In this article I will explore with you the modern yoga mat, and whether or not it might be an aid or a hindrance to the practice of Hatha yoga. This information is based purely on my own direct experience, so I have no idea whether or not the yoga community at large might agree or disagree with my conclusions. I am certain, however, that you will find them very useful.
The yoga mat most contemporary yoga practitioners are familiar with is a relatively new invention. I recall when they first started appearing into yoga studios in New Zealand. Two yoga teachers I knew from Denmark brought many of these new mats with them from Europe when they moved to New Zealand. Based on what they told me at the time, it is my understanding the early rubber yoga mats where made from strips of high-quality (and relatively “natural”) carpet underlay from Germany. These teachers from Denmark would buy it by the roll and cut off yoga mat size pieces for sale to their students.
Today, in the “Western world” at least, the yoga mat is almost synonymous with the practice of yoga itself, considered an essential element in contemporary yoga practice and commonplace in yoga studios around the world. Having never owned a yoga mat, and having practiced yoga for over 21 years, I have on numerous occasions questioned to myself the whole phenomenon of the modern yoga mat. I don’t wish to imply I’ve never used a yoga mat. Actually for a few years I made use of a yoga mat my step-mother had bought from the yoga Danish yoga teachers I mentioned. But it was not long, a few years perhaps, before that mat eventually got old and grubby looking, despite my best attempts at washing it and keeping it clean. The fact I am most of the time bare footed perhaps didn’t help, as the soles of my feet are often a little brown from the Earth I walk on. Naturally this would be passed on to the mat.
Since that time, perhaps for the past 12 years or so I’ve been without a yoga mat. Not because I am too frugal or apathetic to buy one, but simple because after trying both approaches I find I prefer to practice yoga without a rubber mat. The reasons for this are many fold, and I’ll touch on the main ones here.
My primary motivation for not using a yoga mat is that using a sticky or grippy mat detracts from the benefits of many of the standing asanas. With a grippy mat under one’s feet the body has to do less work to maintain the posture. Without a mat there is a tendency on many surfaces (such as soft carpets and wooden floors) for the feet to slide or slip. Part of holding the asana is to hold the body in such a way that ones feet do not slide. I feel this is an important aspect of many standing asana. With a grippy mat under my feet it is easy to become lazy in this regard.
Another reason I prefer not to use a yoga mat is that they are typically made of non-conductive materials. Further to this, many are made from toxic materials that off-gas. It is my preference to not practice yoga with my feet electrically insulated from the ground. A significant part of my approach to yoga revolves around having conscious and interactive contact with the Earth, and a rubber mat only gets in the way of this contact. Since childhood I happen to be barefoot as often as I can, but many people spend most of their days and nights insulated from the Earth. The day is spent wearing shoes with non-conductive soles, and the night is spent in beds that are also typically insulated from the Earth. For most people a relatively tiny faction of their lifetime is spent physically connected, through their feet, to the Earth. I feel it is a pity when we perpetuate this dire situation even during our yoga practice. This is the very time we’d be best connected with—in union or yoga with—the Earth. Of course I recommend yoga always be practiced barefoot.
There are many reasons to be in barefoot contact with the Earth. One important benefit is it allows for a discharge of positive (health-destroying) ions from the body. It has also been showing to help protect the body from the harm of electromagnetic radiation and the man-made soup of energetic frequencies we live in (mobile phone transmissions, EMFs, radio frequencies, Wi-Fi, etc.). If you are not barefoot at least periodically during the day, the time you spend doing yoga is an opportune moment to be barefoot on the Earth.
So the main benefits in my experience with practicing yoga without a yoga mat are connection with the Earth and all the many physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits of this. The other is that it adds an important and strengthening element to our asana, most especially the standing poses.
What about poses where one is sitting or lying on the floor, and the surface is uncomfortably or even painfully hard? This is where a yoga mat can certainly come in handy. Although my own preference is to use a wool blanket. A blanket can be easily folded to provide varying degrees of padding under the knees, buttocks, or the shoulders (during a shoulder stand), or the head (during a head stand); it can be put over the body during shivasana to keep the body warm; one can wrap it over the shoulders for warmth and containment during meditation; it can also be wrapped tightly around the waste to help contain the warmth and prana of the kidney and abdominal region during meditation. Compared to most yoga mats, I find that blankets are more readily available, easy to travel with, and relatively light weight.
My invitation to you is to spend the next few weeks practicing yoga without using a yoga mat. If you feel to, please get back to me with comments on your experience.