Travel Yoga Mats Guide

Travel yoga mats make your footloose yoga sessions smooth and comfortable just like at home or in the studio or ashram.

Have you ever been inspired to do your yoga on a glorious beach with the sun setting and pacific surf booming in your ears?

Or have you felt the urge to perform your asanas beneath the trees in the park one sunny morning?

The problem was, you didn't have your yoga mat handy and you missed the moment. But there's an easy an economical way to make sure that never happens again.

Just pack away a travel yoga mat and take it along to create your own sticky, non-slip surface for safe yoga practice. Lighter and more compact than regular mats, you can get them in natural or synthetic materials a range of stylish colors.

So if you're a yoga aficionado and are heading off backpacking or out of state, there's no need to miss your practice. Unfurl your mobile mat in your hotel, remote practice hall or campsite and you're ready to bend yourself into those asanas with safety and comfort.

And when you're done, just roll up your mat and fold it away into your carrying bag.

Travel yoga mats are also great if you're in a public gym or yoga studio and want to put your own personal layer on top of the provided mat or floor surface. This way you can take your own personal yoga zone with you anywhere.

Most yoga travel mats are compact compared to home or gym mats being around 22- to 24-inches x 68-inches. They also weigh less, often just a few pounds or even less.

Travel mats are thinner than the standard item so make sure the surface you practice on is flat and solid. They're generally around 1/16 inch thick so you can really feel the floor underneath.

If you're in a cold climate and practicing on a concrete or linoleum floor, for example, you'll really feel the cold. So they're best used on grass, or carpeted or other soft level surfaces.

Because of their thinness, yoga practitioners prefer to put a towel or blanket on top of the travel yoga mat to provide more cushioning. Other than making the mats softer, they also absorb sweat and help make your practice safer and more comfortable.

If you're a yogi or yogini on the move, you'll appreciate that lugging a hefty yoga mat around is no fun. Get a travel yoga mat and enjoy the pleasures and benefits of yoga wherever you are. And get all the safety and stability of a standard yoga mat at the same time.

But don't buy a travel yoga mat just for regular use - they don't provide the cushioning you need for sustained practice unless you already have a soft surface to do your yoga on.

You'll find a host of fine vendors of travel yoga mats online. Check their web sites and you'll find a wide range of styles and colors, sizes and thicknesses. You're sure to find the one that's right for you. Then get ready for perfect yoga practice both indoors and outdoors wherever you are.

Now let's look at yoga mat bags, the perfect accessory for travel yoga mats.