The lives of my very well loved yoga mats.

I bought my first mat in 2010. It's a brown, Gaiam brand mat - no longer available on the site. My only and deciding criteria was that it was the thickest mat available at the time. Which is not that thick (5mm) compared to some other ones. (I'm looking at you Jade mats!).

In retrospect, I really think my preference for thick mats stems from previous experience with knees on ground action. I actually practiced without a mat with Yogi Toes recently, but the Chaturunga taken on the knees situation was not nice.

Anyway, back to my first mat. I can't believe it's only been 4 years. Still not sure if it feels like longer or shorter... :-T This has been my mat at X-Sport and Core Power Yoga. This is also the mat I took to my first Wanderlust in the City this past May. I still use it in home practice, but I definitely upgraded with my next mat. A nice mat actually does make a difference!

Gaiam Sol Dry-Grip

It's black like a real yogi's! :-P But in all seriousness, look at that beautiful mandala-esque print. Click here to buy. (I am not paid at all for this endorsement.)

I only own two mats (so far!), but this one is the favorite child. It seems like this is Gaiam's favorite child too. This is the one mat prominently featured on the site and in ads. It can still be slippery once I get sweaty shoulders down to do core work, but it's a non-slippery dream when dry. Also at 5mm, its constructed to feel thicker, with more padding. I got this one at the end of 2013, and its already got some substantial love.

Check out the design up close!

As you can tell, I am partial to Gaiam. I may want to try the Jade mats. They have some REALLY thick ones that feel as if they'd be (even more) less slippery. If I wanted a thin mat, I'd just get a travel one. And there's just too much controversy, true or not true, regarding Lululemon. Prefer to avoid instead of support, even though their mats are VERY popular and do seem to be of great quality.

Either way, I'll let you all know the next time a mat joins my family!

Namaste.