Darin and I have made a lot of yoga mats over the years, which means we’ve also learned a lot about what they can handle.
We’ve hosed them down, hung them outside, rolled and unrolled them more times than I could count, hauled them around, practiced on them and watched what happens as they’re actually used. Then there are the things customers tell us they’ve done with theirs.
I don’t think you should have to treat your yoga mat like something precious. You should be able to sweat on it, take it to class, use it outside and eventually see some evidence that you actually practice yoga on the thing.
A little wear doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong. A mat that gets used should eventually look like it gets used.
What I’m talking about here are the habits that can unnecessarily shorten its life.
Sometimes we’ll hear from someone who says their mat is starting to look different or isn’t behaving the way it used to. So we start asking questions.
Where do you keep it?
“In my car.”
How do you clean it?
“I use this cleaner I have at home.”
Did you let it dry before you rolled it up?
And sometimes there’s the answer.
It’s rarely one catastrophic thing that destroys a yoga mat. More often, it’s a small habit repeated over and over.
If you’ve invested in a yoga mat you really love, you don’t need to baby it. You just need to know what not to do.
Here are eight yoga mat mistakes you may be making without realizing it.
1. You roll it up wet
This might be the biggest one, and it’s incredibly easy to do.
You finish hot yoga. You’re sweaty. Your mat is sweaty. Class is over and everyone is gathering their things.
Of course you roll up your mat.
That part isn’t the problem. The problem is getting home and forgetting about it until your next class.
And sweat itself isn’t the enemy. Our Big Raven Yoga mats actually get grippier when they’re wet, which is one of the things I love about them. If you tend to have sweaty hands or practice hot yoga, that little bit of moisture can actually work in your favor.
It’s what happens afterward that matters.
When you get home, unroll your mat. Hang it over something or lay it somewhere with good air circulation and let it dry completely before you roll it back up.
If you’ve ever cleaned your yoga mat, thought you took care of the smell and then unrolled it a few days later only to discover that the smell is back, I wrote an entire post about why your yoga mat smells bad and why it keeps coming back. A mat that isn’t completely dry before it gets rolled up can absolutely be part of the problem.
2. You leave it in your car
I understand this one because it makes perfect sense.
If your mat lives in your car, you can’t forget it when you head to class.
Unfortunately, cars get really hot.
We live in Minnesota, so we spend a good part of the year complaining about the cold. Then July arrives and you open your car door after it has been sitting in the sun all afternoon and remember that Minnesota can do hot just fine, too.
That kind of extreme heat is especially hard on natural rubber. Repeated exposure can speed up deterioration and affect the material over time.
So bring your mat inside.
It doesn’t need a special place. Just don’t make the back seat of your car its permanent home during the summer.
3. You’re cleaning it too aggressively
A yoga mat gets dirty. Obviously, you should clean it.
But more cleaning power doesn’t necessarily mean a cleaner or happier mat.
Bleach, harsh household cleaners and aggressive scrubbing aren’t necessary for normal yoga mat care. Depending on what your mat is made from, they can actually do more harm than good.
For a Big Raven Yoga mat, we keep it simple.
For gentle cleaning, use a damp towel for spot washing. When your mat needs more than that, hose it down and hang it outside to dry. We’ve done this plenty of times. The artwork will not smear or bleed.
You do not need to scrub the life out of it.
And there are a few things we specifically tell people not to do with our mats: don’t tumble dry them, dry clean them, bleach them or iron them.
Gentle cleaning is enough.
4. You assume every yoga mat should be cared for the same way
This is where a lot of well-intentioned advice goes wrong.
Someone tells you how they clean their yoga mat, so you do the same thing with yours.
But yoga mats aren’t all made from the same materials, and they shouldn’t necessarily be cleaned the same way.
That’s why I keep saying, “For a Big Raven Yoga mat...” We know how our mats are made and how they should be cared for. If you own another brand, follow the instructions for that specific mat.
Your friend’s favorite cleaning method isn’t automatically the right one for yours.
5. You’re putting oils and lotions on it without realizing it
This one can be harder to spot because you’re probably not intentionally putting anything on your mat.
You put lotion on your hands or feet. You use sunscreen before an outdoor class. Then you practice, and some of those products transfer to the surface of your mat.
Over time, residue can build up and change how the surface feels.
If a mat that used to feel grippy suddenly starts feeling slippery exactly where you put your hands and feet, don’t immediately assume it’s worn out.
It may just need to be cleaned.
You certainly don’t need to stop wearing sunscreen for outdoor yoga. Protect your skin. Just remember that some of it is probably going to end up on your mat, too.
Sometimes a change in grip is a cleaning problem, not a sign that you need a new mat.
6. You’re rolling and storing it the wrong way
I have more to say about yoga mat storage than I ever expected to when we started making yoga mats.
One thing we specifically recommend with a Big Raven Yoga mat is rolling it with the printed side facing outward.
There’s a reason for it.
Rolling the printed side out helps the corners of your mat lie flat when you unroll it again and helps prevent those unsightly creases that can develop from improper storage.
It’s a tiny habit, but it makes a difference.
We also don’t recommend folding your mat for long-term storage. Folding can create creases and stress points, especially in a thicker mat like ours.
Roll it printed side out, make sure it’s completely dry and put it somewhere it isn’t going to be crushed under everything else in the closet.
If you want to know more, I wrote a whole post about how to properly store your yoga mat because there are a few really simple things you can do to keep your mat lying flat and looking better.
Sometimes you just need to roll it the other direction.
7. You wear shoes on it
You can wear shoes on your yoga mat. It belongs to you, and I’m certainly not coming to your house to stop you.
But it will change how the mat wears.
Think about what ends up on the bottom of your shoes. Dirt, grit, tiny rocks and whatever you walked through on the way into class. Now put your body weight on top of that and move around.
That’s a lot harder on the surface than bare hands and feet.
This matters even more if one of the reasons you chose your mat was because you loved the artwork. Our mats are printed to be practiced on, but there’s no reason to grind dirt into the surface if you don’t need to.
If you regularly do workouts where shoes are necessary, you may want a separate exercise mat for that purpose.
8. You never clean it at all
And then there’s the other end of the spectrum.
Some people clean their yoga mats constantly. Other people are reading this thinking, “How often am I supposed to be cleaning this thing?”
There isn’t one perfect schedule.
If you practice hot yoga several times a week, your mat is going to need cleaning more often than one used for a quiet home practice a couple of times a week.
Look at it. Smell it. Feel the surface.
If it needs cleaning, clean it.
And whatever cleaning method is right for your mat, make sure it’s completely dry before you roll it back up.
You really don’t need to make it more complicated than that.
So how long should a yoga mat actually last?
This is usually the next question.
And I don’t think there’s an honest answer that says every yoga mat should last a certain number of years.
How often you practice, what your mat is made from, how you clean it and how you store it all matter.
There’s also a difference between a mat looking used and a mat being worn out.
A little fading or a change in the appearance of the spots where your hands and feet land doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong with your mat.
I’d pay more attention to how it performs.
Is the material breaking down? Is it cracking or peeling? Has the cushion noticeably changed? Does it refuse to lie flat? Is the surface still giving you the grip you need?
Those questions tell you more than the calendar does.
I’d rather you replace a mat because it no longer works well for your practice than because somebody on the internet told you yoga mats expire after a certain number of months.
How do you care for a Big Raven Yoga mat?
After all of this, I don’t want you thinking our mats require a long list of special care instructions.
They don’t.
For everyday cleaning, use a damp towel to wipe down spots. When it needs a deeper cleaning, take it outside, hose it down and hang it up to dry. The artwork will not smear or bleed.
Let it dry completely before putting it away.
When you store it, roll it with the printed side facing outward. That helps the corners stay flat when you unroll it and prevents creases.
And don’t tumble dry, dry clean, bleach or iron it.
That’s really it.
We made these mats to be used.
Your yoga mat is supposed to show some life
I think this is worth saying because sometimes we get so focused on making things last that we forget why we bought them in the first place.
Your yoga mat is going to age.
If you use it regularly, eventually there will be signs that you use it.
That’s okay.
Even though we cover our mats in artwork, they aren’t artwork that belongs behind glass. We make them to go on the floor.
You’re supposed to stand on them, sweat on them, stretch across them, balance on them, fall onto them, drag them to class and take them outside.
I would much rather see a Big Raven Yoga mat that has been practiced on for years than one that still looks brand new because someone was afraid to use it.
The goal isn’t to keep your yoga mat pristine forever. The goal is to avoid shortening its life by doing things that are unnecessarily hard on it.
There’s a difference.
When Darin and I were developing our mats, we wanted them to be beautiful. We wanted them to perform. And we wanted them to last.
That’s why our mats have a super-grippy surface, a 100% natural tree rubber base and 6 mm of cushion. They weigh about seven pounds, so they’re substantial and they stay where you put them. They’re made for regular, real-world use.
And yes, we put artwork all over them because I still don’t see any reason something functional has to be boring.
If your current mat is cracking, peeling, permanently smells or simply isn’t giving you the grip and cushion you want anymore, explore the Big Raven Yoga mat collection. Find one you’ll actually look forward to unrolling.
Take care of your mat, but don’t be precious about it.
Take it to class. Take it outside. Sweat on it. Practice on it.
Because the saddest thing you can do to a beautiful yoga mat isn’t wear it out.
It’s never unrolling it in the first place.