It most certainly does!
Over the weekend, I left my Manduka mat at one of the studios I teach at. It’s about 30 minutes away from where I live, and I’m only in that area once a week to teach yoga, so it would have been completely out of the way for me to go and grab it.
I have two other mats I can use, so I thought why not.
Practice is about non attachment anyways, right?
I grabbed one of my older mats, and started practicing. I knew that my hands would start to slip in Downward Facing Dog, but I had no idea of the pain I would feel in some of other postures!
Upward Facing Dog was the most irritating since it is an integral part of the transitions between postures. Usually, I can just move from Chaturanga to upward dog, then over to downward dog.
This hurt my feet so bad that I had to stop in plank, and flip each foot at time to avoid pain and my toes becoming raw.
The next issue was Janu Shirsasana B. This isn’t the most comfortable posture to begin with, but I do it pretty easily these days.
Not on my thin dinky mat!
It hurt my foot so bad to sit on it that I just did three breaths and moved on.
I had a realization that when people complain about this posture in my classes it’s most likely because they have a thin mat that has a very short life span. In fact, it’s probably worn down pretty far which might make it worse.
Headstand. That was a treat (kidding)! Headstand is a posture where ironically, you don’t want to press into your head. You want to have all of the weight in the shoulders and hands. It’s actually important to never go up into headstand unless you are strong enough to slightly lift your head off the ground. Otherwise, you could be compressing your neck. Regardless, the mat was so hard on my arms, and I could feel the solid floor underneath my head. Yikes!
When someone asks me, “What’s the best yoga mat?” I always answer with the Manduka Pro. There is no question or hesitation. Usually, I try to have a few different recommendations because it’s a little pricey, but because I am certain this is worth the investment, and it has a lifetime guarantee, I don’t need a backup. I actually don’t even recommend that certain mats are better for different styles of yoga, the Manduka is best for everything!
Now I have yet another reason to tell you to ditch the dinky mat and go with the Manduka!
Check out their site because they do have less expensive mats, and if you want to opt for something more in your price range, you MUST go with Manduka!
Lots of Love & OM,
Monica
