Buying a yoga mat is no easy feat. This is why we’ve compiled a list of the best yoga poses for testing your yoga mat.
Finding the right mat can completely shift your yoga experience. A good mat allows for increased comfort, better grip, and improved balance.
Yoga Mat Test Criteria
When testing your yoga mat, there are a few things to consider. These poses test either one or more of these factors.
- Thickness
- Material
- Texture
- Grip
- Quality
For more information on each of these, check out our post on choosing a yoga mat.
Child’s pose
Child’s pose is a great asana for testing out your mat. With your knees, forehead, tops of feet, and hands on the mat, you’ll really be able to get the feel of the mat.
I recommend moving from a traditional child’s pose to an extended child’s pose to test out the ease of movement. If you move too quickly on some suede mats, you might get a burn from the friction (not fun!).
You’ll also be able to test out the width of the mat when you extend your knees wide. You’ll get a good feel for how the mat supports you when multiple points of your body are close to the floor.
This Pose Tests:
- Thickness
- Material
- Texture
Low Lunge
Knee support is important in Vinyasa or Hatha classes. The low lunge asana will put a lot of pressure on your knee, giving you a good idea about the support the mat offers. Thinner mats will be a lot rougher on your knees.
Keep in mind that your knee will not be comfortable unless you’ve got a really thick mat. Try folding the mat to support your knee, or use a knee cushion.
This pose will also test the grip on the mat with your front foot. The pull between the front and your back foot will also provide information about the quality.
This Pose Tests:
- Thickness
- Grip
- Quality
Tabletop
Tabletop will allow you to test how the mat supports your palms, knees, and the tops of your feet. A lot of your body is connected to the yoga mat in this asana, giving you the opportunity to test multiple different things.
This Pose Tests:
- Thickness
- Texture
- Material
Warrior 1,2 and 3
To test the yoga mat’s grip there’s no better way to put your mat to the test than with Warrior 1, 2, and 3. Transitioning from Warrior 1 to 2 and then to 3 will test the ease of movement and texture of the material while checking the grip. This flow will also give you a good idea of the mat’s quality and how the texture will feel during a yoga class.
If the mat doesn’t feel good in any of these poses, it’s not worth it. After all, you don’t want to slip and slide during the postures, let alone while you’re balancing in Warrior 3.
This Pose Series Tests:
- Thickness
- Texture
- Material
- Grip
- Quality
Dolphin pose
Dolphin pose is the perfect pose for testing out whether your mat will work for inversions. This asana places pressure on your elbows and the crown of your head. You’ll want to feel completely supported here while activating your crown chakra.
The pull between your feet and elbows will help you test the quality of the mat while giving the grip a chance to prove itself.
This Pose Tests:
- Thickness
- Texture
- Grip
- Quality
Savasana
In Hatha or Vinyasa yoga, the longest you spend in one position is during savasana or corpse pose. This final resting position requires a lot of connection between your body and the mat. Here you’ll be able to test the length of the mat. Ideally, you want your entire body to be on the mat.
You’ll want to feel comfortable and supported during savasana, but you’ll also want to feel connected to the earth, so you can remain grounded. You’ll want to be able to completely relax so you can absorb the benefits of this asana. If you’re uncomfortable, this is gonna be a lot harder.
If you only test one pose on a yoga mat, this should be it.
This Pose Tests:
- Thickness
- Texture
- Material
Additional Factors to Consider
You’ll also want to ensure your yoga mat isn’t too heavy. If you’re walking to class, tackling stairs, or traveling, a heavy mat can slow you down.
However, some good quality mats can be heavy, in which case you’ll want to invest in a yoga mat bag to help distribute some of the weight.
