Yoga Mat Review: Lululemon The Mat (Travel)

After practicing yoga consistently for 1.5 years, I had worn out my mat. Imagine me beating the crap out of my mat 3 to 5 times a week for that period of time. They say that the more you practice, the stickier your mat should be. Not the case with the mat I had. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. In fact, I may decide to accumulate old slippery mats, and fashion myself a Slip N Slide. Remember those? Sorry, am a child of the 80s.

I practice Vinyasa (or Flow) yoga, and one can get quite sweaty as the class progresses. With my old worn-out mat, I could feel my back leg sliding further and further away in Warrior II despite my efforts in hugging in my inner leg muscles.

Warrior II

Because my mat was slippery, I also didn't feel confident going deeper into my poses. Could you imagine trying to stick your leg up in wheel pose while on a slippery mat? Wipe out city!

Wheel Pose

So after scouring the internet, and reading many (MANY) yoga mat reviews, I finally settled on Lululemon's The Mat, the Travel version. I've been using it for almost five months now.

Hello, lover!

Lululemon does carry a non-travel version of this mat. However, I decided on the Travel mat because I do like to take my yoga mat with me when I go on vacation or business trips. However, when I'm in the studio, I throw it over my old mat just to get a bit of extra cushioning. Alternatively, I could throw it over one of the shared studio mats to protect myself from getting foot fungus...on my forehead.



Mat Details (From the Lululemon Website)

• The super grippy polyurethane top layer is ideal for hot, power, and flow yoga classes
• Due to the properties of natural rubber, the mat will have a strong smell that will fade over time
• For optimum care, clean the mat after each practice with a natural solvent
• For more thorough cleanings, completely submerge the mat in water and allow to air-dry overnight 
• Dimensions: 26" x 71", 1.5mm thick

Benefits (What I LOVE about it)

• Protection: Throw it over a shared studio mat to protect yourself from the sweat residue left by other students
• Lightweight...  so you don't have to break your shoulders carrying it around the city or across the airport. Heck, you can even fold 'er up and stick it in your tote.
• Thin!: I love feeling the earth below me when I practice yoga. This means I'm stabilized and grounded. Layering it over my old mat brings the total thickness up to 4.5mm, which is still pretty thin in my opinion
• Encourages impromptu Yoga (if you have it on you) - Oh yes, in the middle of Starbucks. I call this pose ardna tazonasana.
• Optimal for in-between sweaters: Yoga towels are great for heavy sweaters. I sweat, but not enough to use the towels. In fact, I have a yoga towel, and because I don't sweat enough, I can't get a grip on that thing.
• Absorbent: This baby absorbs sweat which makes it non-slippery - To the amazement of my classmates, I dropped a bit of water onto the mat, and within seconds, it had vanished into the mat. Magical like unicorns!
• Not smelly - I unrolled this mat, and didn't notice the strong smell that they warned about. Possibly because this is the thin version of the The Mat.

Things to Consider

• Last I checked, it only comes in black - which is fine by me!
• I usually don't get a grip on this mat until I'm warmed up (which doesn't take long). This is likely why they recommended it specifically for hot, power, and flow classes and not something like hatha, where you don't get as heated as quickly

Overall Rating
5/5 - I am a zen and happy yogi