At-home yoga has been a part of my day by day routine for I don’t even know the way lengthy, and over time, I’ve tried and cherished numerous expert-approved yoga mats (whats up, Lululemon’s The Mat, Manduka’s GRP Adapt Mat, and Alo’s Warrior Mat). But it surely’s been a battle to search out one which didn’t present apparent indicators of wear and tear and tear on the one-year mark.
That’s, till I examined Manduka’s Eko Yoga Mat ($100, amazon.com) final fall for 2023’s SELF House Health Awards. It impressed me straight out of the field and continues to take action over a yr later. Appears like I’ve lastly discovered the workhorse mat of my goals.
The design
The Eko mat has the identical primary design as quite a lot of different high-end yoga mats: Its grippy high rubber layer covers a comfortable backside layer that’s meant to stay to the ground throughout your follow. It’s 5 millimeters thick and never reversible—fairly customary stuff.
However upon nearer inspection, I observed that the rubber floor had a singular zebra-stripe sample moderately than a very clean floor or a pebbled texture. I acquired the mat within the stable charcoal colorway, however there are slight variations within the coloration and really feel the place the stripes alternate down the size of the mat. It’s a cool impact, and I feel it’s the supply of the mat’s superior grippiness.
One other function that caught my curiosity from the get-go (and has continued to repay within the final 12 months): The mat’s high layer is closed-cell, which means it gained’t let sweat or micro organism seep into its core. That additionally makes it simple to scrub—I usually wipe it down with light cleaning soap and heat water, then let it air-dry. Additionally, I’m a proud sweater, and the concept of all that moisture staying the heck out of my yoga mat provides me some severe peace of thoughts.
The texture
My expectations have been fairly excessive the primary time I took the Eko Mat for a spin—having used a bunch of different Manduka mats, I knew the model didn’t skimp on high quality. Even then, I used to be blown away by the way it felt all through my movement.
My fingers have been virtually glued to the mat throughout chaturangas and arm balances. I’d hop to the highest of my mat from downward canine and the mat wouldn’t budge (I apply it to hardwood flooring, which the underside layer sticks to love a magnet). The mat padded my knees and elbows in cat/cow and forearm planks. I stayed grounded and regular throughout one-legged balances. And I didn’t for one second really feel like I used to be practising in a puddle of my very own sweat.
