Extra Thick Yoga Mats

So you want to have extra comfort and cushion when you are practicing yoga?

Yoga mats come in three basic thicknesses:
• 1/8 inch: This is the most regular thickness for yoga.
• 1/16 inch: This is considered ultra thin and is more often used as a travel yoga mat.
• 1/4 inch: These are thick yoga mats that provide extra cushion.

Thick yoga mats are fast gaining popularity now, as many yogis get serious about their practice. These provide the comfort when you are holding your postures for an extended period of time, such as a full boat pose.

1/4 inch, or approximately 6.3 mm, yoga mats are the most common thickness for such yoga mats. However, nothing is stopping you from purchasing even thicker mats that come in 5/16 or 3/8 inch. Do note, however, that some companies that sell 1/4'' mats that are actually 4.5 -5.2 mm in thickness. You may like to check on the thickness of the mats in mm before purchasing them.

One thick yoga mat that I like is the EverythingYoga Ultra Thick Yoga Mat.

It’s thick (of course!), well-made, and the colours are amazing. It comes in 12 different colours: Black, Dark Blue, Purple, Dark (Teal) Green, Burgundy, Light Blue, Light (Teal) Green, Light Lavender, Orange, Pink, Yellow and Red. The price is really reasonable too. About $19.95 if you buy it from amazon.

Beautiful works of art

I don’t know why nobody has thought of it before. I mean, yoga mats are meant to be stepped on, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful at the same time.

What extraordinary work of art! And they are actually yoga mats!

YogaMatic offers custom yoga mats that comes in 12 themes now, such as “Fun”, “Graphical”, “Licensed”, “Nature”, etc.

And apparently, they are HOT items in the US now. Hally Berry has been seen with one of the mats, and Kate Bosworth has been quoted as saying that she loves their mat. It’s getting crazy

Nonslip Yoga Mats with good grip

Some yoga practitioners have the unfortunate problem of having sweaty palms (like yours truly). The problem is quite serious because it affects simple yoga postures, such as the Downward Facing Dogs. And if you are doing Bikram or Hot Yoga, then you will be sweating by the buckets. This makes it important to find yoga mats with good anti-slip properties.

Here’s my take on some of the good yoga mats in the market:

Jade Harmony Mat

The Jade Harmony Mat is a high performance mat that would suit a practitioner in any style of yoga. The good thing that I like about this mat is that it is made of open cell natural rubber, which provides it with a good grip.

What is even more likeable is that the yoga mats are environmentally friendly. Tapped from rubber trees, natural rubber is a renewable resource. The website states that the mats are made in compliance with U.S. environmental laws and contain no PVCs.

There’s an interesting story about how Jade Yoga got into this business. As the story goes, JadeYoga was actually in the business of making natural rubber rug pads. In 2000, they were approached by a “very savvy yogi” who described the fundamental problem with most yoga mats on the market at that time - they were slippery. JadeYoga got into the act and sent out something like 500 samples. They got an incredible response – apparently people were trilled that they finally got a yoga mat that actually gripped and was comfortable to boot. The rest, as they will say, is history.

It should be noted that the Jade Harmony mat is part latex, in case you have an allergy.

Original Tapas Yoga Mat

The Original Tapas Yoga Mat is a very popular yoga mat produced by Hugger Mugger. Its website touts it as the first made-in-the-USA yoga mat that provides a durable, non-slip surface. What I like about this yoga mat is it is quite affordable (around US$27). It is phthalate-free and latex-free, and of course, PVC free.

The yoga mat comes in an assortment of colours with delicious names (autumn, emerald, lapis blue, pink berry, olive). To top it off, the mat also comes in custom lengths (68 inch, 74 inch, 80 inch).

Oeko-Tex Yoga Mat

What I love most about this mat is that it is made with strict environmental regulations and tested against harmful substances for skin contact (Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Level 2). Oeko-Tex Standard 100 or Öko-Tex Standard 100 is an international testing and certification system for textiles, limiting the use of certain chemicals.

This is very important for yoga practitioners as our skin makes constant contact with the mat. It is especially important for those with sweaty palms or sweat a lot, as it is inevitable that a bit of the mat materials will rub off due to the heavy sweating.

Wearing in Your Yoga Mat

By the way, no matter how good your yoga mat is, it will be a little slippery when you first buy it. This is due to the manufacturer's surface “finish” on all mats. You just need to “break” your yoga mat by using it a few times. If you really wish to speed up the process, you may want to wash your mat, but do this with care.