For the past few years, I鈥檝e sought a yoga mat I could easily travel with鈥攕omething lightweight and foldable that would allow me to unroll anywhere: the back patio of an AirbnB, a hotel room, the basement of my brother-in-law鈥檚 house during Thanksgiving week. Unrolling a yoga mat is like having a portable gym with me wherever I go. A dedicated space for workouts and yoga makes me feel like I鈥檓 riding a magic carpet to fitness and me-time, wherever I am in the world and whoever I鈥檓 with.
I鈥檓 a once-a-week yogi who dials up a class on an app when my body feels creaky from outdoor adventuring. I鈥檝e been doing yoga off-and-on for the greater part of 25 years, having started with a small group class at a community center on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. I began striking occasional Mountain poses while walking my dog on mountain trails and have learned to move into a Dancer’s pose when my quads and hip flexors are tight. I sometimes crave cocooning into Child鈥檚 Pose and unwinding my whole body with simple twists. But, despite the lack of rigor in my yoga practice, I value the time and don鈥檛 want to miss it because I鈥檓 on the road. And it鈥檚 not just yoga I practice on my rectangular personal space. I do bodyweight workouts of air squats and lunges, single-leg deadlifts, and plank variations as well.
When I first started testing the last fall, I liked it immediately because, upon unrolling, it smells like a fresh breeze over a meadow. That鈥檚 because it鈥檚 mostly cotton (92 percent), not petroleum-derived rubber, and dyed with medicinal Aryuvedic plants and herbs like turmeric and holy basil (for real), which supposedly soothe the skin and reduce stress. It鈥檚 more of a yoga rug than a mat because it鈥檚 hand-loomed (鈥渆thically hand-loomed,鈥 says the company), and the cotton is Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified.
Oko Living Jade & Jute Travel Yoga Mat
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I soon discovered how easily it travels. While rubber yoga mats hold creases if folded in half, and are often too long when rolled up to shove into a carry-on bag, this 鈥渞ug鈥 folds up easily into almost any shape, and can lay close-to-flat with my clothes in a travel bag. It also weighs just 2.5 pounds.
But, what you gain in portability you pay for in thickness. At 3mm thick (some yoga mats are 5mm, 6mm, or even 7mm thick), practicing yoga on a firm surface means moving with intention (my God, I speak yogi!) in certain poses and positions, like bending a knee in a quad stretch, or curling on my back. It鈥檚 also pricey. The 3mm version of the Travel Mat I have costs $174. But, compare that to multiple drop-in fees at gyms while traveling, and the time spent to get to said gyms and back. In my line of work, time is money.
Plenty of yogis tend to diss this mat, and I can see why. It lacks a grippy rubber top surface to keep feet from slipping away from hands in Downward-Facing Dog, for instance, which could very well result in a faceplant. Instead, the soft rug/mat is, honestly, a little slippery. The 8 percent of the loomed rug that is not cotton is all-natural jute, which helps with some grip. Raised ridges at both ends provide extra texture to root down feet and hands in certain poses and the cotton becomes grippier when sweat upon, but still, it鈥檚 much slicker than a traditional rubber yoga mat.
But that鈥檚 part of why I love it. I鈥檓 someone who likes a physical challenge. I鈥檓 also someone who takes advantage of every single strengthening benefit I can get, whether that鈥檚 from carrying a loaded backpack when I run with my dog, or practicing yoga on a mat that requires total focus and muscle engagement or else鈥aceplant.
I鈥檓 a trail runner. I place a high value on grip and traction. But immediately upon dialing up a CorePower class on my phone at home on this mat, I liked having to work a little harder to not slip. It鈥檚 not that I don鈥檛 think yoga on a regular, stickier mat isn鈥檛 hard. But on this rug-like mat, although poses can feel a tad precarious at first, I鈥檝e felt the engagement of everything from my core muscles to my connective tissue, and I dig it. (I鈥檝e since seen Instagram ads affirming my observation that using Oko Living 鈥渕ats鈥 enhances a person鈥檚 yoga practice and makes them stronger.) The rug is not as slick as a Slip-n-Slide. It鈥檚 just not nearly as sticky as a rubber mat鈥攂ut it doesn鈥檛 smell or feel like rubber, either.
Besides feeling stronger and more in control of my body in poses every time I use this rug, I also love how my bare feet feel against it when I鈥檓 in poses or doing squats, and how my hands feel connected to its soft, organic cotton texture. And I appreciate how the natural tree rubber coating on its bottom side grips to hard surfaces to keep the mat from slipping on the floor; and grips just enough to not move on carpet.
I have washed the rug鈥攊t鈥檚 said to be washable with the included bag of wildcrafted soap nuts (I鈥檓 not making this up) that serve as laundry detergent. It emerged from the wash and air dry clean, albeit with some cotton fuzzies still requiring occasional removal weeks later. I pull them off like I pull tufts off my shedding dog.
Earlier this summer, I unpacked the 74-inch-long by 27-inch-wide mat from my bag three times while in Costa Rica. Once to do an hour-long class, using my phone and headphones, in a dedicated open-air yoga space that wasn鈥檛 in use. Once to do a 45-minute class on a hotel balcony overlooking a rainforest. The third time to do bodyweight exercises on a wooden platform next to a river. My magic carpet served me well鈥攆reeing me to spontaneously indulge in a workout whenever and wherever I wanted鈥攁s it has in a hotel room in Santa Fe where I banged out a 40-minute core strengthening session during a busy work trip, and in my in-laws鈥檚 carpeted basement basement where I did yoga facing a sliding glass door that lead to dense Maryland woods.
This magic (yoga) carpet will continue to transport me to a place where I鈥檓 a fitter, Zen-like being, whether I鈥檓 traveling or using it in my own house.