If you are just starting to practice, you might be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of gear available and may not know what a yoga towel is. It seems like the more people get into yoga, the more tools and elements we need to add. But the end goal is always the same: a comfortable and seamless practice.
Why Do You Need A Yoga Towel
A yoga towel is an absorbent towel that is placed on top of a yoga mat. It is used to absorb sweat and provide traction during yoga classes. There are many benefits of using a yoga towel, such as preventing slipping, protecting your yoga mat, and absorbing sweat.
A yoga towel can help prevent slipping by adding an extra grip to your yoga mat. It provides a layer of textured fabric between you and your yoga mat. This additional grip can be beneficial in hot yoga classes, where you are likely to sweat more.
A yoga towel can also protect your yoga mat from wear and tear. When you place a yoga towel on top of your yoga mat, it acts as a barrier between you and the mat. This can help extend your yoga mat’s life by preventing it from becoming soaked with sweat or damaged by dirt and debris.
Finally, a yoga towel is an excellent way to absorb sweat during hot yoga classes. No one wants to slip around on a sweaty yoga mat, and towels are much more effective at absorbing sweat than mats alone. A good-quality yoga towel will quickly soak up any moisture, keeping you and your mat dry throughout your practice.
Yoga Towel Benefits
Yoga towels – or yoga mat towels – have become popular for a couple of reasons. First, it is hygienic. Yoga mats rarely get washed unless you do it regularly after practice. And if you join group sessions, the mats are shared. Participants are asked to wash them after the class, but you can never be sure that they have been cleaned properly. A yoga towel lays perfectly on top of a mat. You can bring it to a group class and be certain that you are doing yoga on a clean surface. You can easily wash them after practice too.
The second reason is the extra grip. Some mats are old and have lost their grip. Instead of buying a new mat, practitioners can invest in a nice towel. The towels have little grips underneath them ensuring that they will stay on top of the mat. This is perfect for anyone who enjoys hot or intense yoga practice where there is a lot of sweat. There is nothing worse than holding a pose and having your foot or hand slip from underneath you.
Best Yoga Towel Brands Review
Manduka Yoga Mat Towel
Manduka sells great products on their popular online store. The company crafts their products with natural or when possible, recycled materials to provide the simplicity and quality at the same time. Their towels come in a variety of stylish colors and designs. The towels are made out of an average of eight plastic bottles preventing them from going into landfills or into the ocean.
You can tell that the products are of high quality and that they are durable. The company designs and produces their towels sustainability and is dedicated to providing the best to yogis.
Non-slip
Durable
Suitable for Hot Yoga
Natural or recycle materials
Come in different colors and designs
Best in class for sweat-activated grip
not seen
Lululemon Yoga Mat Towel
Lululemon’s The Towel comes in a variety of colours including sea green, blue dye, off white, peach and black. Mostly used for hot yoga, this towel is super absorbent. It is made with absorbent microfiber fabric.
The towel gets extra grip and provides stability when you spray it lightly with some mist. Your yoga practice will have an extra layer of comfort because of the towel that also works in protecting you from slipping off the mat.
Provide extra grip
Suitable for hot yoga
Come in different colors
Made with absorbent microfiber fabric
Not seen
PrAna Yoga Mat Towel
PrAna is one of the most popular brands at the moment with the Maha Yoga Towel being one of their star products. So much so that Amazon has limited the availability due to thigh demand. Made mostly from recycled products, this towel has a soft, suede feel.
It’s wicking technology makes it absorbent and prevents you from sliding around. It is also a little longer in length compared to the standard size allowing you to tuck the ends of the towel under the corner of the mat
Made mostly from recycled products
Quickly absorbs moisture
Provide sustainability
Long enough to wrap it under the mat
Suitable for Hot Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga
Not seen
Yogitoes Yoga Mat Towel
Yogitoes provides the most stylish yoga mat towels in the market. They are more on the expensive side, but it is worth the investment. Positive reviews share how great they are at keeping grip and how they withstand the heat during a practice.
Their prints are fun, eye-catching and stand out from the more traditional towels. You can get an exotic jungle print, large tie-dye, sunsets, gradients, aboriginal, abstract, landscape or plain.
People say that using the Manduka Yogitoes Yoga Mat has been a game-changer for their practice and that it’s worth the cost. They agree that the silicon dots work exceptionally well to keep the mat in place and that the absorbent material soaks up sweat yet still dries quickly.
Come in different colors and designs
Keep grip
Suitable for Hot Yoga
Quite expensive
Gaiam Yoga Mat Towel
Gaiam towels are known for being supportive and providing a lot of grip. They really are the non-slip towels in the market and sell at an affordable price. The towel never bunches up during a practice and sticks to the mat while you do your poses.
Instead of worrying about slipping and sliding on your yoga mat, you can focus on your poses and feel safe and stable on this yoga mat towel.
The towel has rubber added to the bottom which makes it possible to bring the towel instead of the mat when you travel. But be sure to try it out before you decide. It isn’t the same for everyone. Some people may do practice on the beach, in the park or on rough ground.
Have a nice grip
Affordable in terms of price
Come in different colors
Not suitable for machine wash
Color fades with time
Breathe Yoga Mat Towel
If you are looking for a mat that is perfect for indoor and outdoor practice, then check out Breathe’s yoga towels. The canadian brand is continuously favored. They are made from preshrunk materials which means that you can wash it multiple times without it losing its length or shape.
The absorbent middle layer locks in almost all the moisture. There is no slipping, sliding or sound that comes from these towels. There is also a rabbit flap for you to use during your rabbit pose.
Do not loose their length and shape after washing
Absorb moisture
Non-slip
Have rabbit flap
Edges curl up
Zura Yoga Mat + Towel Combo
Zura is an eco-friendly yoga brand. They are perfect for the nature-loving, modern yogi. The towels are made from 100% natural fabric, they are non-toxic and they come in modern, abstract patterns and illustrations.
Zura’s mat and towel combo is a two in one product. The mat is made from natural rubber and the suede, absorbent towel is attached on top. The mat/towel combo is machine washable and depending which version you get, comes with travel-friendly carry straps. Buying a Zura mat also helps with the environment – with every purchase, a tree is planted.
Made from 100% natural fabric
Beutifully designed
Suitable for cleaning in washing machine
Slippery
Best Yoga Towel Material
- A cotton yoga mat towel. Yoga is an old tradition from India and there is nothing better than going back to the roots. And where better to start than your yoga towel? In India, yogis practice cotton. They are affordable, eco-friendly, and provide lots of grips. They are pale cream in color and also very easy to carry and clean.
- Microfiber yoga towel. A lot of the towels available to buy are made from microfibre. It has the ability to increase grip when wet and be soft at the same time. This is essential when doing hot yoga or Bikram.
- Polyester yoga towel. Both polyester and recycled polyester are popular materials for yoga towels. It is both durable and absorbent which once again, is important for hot yoga or Bikram.
Yoga Towel Type
Hot yoga mat towel
Yoga can be practiced in a heated room. The first to emerge is called Bikram yoga. It is done in a room at 105°F/41°C and 40% humidity. It is very intense for those who are not used to it and not a big fan of the sauna, but it is said to do wonders for your skin and flexibility. Hot yoga is also in a heated room, but at a more bearable temperature. It will be warm enough that you will sweat, yet comfortable enough that you can complete all the poses without worrying about the heat.
In both types of yoga, there is sweat coming from your body and this can impact your practice. Your mat may not be designed to withstand heat allowing your hands and feet to lose grip and slip. This is where a yoga mat towel comes in. The towel absorbs the sweat and has extra grip on the mat.
A non-slip yoga mat towel
Yogitoes Non-Slip Hot Yoga Towel from Manduka is a great towel. It is one of the most popular ones in the hot yoga world. It retails for a higher price but is sure to provide you grip on the hottest of yoga practices. The company has a patented Skidless Technology that uses silicon grips to stick to the mat. They also produce their towels with recycled plastic that produces poly yarn. This method reduces their carbon footprint by 66%.
Mission yoga mat towel
The Mission VapourActive Yoga Mat Towel on Amazon puts more focus on quick absorption and evaporation. It dries so fast that you will never worry about losing your grip – especially when the practice takes more out of you than expected. The towel is also designed with corner flaps so that you can easily put your yoga mat inside the folds to keep it secure.
A cheap yoga mat towel
The Gaiam Thirsty Yoga Mat Towel available in Walmart or Amazon does exactly what you need at an affordable price. The reviews show that the towel does not disappoint its buyers. It doesn’t budge from the yoga mat no matter how hot or sweaty your yoga practice gets and it absorbs any moisture quickly.
How To Use A Yoga Towel Properly
- Roll out the anti-slip yoga towel on your yoga mat.
- If it has side corner pockets, wrap your yoga mat with the anchors to get a better grip.
- Enjoy your yoga postures and deepen them as much as you can.
- Dry the yoga towel after each use and wash it once in a week for a bacteria-free environment.
Moisture Management
Whilst practicing yoga is considered a low impact activity do not underestimate how much heat can be generated. Holding a pose or deep breathing for 3 minutes can raise your inner heat as much as a full salutation. There will be times that you begin to sweat, where your hands and feet begin to get moist causing you to slip. A performance yoga towel can help with this.
The majority of yoga mats are closed cell top surface which means moisture will not get absorbed in the mat and can create a moist layer between your mat and your hands. Thus creating the feeling of slipping. It’s normal. And everyone goes through it. A performance yoga towel can help in those times.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is entirely up to you. Yoga towels are great for keeping grip during hot yoga and almost everyone who practices yoga in this way would always recommend getting a towel. Not only does it help prevent slipping, but it also absorbs. Sweat and dirt from your hands and feet go into the towel that is machine washable instead of going directly on your mat.
Manduka Yogitoes and PrAna yoga mat towels seem to be voted the best every time. They are practical, stylish, and add a bit of luxury to your practice.
Try to find a size that is a bit longer than the mat so that you can tuck the towel under the mat. The best is to get a mat with flaps or bands that attach to the mat underneath.
A yoga towel is thinner than a mat, is machine washable, creates grip, and is absorbent. In hot yoga, a mat gets slippery and doesn’t provide grip. It can also be difficult to clean and is not always as soft. The extra layer of comfort comes from a towel.
Very easily! Just pop it into a machine and wash at 30 degrees. Be sure to double-check the directions in case they are different from the standard.
