People around the globe have begun incorporating yoga into their daily routines and for good reasons. It has numerous health benefits that impact your body, mind, and spirit. We often take our mat for granted but one of the essential components of a successful yoga practice is the kind of mat you use. While plastic yoga mats have been the go-to for many, there is a growing trend back towards using a traditional yoga rug instead. Yoga rugs are more sustainable, better for your health, and can supercharge your practice by helping you build strength. Natural yoga rugs have been used for hundreds of years long before plastic so lets dive into why they are a superior choice.

Yoga Rug vs. Yoga Mat

Superior grip

One of the significant advantages of a yoga rug over plastic mats is that it provides a better grip. A traditional yoga rug is designed to help you engage your core muscles rather than allowing a sticky, plastic surface to hold you up. The texture of the yoga rug helps create a natural surface for your feet and hands, allowing you to find balance in poses that require strong core muscles. Let’s look at a few common poses to explain.

In Downward-Facing Dog, an ultra-grippy plastic yoga mat allows you to dump weight into your palms and your shoulders because the plastic surface grips to your palms. Over time, this can eventually cause soreness in the shoulders and wrists and even hyperextension in some cases. When you try Downward-Facing Dog on a cotton yoga rug, the natural surface gives you grip, but not so much that it allows you to dump weight into your joints. You are subconsciously prompted to draw your weight back out of your wrists and use your posterior deltoids. To stay upright you must engage your abdominal muscles and root powerfully through your feet. This is the intended alignment of the pose, and a yoga rug encourages your body to find it without having to think about it.

Öko Living tested tons of different weaving techniques and yarns to find the optimal grip level!

Better alignment

When your muscles are engaged your alignment naturally will adjust as well.   Öko Living yoga rugs also have horizontal strips that help align hands and feet and support you to stay in place. As your body grows stronger and you engaging your core, pulling up vs down your body will naturally align to prevent injury or strain.

Better cushion and balance

Additionally, the cushioning offered by a yoga rug provides additional support for your body weight when performing poses like Plank or Downward-Facing Dog. This extra support helps protect against injury while encouraging deeper stretching and flexibility, which are necessary for building long-term strength.

Dangers of Plastic Mats

Using a plastic yoga mat can also increase the risk of hyperextension, an injury that occurs when a joint extends beyond its normal range of motion. Hyperextension can be particularly common in yoga poses that involve balance and stability, such as Warrior poses and Downward-Facing Dog. The slippery surface of a plastic yoga mat can make it difficult to maintain proper alignment and control, increasing the risk of hyperextension.

On the other hand, a yoga rug provides a stable surface that reduces the risk of hyperextension. The rug's natural fibers provide a textured surface that gives you a better grip and more control over your movements. This stability makes it easier to maintain proper alignment, reducing the risk of injury. Additionally, the textured surface of the rug provides resistance, which can help to strengthen the muscles and joints, making them more resilient against injury.

Justine Lemos–Ph.D., yoga teacher, and Ayurvedic practitioner–notes the complete dissipation of her sacroiliac pain due to hyper-mobility after she started using a yoga rug. For many adamant yogis and yoga teachers, hyper-mobility and hyperextension can be a detriment to joint health.

The Tradition of Yoga Rugs

Although yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, plastic yoga mats weren’t invented until the 80s. What started as a personal solution for one woman turned into a gimmick spearheaded by businessmen with no formal yoga education. They were created to make money, not make your practice better. In order to get the benefits of your yoga practice, yoga rugs are the best option.

Unlike plastic yoga mats, yoga rugs have a history deeply rooted in tradition.  According to Ekaminhale.com, yoga rugs are traditionally used in the Mysore style of Ashtanga yoga. Mysore yoga is a dynamic and physically demanding practice that requires a lot of strength, stability, and control. The Mysore yoga rug provides a stable and supportive surface that helps practitioners to build strength and improve their practice.

Sadhguru–an influential spiritual teacher and founder of the Isha Foundation–often emphasizes the importance of using natural materials in our daily lives, including in our yoga practice. Sadhguru has spoken about the significance of using natural materials and avoiding synthetic materials, stating, "When you use natural materials, you are in tune with the nature of things. Synthetic materials are unnatural, and hence, create an imbalance."

He has also emphasized the importance of our connection with nature, saying, "Nature is not just a background, it is a fundamental aspect of who we are." When you use natural materials such as a cotton yoga rug, you deepen your connection with nature and enhance your yoga practice.

While plastic yoga mats may be more convenient and cost-effective, they can increase the risk of injury and hyperextension. On the other hand, a yoga rug provides a safer and more effective environment for building strength and improving your yoga practice. So, if you are serious about your yoga practice, invest in a high-quality yoga rug. Your body will thank you!