How to choose a yoga mat

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 their mats?

Back to the root of the matter, why use mats? The role of yoga mats is to prevent bruises on the spine, ankles, hips, knees and other parts. Yoga mats are designed with professional materials and cannot be replaced by other mats.

Pick the mat according to your needs

Yoga mats are currently made of several materials: tpe (also called tpr), pvc, and eva. tpe is currently the best environmentally friendly material, but the price is relatively high;pvc is currently more commonly used. The chemical name is polyvinyl chloride in Chinese. It is very commonly used in the manufacturing of bags, wires and daily necessities. The new material of pvc has no smell and is not harmless to the human body. The only harmful thing is that it is made of secondary materials (recycled materials). Most of eva is used in shoe materials, which have a strong smell and is not recommended to use it. Therefore, pvc is still a better choice. It is recommended to use 6mm, and the domestic size is 173x61; it is recommended to buy cushions of more than 1300g (because some manufacturers steal materials for the sake of being cheap).

The choice of yoga mats should be targeted. Generally, those who are new to yoga can choose a thicker mat, such as a 6mm thick one, and the domestic size is 173x61; if you have a certain foundation, you can choose a mat with a thickness of about 3.5mm to 5mm; it is recommended to buy a mat of more than 1300 grams (because some manufacturers steal materials for the sake of being cheap).

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 properties 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 mat (more than 5mm) will lose the feeling of contact with the ground, and 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. (Internship Editor: Wu Jinyu)