Customer Reviews

Drishti Extra Thick Yoga Mat - Black

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yoga mats come in three basic thicknesses with a newer fourth thickness becoming increasingly available. At 1/4 inch, this mat is one of the latter kind that tops even the "thick" mats (3/16" thick) designed for those who need or want extra cushion. At 24" x 68" it is the standard width and length. Mats that are about one fourth as thick as this one (1/16") are good for travel or placing under a thicker mat to provide more traction. The average mats are about 1/8."

There are two sides to this and nearly all yoga mats. Look carefully at the 'bumps' on each side of the mat. The larger bumps are designed to face upwards to cushion your hands, feet, and knees during poses while keeping your body from dangerously slipping out of alignment. The smaller bumps are designed to face downwards to grip the floor and keep the yoga mat from sliding. Many mats have a label on one end with the name of the brand. This is typically, but not always, located on the 'up' side. The bumps will tell you for sure.

This yoga mat will increase in softness and stickiness with use. (So do most mats.) They start out mildly sticky and increase in stickiness the more they are used. You will want to wash your mat when it first arrives so as to remove the thin film they get on their surface during the manufacturing process. Instructions for washing the mat are included. Once you've washed and dried your mat you're ready to begin! After using it for a while, if you find the mat decreasing in stickiness each time you pull it out, this is the typical sign that a light coating of dust or too much body sweat has accumulated on your mat and it needs a light hand washing with very diluted soap and water. After washing, roll your mat in a thick towel to squeeze out the excess water, otherwise it will take forever to dry in the air. Then, air dry your mat unrolled, inside, and away from sunlight. (Hanging over the shower bar works nicely.)

When you first unroll your mat you will find one end to be a bit curled. Simply alternate the direction you roll your mat (top outside once, then bottom outside next) or the end you start from (curled end once, flat end next time) and you'll find it straightening out more or less over time.

I recommend buying your own yoga mat even if your yoga studio or gym provides them for you. I've worked in many studios and gyms over the years. Sometimes management has mats cleaned often, sometimes not. If you bring your own mat you always know where it's been. :o) Plus, owning your own mat may encourage you to begin valuable practice at home.

For my students who have trouble with their knees in some of the poses requiring the body weight to rest on a knee, I recommend temporarily folding over one end of the mat to get double cushion under the knee while still leaving one layer under the rest of the body. This saves you having to haul more than one mat out each time you practice which can be discouraging especially to the beginner.

I use this mat primarily for my Pilates workouts, and I have been very pleased with it thus far. I work on a concrete surface covered with laminate tile flooring, so the thickness is a big plus and makes my work surface tolerable. Barefoot standing exercises don't result in sliding, cross-legged exercises allow for comfort when concentrating, and exercises on my back are painless for my tailbone and shoulderblades!

Pros:
+ extra thick
+ does not slide
+ attractive colors

Cons:
- as with all mats, I'd like this one to be wider, although it's not really a con since an average-sized person such as myself will fit on this just fine; it's extra-long but I would love extra-wide all the same

A great buy overall.

This is easily the thickest yoga mat I've ever seen. It is great for cross legged positions, especially if you get pains in your ankles. However I constantly slide in downward facing dog. When my hands get the least bit sweaty it's a major effort to stay in form. (Yes I've washed the mat many times and I've tried it on both sides). I find myself hoping my abs don't give out before the 5 breaths are up. I can't concentrate on the stretch. The extra thickness makes you feel unstable for inversions like the head stand and for tree pose. The corner of my mat has started to come apart and it's practically brand new.

This is a nice, thick yoga mat. Thick enough to pad your knees. Not too thick, so as to prevent balancing while standing on one foot. Rinse it with water, and there is no problem with slickness.

This mat is so comfy. If you practice yoga or pilates on a wood floor you'll appreciate its extra thickness. The only down side is one I hadn't really thought about until I was hauling it around in my new yoga bag, it's very heavy. That's not a problem if you don't have to lug it around much though.

I have a cheapier mat and I kept sliding off of it. This mat comes with a note about needing to break it in but I was surprises at how sticky it was right off the bat. Even better then the ones I bought for my daughters at the yoga studio.

The Drishti Extra Thick Yoga Mat is the perfect thickness - not so thin that you uncomfortably feel the floor, but not so thick that you feel unstable. I love the color of mine as well (slate). It has lasted me a good long while - longer than any other mat I've tried. The price is also unbeatable - $26 for an extra thick mat? A great product for sure.

I didn't have time to wash my mat before using it for the first time, and it was VERY slippery. Downward Dog was next to impossible, and the Bear pose was downright dangerous because my feet threatened to slip out from under me and put me in a full side split. It really does have an oily film all over it, very gross feeling. So, I washed it with some mild dish soap, thinking that was designed for washing greasy stuff off of my dishes so maybe it would work. This time the area near my hands was sticky enough but my feet kept slipping. So, that seemed to indicate that I didn't wash the mat thoroughly enough on that side, but otherwise the greasy stuff would eventually come off and it would be nice and sticky.

At first, I liked the thickness of this mat. My old one was a thin Gaiam mat, very uncomfortable and somewhat slippery. I used to put a smaller thicker gym mat underneath to protect my hands and knees from the hardwood floor at the gym, but it was a very awkward setup. I like just having one mat MUCH better. This mat is very squishy, kind of like memory foam, so it gets thinner with pressure. After going from Forward Fold to Downward Dog, I can see an imprint of where my feet were on the mat right in front of my face. Not a big deal, but kind of made me laugh. But I definitely noticed that I need more support for my wrists in Side Plank pose and my back knee hurt when going from Pigeon to Swan. So, I think I have to send this mat back and look for an even thicker one. It's a shame, since I love the color (mine is slate blue).

[...].

I'm submitting this review to warn people that this is not the same product as a previously available Drishti Extra Thick Yoga Mat that Amazon used to retail. I purchased a Drishti Extra Thick Yoga Mat through Amazon several years back and it's a great mat. I've been very happy with it, and the thickness has been perfect for my Astanga practice. As that first Drishti mat is starting to wear out, I've been looking to replace it. When I saw the "same" product on Amazon I happily ordered it. But it simply isn't the same product. My first mat had a sewn-on Drishti label (which clearly isn't important functionally, but simply serves as an added indicator that the two products differ). The key issue is that the new mat is substantially thinner than the old one. Not good since I rely on the thickness for cushioning during my Astanga practice. Sadly, there's no point in returning it because of mailing costs and the fact that the original mailing costs were a third of the purchase price.

This is my first yoga mat and I've only had it for a month. The mat is very comfortable (soft) and thick. So far I have only used it to for pilates and it has serves that purpose well.