmentally friendly yoga mats" have appeared in Europe and the United States in recent years. The materials used are also different. The so-called environmentally friendly materials are roughly divided into two types, one is a material that can be naturally decomposed. The other is a material that cannot decompose naturally but does not produce dioxin when burned.

No matter what material is used, the environmentally friendly mat has a common feature, that is, it does not smell like PVC, so users will not feel uncomfortable.

However, an environmentally friendly mat made of natural latex has a layer of linen fabric on its surface in order to prevent slippage, so it smells like linen mixed with latex, but it does not stink. This is the one I am most satisfied with among more than ten or twenty different materials. It can be suitable for learners of any faction and is the best choice for people who sweat a lot. However, it is not without shortcomings. A very small number of people are sensitive to natural latex, and the price is high.

Materials that do not produce cancer when burned are like the cushions sold by Nike. To be honest, its slip resistance is not as good as a latex + linen mat, but it is enough for users who do not sweat a lot. Moreover, its unit price is slightly lower than that of natural materials.

Just as the advertisement says,"We only have one earth", environmental protection mats are an inevitable trend. European and American countries have stricter controls on plastic products, and in the future they will follow the footsteps of advanced countries and eliminate the use of products that cause environmental hazards. Therefore, I suggest that if you want to change cushions, it is best to buy environmentally friendly mats to benefit you and others. (Editor in charge: Teng Yun)