Mats, mats, mats...

Okay - so trying to figure out what kind of mat to buy for your practice. Either you've been using the loaner mats we have at the studio and have noticed that best case scenario they smell like bleach, worse case scenario they smell like sweaty feet (yuck!). And you've decided to get your own mat or you are having one of the following problems with the mat you already own:

• slipping, your hands and feet slipping during the opening sun salutations and the standing poses
• slipping, later on in the practice when there is sweat flying everywhere
• slipping, the mat is actually slipping on the floor
• not enough padding
  
• pieces of mat left all over your body after practice

In this blog and over the next week I'll try to address the above issues and point you in the right mat direction. I'd love it if anyone has anything to add to any of this! The first yoga mat I had was the "standard long life" mat by Bheka and which go for about $26. We have a bunch of these mats at the studio - they are the ones that have sort of a terry cloth feel to them when they get worn out. Prana mats are the exact same mat, except theirs come in different colors, and in the manufactuing process of the coloring they've come out with a somewhat different texture that seems to wear better - but feels a little stiffer. They are both pretty thin though, so after wearing through a couple of those I switched to the "deluxe long life" mat also made by Bheka and which run for $35. Both of these mats, as most mats do, come in a standard length but can also be bought in a longer size. I really like these mats, and find that for the sweaty hands and feet people, sometimes these are the best solution - but not always.

The standard "sticky mats" can also work well for people who don't have the sweaty hands and feet issue. These are the mats that you can usually find at Huckleberry's or Target etc. Sometimes you have to throw these mats in the wash with a minescule amount of detergent get rid of the sheen they come with, if slipping is a problem. I also recommend that when you get a new mat if wearing it in through your practice doesn't work lay it out on the floor between your bed and your bathroom or some other well traveled place in your house.

So after wearing through a couple of the Bheka deluxe long life mats (which are nice and thick), and by wearing through I mean, holes and after practice being covered with little blue pills of mat, my friend gave me one of the "black mats". Since this is a whole other topic I will save for tomorrow. Even more to come... mysore rugs....