What's in a yoga mat?

A guide from Vancouver yoga guru Insiya Rasiwala-Finn on finding the best, eco-friendly yoga mat

If finding your style of yoga class and/or teacher from the hundreds displaying their offerings in Vancouver wasn’t overwhelming enough, try finding the ideal yoga mat. 

What? You thought yoga was supposed to be this peaceful, bliss-inducing activity? Well, take a breath, a slow, deep one, maybe even a couple.

With this guide, I’ll try to demystify what exactly to look for in something that has become an essential part of a yoga practice: the sticky yoga mat. 

Why is my yoga mat important?

Well, really it allows you to define the space in which you practice, and a good yoga mat can almost feel like an extension of your yoga asana or pose.

The modern sticky yoga mat was not used by the ancient yogis who pretzeled themselves in their loincloths in the India of 5,000 years ago. It was invented as recently as 1982 by a yoga teacher named Angela Farmer, who cut a roll of carpet padding and began using it to practice on in her Iyengar style yoga classes in Germany. 

She found that it particularly helped her balance while in various standing yoga poses. Since that original carpet padding-mat—which Angela’s father then sold, making him the first yoga mat retailer—yoga mats have come a long way. You can find them in various materials and possibly in every colour under the rainbow. They come plain, patterned and can even be custom printed to brand your logo or message onto a mat—yes, just what you need for your escape into stillness.

But seriously, lets get down to the basics.