Benefits of Yoga Mats versus Other Surfaces

If you’ve ever done yoga on the floor without a mat, you’ll know there are definite benefits in using a yoga mat compared to direct floor contact. Some surfaces, such as concrete, are obviously much too uncomfortable to even consider doing yoga on, but there are several other surfaces that deserve further exploration into. You’ll learn how a proper mat will help improve your yoga experience on surfaces that otherwise might seem fine for this type of exercise.

Versus Carpet

Depending on the kind, your house’s carpeting may provide you with more cushioning than a yoga mat. However, it is much more difficult to achieve secure footing when you are trying to do difficult poses that involve stretching your legs out. For instance, the yoa pose Warrior 2 requires that a person use one of their legs as a stable post while the other leg is extended backward. This is a strengthening pose, not a flexibility pose, so if you’re not able to get secure footing and your back leg slides, that will not help you strengthen, and it may in fact hurt you. Yoga mats will help prevent such an occurrence. They provide grip and traction for your feet as you stand to get the real feel of the pose.

Versus Tile

Tile is hard and sometimes slick. Doing a pose that requires a post, such as the Downward Facing Dog could be difficult if your feet are sliding backward. Poses such as the Cat Cow could be painful on tile considering your knees are right on the tile instead of cushioned by the yoga mat. Again, a rubber yoga mat wins with its gripping texture. And in this case, it also provides enough cushioning to make even the Corpse pose pleasurable.

Versus Grass

Yoga purists might tell you that to do yoga you should be outside on the ground touching Mother Nature. Sometimes this isn’t as possible as we would like. However, even when it is it may be beneficial to have a yoga mat. Something not a lot of people know is that grass blades look like razor blades under a microscope (that is why after a day of rolling around in the grass and sweating you itch like crazy; you have a lot of microscopic cuts on your skin). There is a certain feeling of having the grass beneath your feet and the standing poses might feel more powerful with the earth beneath your feet, but in some areas it is just not recommended. In addition, with a yoga mat you have assurance that you are not stepping in Fido’s latest present.

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