Buying a yoga mat; what should you pay attention to?

Have you ever thought about buying your own yoga mat?

I honestly did not, until I had to buy a yoga mat myself, because I needed it for the yoga teacher training. So I went to buy a yoga mat of 8 dollars. Nothing wrong with that, until after three days I did not get out of my bed due to the pain in my back. Not really nice since yoga normally reduces aches and complaints on your back. The yoga mat was about the same size as an A4 sheet. Not very nice if you lie on this mat more than twenty hours a week. It was the time to buy a new one at yoga mat. But how did I know what would be a good one? What is a good thickness? Length? Grip? Colour? Material? So many things to keep in mind. But ... I picked it all out.

Do I have to buy a yoga mat? What do I need that for? Thousands of years ago the yogis did not have nice colored mats to do yoga either? True, but these yogis often practiced yoga on a natural soft surface, for example grass. A hard surface, such as the floor of your living room, the floor in your yoga studio or other places where we often do yoga today are often a bit harder and less comfortable. In the spaces in which you and I do a lot of yoga, a yoga mat is a more than useful tool to practice yoga. Why?

- A personal yoga mat is hygienic. Whether you like it or not, in yoga you will occasionally sweat and you lose skin cells by friction with the mat. Having your own yoga mat is therefore so nice.
- Your own yoga mat is comfortable. You can choose exactly the yoga mat that you want. A thicker mat is often a bit softer and more comfortable, but often also less stable. With a thinner yoga mat you feel the hard surface a little less, but it is also nice with equilibrium and balance exercises.
- The biggest advantage of buying your own yoga mat, especially from a Yoga Shop USA, is that you can use the mat at your home. For me this was the big difference between doing yoga at home or not. Now that I had my own mat, it was much more fun and easier to do yoga at home.