Are you ready for a truly different Yoga mat? I thought I was, and here's my experience. I need to say: I wanted to LOVE this mat (Yogasana Rugs). And I still love parts of it, but in the end it wasn't the mat for me. What did I love? I love the idea of a cotton rug instead of a sticky plastic mat. It is just so much more natural and feels right under my feet. And this is the queen of cotton rugs. Hand-loomed in India - heck yeah! The craftsmanship is spectacular and comes with a 15 year warranty. This is a quality Yoga rug and beautiful to boot, coming in great element colors of Fire, Water and Earth. And machine washable - give me another heck yeah!
There are some things that might take a little time to get used to. Despite it's thickness, the rug is not cushy. When I first started Yoga on it, my hands and back took a little time to get used to the nubby, firm texture. It also took me some time to get used to the weight of this mat over my sticky mat. Not a big deal when I'm carrying one mat, but when I add it to all the ones I carry when I teach, it was a little daunting.
What don't I love? As any cotton mat will be, the Yogasana Rug is very slippery on hard floors. I can put a sticky mat under it to prevent sliding, but for me that defeats many of the reasons I wanted to use the cotton rug. For me this was the breaking point; every time I moved, so did the mat. I also found my feet slipping on the mat which is one of the reasons I generally avoid mats during standing poses.
I really wanted this to be my mat! But alas, that's not how I feel and I still find I prefer to go matless (and use the sticky mat during floor poses). But the Yogasana Rug is a beautiful mat and I look forward to trying it outside in the summer, where slipping won't be an issue.
As the maker of Yogasana Yoga Mats I want offer these observations on your review. I’m glad that you like the eco-nature of Yogasana rugs. We have been making cotton rugs in India for over 15 years. Our contention is that there are no finer made cotton rugs on the planet.
ReplyDeleteThe texture on the surface may take a while to get use to. It’s interesting that Indian yogis who tried prototypes of our mat – asked if the ‘acupressure effect’ of the “nubby, firm texture” was by design…of course it was unintended. In any event, cotton gets softer and softer over time.
The mats weights about 4 lbs which is equal to or less than many of the eco-mats currently available.
Regarding the slippage on polished wood floors – we have a simple solution. We offer a natural rubber underlay called: Grip-it. With this in place, the rug is anchored to the floor and will not slip. This type of underlay has been used with Oriental Rugs for a generation. I will offer the Grip-it for $10 (USD).
As for slippage on the top…remember that cotton becomes more sticky as it becomes wet (think of your blue jeans in the rain). More sweat…more stick!
Thank you Nadine, for taking the time to evaluate the Yogasana Yoga Mat. We’ll always take some Love; over no Love, any day!!!
Thanks for the additional info Kevin!
ReplyDeleteGood point! Thanks for sharing! We are now thinking of a way to switch the oven off completely when we’re not using it (is has a display with a clock, which of course always uses a little energy). Annoyingly, the power socket is at the back of the oven, and we can’t reach it without taking the oven out of the cupboard.
ReplyDeleteUK Day Trips
Cheers!
That's an interesting point from Kevin. I was concerned about slippage myself, but maybe a light misting from a spray bottle in the usual hand/feet position spots would help take care of that. Until I start working up a sweat, that is!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Nadine, it was very helpful to me.