What You Should Know About Grip and Cushioning in a Yoga Mat

In many yoga mat comparisons, grip and cushioning are cited as particularly important factors. That makes sense—everyone wants to perform their exercises safely and comfortably. 

Aspects of Grip

The sensation of grip is very subjective. Every person is unique and experiences things differently. It also makes a big difference whether your hands are dry or damp, for example, when you’re doing an intense workout. Too little grip can prevent you from performing exercises correctly. But too much grip isn’t helpful either. Exercises then lose their natural flow, and movements can no longer be performed smoothly—they end up feeling like a stop-and-go routine. On top of that, the mat wears out much faster.

Performing Exercises Correctly

First and foremost, the focus should be on improving your performance in the exercises and performing them correctly. To do this, you should apply plenty of pressure to your hands and feet and distribute your weight evenly. This provides greater stability and a much more mindful experience during the yoga flow.

Damping

People often focus too much on the mat. It’s completely normal—especially when you’re just starting out with yoga—for your knees or joints to feel a lot of strain. In yoga practice, it’s common to use a towel, a blanket, or a bolster to take some of the pressure off them. Here, too, it makes sense to focus on performing the exercises correctly and naturally. 

The Origins of Yoga Mats

Yoga has been around for 3,000 to 4,000 years and was originally practiced on simple mats made of grass, leaves, or animal skins. Today, the classic yoga mat is considered to be the cotton yoga mat, which is still used by many yogis. The focus here is on the naturalness of the material. 

Aspects of Natural Materials

We firmly believe that natural materials like cotton or cork not only benefit us but also have a positive impact on the environment. Many yoga mats contain plasticizers, harmful substances, and a number of plastics. In our view, this is a major problem. Likewise, materials such as sheep’s wool are quite problematic due to the conditions in which the animals are raised.

Natural materials used in yoga mats include cotton, natural rubber, and cork. With cork yoga mats, it’s also important to take a closer look, as they often contain a blend of other materials—such as latex or TPE—on the underside. The bYo® yoga mat from treeletic is the first yoga mat made entirely of cork—a true original.

Cork yoga mats have the advantage of being all-natural and environmentally friendly. No trees need to be cut down to make them, since only the bark is used; this helps the tree regenerate and extends its lifespan. The material is antibacterial and hypoallergenic. Cork yoga mats provide a perfect, natural, and healthy environment for practice.

Grip works differently with cork 

One advantage is that cork contains natural suberin, which further improves grip when damp. Unlike rubber mats, sweating actually improves grip on cork. For optimal grip, a cork mat should be lightly moistened with water from a spray bottle before exercising. This is especially recommended for people with very dry skin. 

From our perspective, natural materials are more than just an alternative; they should actually be the standard.

Summary

We hope we've explained the background well, and we wish you lots of fun with yoga! Here's a brief summary of the most important points: