I have a ridiculous number of yoga mats.
This probably isn't surprising considering I own Big Raven Yoga, but even by yoga-mat-company-owner standards, there are a lot of them around here.
I have mats at home. There are mats at the yoga studio, which happens to be right across the yard from my house. There are mats we're testing, mats I love, mats that have been around for a while and mats that seem to migrate from one building to another.
The nice part is that I rarely have to remember to carry a yoga mat across the yard with me.
The slightly ridiculous part is that nobody actually needs this many yoga mats.
Unless you own a yoga mat company, of course.
For everyone else, a good yoga mat should be able to do more than one thing. If you take hot yoga one day, a gentle class later in the week and practice at home on Sunday morning, you shouldn't need three different mats lined up in the closet.
Which brings me to a question I hear in different forms pretty regularly: Can you use the same yoga mat for hot yoga, gentle yoga, vinyasa and other types of yoga?
For most people, absolutely.
There are exceptions, and I'll get to those. But a good mat should be able to handle most of the ways you practice.
I Don't Practice the Same Way Every Day Either
Maybe this is why the idea of having a mat assigned to one particular type of yoga seems a little strange to me.
I don't always practice yoga the same way.
Some days I want heat and movement. Sometimes I want to slow everything down. There are days when I make it over to the studio and days when rolling out a mat at home makes a lot more sense.
That's real life.
Your favorite class changes. Your schedule changes. Your body changes. Sometimes you're excited to try something new. Sometimes twenty minutes at home is the only yoga that's happening that day.
Your yoga mat shouldn't become obsolete every time your practice shifts a little.
So rather than thinking about a "hot yoga mat" and a "gentle yoga mat," it's more useful to look at what each kind of practice actually asks from the mat underneath you.
Taking the Same Mat to Hot Yoga
Hot yoga is probably the biggest reason people wonder if they need a separate mat.
And I understand why.
Sweat changes things.
A mat that feels perfectly comfortable when your hands and feet are dry may feel completely different halfway through a heated class. Nobody wants to spend Downward Dog slowly watching their hands slide toward the front of the room.
This is one place where the surface really matters.
Big Raven Yoga mats have a brushed microfiber vegan suede surface made from recycled polyester and nylon. As moisture is introduced, the surface becomes grippier. Underneath that is a natural tree rubber base that gives the mat weight and helps keep it in place.
That combination makes it well suited for hot yoga, but I wouldn't call it a mat that is only for hot yoga.
Once class is over, the bigger issue becomes cleaning and drying it.
If I've had a sweaty practice, I want to be able to actually wash my mat. Big Raven Yoga mats can be hosed off or hand washed in cold water and hung to dry.
And yes, this is one of those situations where having more than one mat can be useful.
If you're doing hot yoga every single day, you may want a second mat simply because the first one is still drying.
That's not because you need a different kind of yoga mat.
It's because wet things need time to dry.
Now Take That Same Mat to a Gentle Class
The next day could be completely different.
No heated room. No sweaty Downward Dog. Maybe you're spending more time sitting, kneeling or lying on the floor.
Suddenly, the question isn't "Will my hands slip?"
It's "Why does my knee hate me?"
This is where cushioning starts to matter more.
Our mats are 6 mm thick, which is a thickness I really like because it gives my knees some cushion without making standing poses feel unstable.
If you've ever practiced on a very thin mat over a hard floor, you probably know how quickly you can become aware of exactly where the floor is.
On the other hand, extremely thick, soft mats can create their own problems when you're trying to balance.
Gentle yoga doesn't necessarily require a special mat. It just makes you appreciate a mat that can be comfortable without feeling squishy.
Same mat. Completely different job.
Then There's Vinyasa, Flow and Everything in the Middle
This is probably how a lot of people practice most of the time.
You're standing. Then you are on your hands. Then your knees are down. Then you're balancing. Then you're lying on the floor wondering how an hour went by that quickly.
A flow class asks for a little bit of everything from a yoga mat.
You want grip. You want cushioning. You want the mat to stay where you put it.
This is also where I appreciate the weight of our mats.
A Big Raven Yoga mat weighs around seven pounds. That is not especially light, and I don't think there's any reason to pretend it is.
But when I'm practicing, I like that weight underneath me. The natural rubber base has some substance to it.
And yes, when I'm walking across the yard to the studio, seven pounds isn't exactly a hardship.
Although, as we've already established, I've strategically solved even that problem by leaving yoga mats everywhere.
Practicing at Home Might Be the Best Test
Home practice is where versatility becomes even more important.
Watercolor Dance by Denise Griffin
I recently wrote about The Case for Practicing Yoga in a Messy House, because I don't think we need to wait for the perfect room, the perfect amount of time or the perfect mood before practicing.
Sometimes you're rolling out a mat between the furniture.
Sometimes there's laundry nearby.
Sometimes you notice something that needs to be cleaned approximately three seconds after you're supposed to be concentrating on your breath.
That's home yoga.
And the kind of yoga you do there may change constantly. One morning you might want a full practice. Another evening you might stretch for fifteen minutes. Sometimes you might sit on your mat longer than you actually do yoga.
At home, I don't want to think about whether I brought the right mat.
I just want to put one down.
And because it's living in my house, I also want to like looking at it.
I've written plenty about why yoga mats can be functional and still have some personality. That's a big part of Big Raven Yoga. A mat can do its job without looking like every other rectangle of rubber in the room.
Especially when it's going to spend a fair amount of time rolled up in the corner of your house.
What About Outdoor Yoga?
I use my mats outside too.
You don't need an outdoor-specific yoga mat just because you're heading into the backyard, onto a deck or out onto the grass.
You do need a little common sense.
Before putting a mat down, I check for sticks, rocks or anything sharp that could damage the natural rubber base. Rough concrete isn't my first choice either.
And yes, the mat is going to get dirty.
That's part of using it outside.
This is another reason I care so much about being able to wash a yoga mat. I would rather use it, get it dirty and clean it than spend all my time trying to protect it from the world.
A yoga mat isn't supposed to be a museum piece.
And Yes, I Travel With Mine Too
This is probably where I'm supposed to tell you that because a Big Raven Yoga mat weighs around seven pounds, I leave mine at home when I travel.
I don't.
I travel with my Big Raven Yoga mat.
Is it the lightest thing I pack? Definitely not. If your number one priority is fitting everything into a tiny carry-on, there are much lighter travel mats out there.
For me, the extra weight is worth it because I'd rather practice on the mat I already know I love.
I know how it feels under my hands and knees. I know how much cushion it has. I'm not going to get wherever I'm going and wish I'd brought my regular mat instead.
And I like having something familiar with me.
There's something nice about rolling out your own mat in a hotel room, at a class somewhere you've never been or outside when you're away from home. Everything around you may be different, but that little six-foot-by-two-foot space is yours.
Would everyone want to give seven pounds of their luggage allowance to a yoga mat?
Probably not.
I do.
So How Many Yoga Mats Do You Actually Need?
This question makes me laugh a little considering the number of mats within walking distance of where I'm sitting.
But for most people?
Probably fewer than I have.
If your regular mat has enough grip for the way you practice, enough cushioning to keep you comfortable, enough stability to feel secure and can be properly cleaned, it should be able to follow you through quite a few different kinds of yoga.
You might eventually want another one because you practice every day and need drying time. You might keep one at work or at a studio. You might decide you really do want an ultralight mat for traveling. You might even find another design you love and decide that "need" really isn't the point anymore.
I certainly can't argue with that one.
But you shouldn't feel like you have to own a different yoga mat for every class on the schedule.
Buy for Your Practice, Not the Name of the Class
We've talked before about How to Choose a Yoga Mat You'll Still Love Two Years From Now, and this is part of that conversation.
Instead of buying for the one class you're taking right now, think about how you actually practice yoga.
Do you sweat a lot? Think about grip and washability.
Are your knees happier with more cushioning? Pay attention to thickness.
Do you practice in several places? Consider weight and whether you're willing to carry it.
Do you want one mat that can move between hot yoga, a gentle class, your living room floor and maybe even come along on vacation? Look for something versatile instead of something made for one narrow purpose.
And if you're like me and eventually end up with more than one yoga mat anyway, that's fine too.
Just maybe don't use my collection as your benchmark for what constitutes a reasonable number.
Looking for a yoga mat that can handle more than one kind of practice? Explore the Big Raven Yoga collection and find a mat you can take from hot yoga to a slow morning at home, and plenty of places in between.