Which is a good yoga mat for power yoga?

Power Yoga makes different demands on a yoga mat than quiet forms of yoga. I personally feel that you, as a student, purchase a mat yourself. That is not only more hygienic, but also a stimulus to get started at home. For the purchase of a mat, I have listed some information below. Remember that the prices I mention can now be outdated.

The best power yoga mat very useful for during yoga and It’s helpful to avoid injury while doing yoga. And power yoga mat is available in amazon. To buy a power yoga mat click this link.

 

Are you looking for a mat for the much calmer Essential Yoga , then I have some tips here.

General

The most important thing to watch out for with a mat you use for Power Yoga is that it is rough. That means that he does not slip on the floor, but also that your hands and feet (when you sweat) do not slip away, especially with the Sun Salutations and the Standing Postures. A mat should not be too soft and thick, because that is difficult with the balance positions. Soft mats (especially thin ones) are also quite stretchable and, in the long run, cracks can be caused by the pressure you exert with your hands and feet, unless you have an elastic, yet strong, material. For Power Yoga you therefore mainly pay attention to skid resistance and firmness of the material.

Based on my intensive experience with various mats, the best materials for Power Yoga rubber and textiles . By textile I mean a (yoga) towel that you put over your mat and slightly moistened with a plant spray. Probably polyurethane (pu) is also very good, that is, stiff. But I have only limited experience with that. Rubber has been tried and tested for years. Even if you sweat a lot.

In terms of size, you can take a mat of your own body length or slightly smaller (max. 5 cm smaller), although a mat that is longer than your body length works much more pleasantly. Most cheap standard mats are 173 cm long and that is too small for many men. Nowadays you see, however, in a slightly higher price range, more and more standard mats of approx. 183 cm. That is already a lot better for many men and also for taller women, but it is definitely worth investing in a longer mat if you want to do yoga regularly.

The standard width is usually 60 or 61 cm. That is okay, but slightly wider, for example 66 cm is much more pleasant, especially for men. Regarding the thickness. A thin mat (4 mm or less) is fine, but if you lie down, or put your knees on the mat, not so comfortable. A too thick, especially soft, mat (more than 8 mm) is not useful for Power Yoga, because you are not stable enough. A good thickness is usually 4 to 6 mm. That offers enough strength and comfort for Power Yoga.

Based on the above you can look for a mat yourself. I give you some tips from my own experience below. Depending on what you want, you can of course choose a cheaper mat or a different type.

PVC

The most common material for yoga mats, expensive or cheap, is PVC. The useful thing about PVC is that it has very little wear, but for Power Yoga, as I teach it, I find it moderately suitable, because you keep slipping away, even with the expensive brands.

My first power- yoga mat was the sturdy Ashthanga II (185 x 66 cm, 6 mm, also available in 210 cm) from the Bodhi Yoga brand. This is a rock-solid, indestructible mat and suitable for Power Yoga if you do not sweat too much. However, I slipped too much on my own. He cost 29.90, excluding shipping costs.

Later I found out that this is an imitation of the popular and world famous mats of the brand Manduka. Many avid yoga practitioners swear by this brand, but I found them disappointing when they tried to slip away. If you want a Manduka mat, you come in a different price range. Their most popular mat, the Manduka Black Mat Pro, costs 85, – (same size and weight as the above mat).

The Love Generation brand has a fairly cheap basic mat. It costs 19.50 (183 x 63 cm, 1.1 kg, 4 mm) at the yoga shop . I also used these regularly and he was not that crazy yet. He is somewhat more vulnerable and thinner than the Ashtanga II, but I was able to work reasonably well, because it is a bit slippery, although slipping remained a problem.

TPE

TPE is the successor to PVC and seems to be a promising material, because it combines the properties of rubber and PVC, it is said. Often it is also produced in an environmentally friendly manner. It is much more elastic and softer than PVC and therefore very comfortable – so very suitable for Essential Yoga. In terms of skid resistance, it is very disappointing to me. Not comparable to rubber or a yoga towel. In addition, tpe is more vulnerable. If you use such a mat for Power Yoga, it is useful to apply a (yoga) towel, both for skid resistance and to protect the mat.

A number of course participants bought a Nike card. You can purchase these at various locations, on the internet and in sports shops. It costs 28, – and is 173 x 60 cm, and 3 mm thick. He is pretty stiff, not too sweaty, and nice light to take with you. He is a bit stretchy, he therefore wears pretty quickly and then becomes slippery.

Rubber

If you want to be cheap, but want to get started, you can buy a very cheap rubber mat with the Action for now. They only cost 3 or 4, – . They are very thin (2-3 mm), but surprisingly stiff, because they are made of rubber. I used them for myself regularly about that sturdy Ashtanga II mat, because they are much stiffer! They wear very quickly (there are pieces loose) and are of course not so comfortable to lie on.

For Power Yoga, I think this is, frankly, the best mats I have described to this point. The disadvantage is of course that they wear out quickly, but they are certainly not expensive. Other mats in this very low price range, which are regularly offered on items like Lidl, Kruidvat, Dirk, etc. I advise you. They are far too slippery to get comfortable Power Yoga.

The best mat I have worked on so far is the EcoPro DIAMOND 185 x 60 cm, 6 mm, made of natural rubber. A rubber mat in the higher price segment (55, – ), extra strength on the inside, comfortable without being wobbly and produced in an environmentally friendly way. He is extremely stiff – you really stand like a house – and remains stiff when the sweat drips from you. Clean with water afterwards.

Yoga towel

Slipping through sweat is, as you can see, the most important factor for me when assessing a mat. But that does not apply to everyone to the same extent. I solved the problem of slipping through sweat initially by purchasing a yoga towel that you put over your mat and lightly moistened. The composition of the towel (microfibre) is such that it becomes very rough due to perspiration or water. In addition, your mat stays cleaner and the microfibre in the towel prevents odors. The stiffer the mat below, the stiffer the overall result.

I now have three, one of Manduka (200 x 67 cm, also available in 215 cm), one of Love Generation (183 x 67 cm) and one of Gaiam (213 x 76 cm). They gave me resp. 40, – , 30, – and 30, – cost and I like them all three, although they respond differently to the mat below. The towel from Gaiam does well on a tpe mat, that of LG does well on the rubber EcoPro DIAMOND mat, although it does not need it. Cheaper than most yoga mats, they are not, but it is worth the investment if you regularly do Power Yoga and for example have a rubber allergy.

A cheaper solution is to put an ordinary towel over your mat and sprinkle it wet with a plant spray at the places where you put your hands and feet in Dog with Head Down. That also gives excellent skid resistance. The disadvantage is that your towel, if you regularly do yoga on canvas, smells faster than a real yoga towel of microfibre, which barely retains odor.