This entry was posted on Aug 13, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.
Considered one of yoga observe’s nice items is its emphasis on balancing. Poses comparable to Vrksasana (Tree Pose) are an integral a part of virtually each type of observe. The flexibility to steadiness is an important a part of wholesome getting older, and it may be useful to develop balancing expertise as early as attainable. Typical knowledge has it {that a} thinner Yoga Mat (⅛ inch or much less, or 1.5mm to three.5mm) is most conducive to staying on our ft throughout one-legged balancing poses. The thinner the mat, the much less your standing foot goes to wish to make changes. However is that optimum? After virtually 40 years of yoga instructing, my unequivocal reply is: it relies upon. So what’s the finest yoga mat for balancing?
The Greatest Yoga Mat for Balancing Depends upon Your Intention
Counterintuitive as it could sound, the mat I normally use for instructing yoga—even in courses the place we observe a lot of standing balancing poses—is the Final Cushion Yoga Mat. At ⅜ inch, it’s the thickest mat Hugger Mugger presents. (I alternate between this mat and the Para Rubber Yoga Mat (3/16″)).
Why would I wish to make it more durable on myself? I observe balancing poses to domesticate and keep my balancing expertise. Positive, I can extra simply carry out balancing poses on a thinner mat, however I wish to problem my steadiness. That’s the way in which we construct balancing expertise—by balancing in difficult conditions. So, to perform my goal in working towards balancing poses, one of the best yoga mats for balancing are the thicker, tougher ones.
As a result of I’ve a longstanding relationship with Hugger Mugger Yoga Merchandise, I’ve purchased many mats from them through the years. I discover that balancing on several types of surfaces—and mats of various thicknesses—is necessary for constructing balancing expertise. So typically I observe on thick mats, and typically I observe on skinny mats. I additionally place my mats on numerous surfaces. Whereas wooden and surfaces comparable to concrete are essentially the most dependable, I feel it’s useful to observe balancing on comfortable, squishy surfaces, comparable to carpeting, as nicely.
It’s necessary to respect the place you might be. In case your steadiness is usually unstable, working towards on a thinner Yoga Mat is an effective place to begin. As soon as you are feeling secure in balancing poses on a skinny mat, then you possibly can start difficult your steadiness on a thicker mat.
Balancing On and Off the Yoga Mat
Training yoga on numerous mat sorts and flooring sorts shouldn’t be the one method to hone your steadiness. Listed below are some solutions for taking your balancing observe off the mat:
- Follow balancing in several types of sneakers—thick soles, soft soles, skinny soles, and many others. Except you recurrently put on heels, I wouldn’t advocate working towards yoga in them. (For that matter I’d advocate avoiding or minimizing carrying heels typically, due to the havoc they wreak on the integrity of your musculoskeletal system.)
- Follow open air. Mountaineering trails are hardly ever fully degree. Strolling, and working towards balancing poses, on uneven surfaces problem your ft to steadiness another way. Subsequent time you are taking a hike, cease for a minute or so and observe a one-legged balancing pose—Tree Pose appears applicable while you’re within the woods—on an uneven floor.
When you’d wish to study extra concerning the parts of creating secure steadiness, right here’s a latest weblog.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Aware Yoga, Aware Life: A Information for On a regular basis Follow and Yoga for Meditators, each printed by Rodmell Press. Her third guide is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and people sextet Crimson Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards.
