My favorite yoga mat

 

I bought my first Manduka PRO Yoga before they started coming out in all the fancy colors and were imprinted with the logo. My Manduka mat is gray and had an adhesive square with the logo somewhere on the top right side of the mat. This must have been around 2010 when I started my journey to becoming a yoga teacher with Cloud Nine Yoga.

I learned quickly that the thickness was amazing but the weight of the Pro was H-E-A-V-Y. I learned this during my first Wanderlust Yoga Fest. in 2011 in Tahoe, CA. Which is when I purchased my second Manduka mat which may be the Eko line. I’m not exactly sure what the mat type is because it isn’t labeled and I purchased it so long ago.

I now own at least 5 varieties of Manduka mats and use them all for different purposes. Besides the cheaper $20 mats that are generic and available anywhere, Manduka’s are the only mats I have ever owned. I doubt this will change.

The Manduka Pro is my go-to mat for teaching. Im confident in how much grip or tension I get from the mat. It has enough thickness for me to use in studio (my main class environment) but completely dependable outdoors also. I have even taken it camping and used it under my sleeping bag for extra padding… Talk about a long SAVASANA!

One thing to note about the Pro version of the mat is that due to its thickness, it is not easy to find a mat bag that is not Manduka brand that will fit the mat. I prefer a simple Sling Go Play 2.0 Yoga Mat Bag since I use the mat so often. 6 years and seriously no tear or rip on this mat. Although Manduka offers lifetime warranty on their mats, I barely notice any wear and definitely no tear on my 6 year old, heavily used Pro mat.

Also, I should note that I have no affiliation with Manduka, I just love their mats. They don’t need to pay me to write this!

As mentioned before, the Eko is easily transportable. Not the foldable travel one (although I own that too), but for festivals and if I were to walk or bike to class… Perfect. This mat is so thin that outdoor use can be tough in a low lunge. Offering no support for the knee, it may be good to have a blanket on hand for support. This mat is great for travel, local or festivals because it still offers the grip on the mat that gives the yoga practitioner one thing to not think about. The mat I have is probably 5 years old or so and barely used. Unless I am attending a festival or need a quick grip, I dont use it much.

Then I purchased a nice peach colored Manduka PROLite Yoga Mat. This is my main home practice mat. It is slightly thinner (and lighter) than the Pro and offers the same great quality. I dont known if its because I had the Pro first but I tried to make this mat my carry in my car to studios mat but found the cushion just wasnt enough for different surfaces but enough for when practicing at home.

To compliment my advancement of my yoga practice, I decided to invest in yet another Pro-Lite but this time the PROlite Long Yoga Mat. Now I had the ability to practice cartwheels and still land on mat. I could drop back into wheel pose or practice pincha (forearm balance) and really use the space very carelessly. The thickness is the same as my other pro-lite but much longer. It’s funny how i still start my practice at the front of the may for sun salutations though.

If I go through an Ashtanga series of poses, I will often cross both of my pro-lite mats making a “t” to be able to stay entirely on my may during my practice.

If you travel and stay at hotels so cushion isn’t a problem, you can do what I did and pick up a travel ready eKO SuperLite Yoga Mat.

I have students/friends who have invested in and swear by Jade mats and ones from Lululemon. I have no experience practicing on either mats but would love your opinion on your fave mat and why? Also, how long have you had the mat and do you morice any wear or tear?