For anyone new to yoga, choosing the right yoga mat can feel overwhelming. With so many materials, thicknesses, and price points available, it’s hard to know what actually matters, especially before you’ve built any real experience on the mat.
As someone who has practised yoga for over 15 years and has access to every yoga mat that Manduka makes, I’m [James Appleby, President at Manduka] often asked the same question: What yoga mat should I get as a beginner or someone who is new to yoga? My answer is always the same. Before sustainability, thickness, and colour, there is one performance factor that I think matters most when you’re starting out: grip.
Why Grip Matters Most When You're Starting Out
Grip is the most common unmet need for people new to yoga.
When you have reliable grip, you can focus on the teacher’s instructions, pay attention to alignment, listen to what your body is telling you, and breathe without feeling rushed or distracted.
When you’re just starting yoga and you don’t have grip, everything else becomes harder. If you’re slipping, your attention is spent just trying to stay in place rather than learning the posture or listening to direction. That frustration adds up quickly, especially when you’re already unsure of what you’re doing.
Yoga can be challenging enough at the beginning. Your mat shouldn’t be another obstacle.
That’s why, regardless of fitness level, experience, or yoga style, grip is the one performance marker I prioritise for beginners.
Understanding The Trade-Offs
You can’t maximise grip without sacrificing something else. There are two materials that really prioritise grip as their primary performance feature.
PU offers exceptional wet and dry grip because it absorbs moisture. Sweat that would normally cause slipping is absorbed into the surface, which is why these mats feel so consistent, even in intense or heated classes.
But absorption is also the trade-off. The yoga mat becomes personal, not shareable. The mat can never be 100% cleaned of bacteria, and it’s not suitable for studio or communal use. This is why we don't recommend PU mats for studio equipment or shared use, and why we advise caution if you see them used in studios.
Once sweat or moisture enters a PU mat, it’s effectively yours. It’s no different than a toothbrush. Once it’s been used, it shouldn’t really be shared. This isn’t unique to our products; it’s true of all PU yoga mats.
Natural rubber provides grip through tactile traction, similar to the sole of a running shoe or the tread on a bicycle tyre. It doesn’t absorb moisture, which means it’s easier to clean, works better in shared environments, and is made from a natural, renewable material.
But rubber also has trade-offs. It wears over time, like a shoe tread. UV exposure causes oxidation and natural biodegradation. And it needs care to prevent drying, hardening, and losing its natural grip and comfort.
Why Cushioning And Stability Matter
One advantage of both PU and natural rubber mats is that they use a rubber base. That provides strong cushioning, joint support, and stability without excessive softness.
Beginners may assume more padding equals more comfort, but too much softness can actually make balance harder. Stability matters more than thickness when you’re learning.
Why Yoga Mats Feel Different For Everyone
The biggest misconception I see is the belief that everyone will experience a yoga mat the same way.
They won’t.
Body type, sweat levels, heat generation, strength, and experience all change how a yoga mat performs. I’ve taken classes next to colleagues using the exact same mat, in the same room, at the same time. One of us completely dry, the other looking like they had been swimming.
Same mat, same environment, same class. Completely different experience.
This is why personal reviews can be misleading. This is why your friend’s mat might work perfectly for them but not for you. It doesn’t mean the review is incorrect. It just means some understanding of the person is needed for you to know whether it makes sense for you. Are you the same body type? Does your body react the same way under movement? Are you at the same fitness level?
It’s also important to understand that experienced yogis often want less grip. They may prefer the ability to slide, adjust, or transition more fluidly, and they want the grip to come from their own strength rather than the yoga mat. They might want time on the mat where it isn’t trying to grip them in every posture. Beginners usually need the opposite: predictability and consistency so the focus is on the practice.
How To Find The Right Mat For You
Nothing replaces actually experiencing a mat.
Practising on a yoga mat in a studio or borrowing one from a friend to feel the grip and surface will always be the best way to know what works for you and what doesn’t. The reality, though, is that this is also one of the hardest things to do. There are simply too many materials and performance profiles to try them all.
That’s where recommendations matter. They’re the closest substitute for experience when experience isn’t yet possible.
But if you’re unsure, ask us directly. Manduka is one of the only brands that makes yoga mats across all the different materials, because each one does something better than the others. Every product exists for a primary performance reason, and with that, every product comes with a trade-off. You have to know what the primary performance feature is that you want and what you are willing to let go of.
Your needs will change as your yoga practice evolves, as your environment changes, if you are travelling, or if you begin a different style of yoga. At Manduka, we’re constantly working to create yoga mats that support each of those points in your journey.
Sometimes the right advice isn’t even about the material. Length, thickness, weight, cleaning needs, or where and how you practise can matter just as much. Our goal is never to guide you towards a yoga mat that doesn’t work for you. It's hard to anticipate what will matter most until you've been on the mat a few times, which is why we focus on helping you prioritise based on what we know matters early on.
Towels and props can be helpful down the line, but your mat is the foundation. Once you've established a rhythm in your practice, you'll have a better sense of what else might support you.
Where To Start
If I’m personally asked which yoga mat someone should choose if they are new to yoga, my answer is consistent:
Grip is going to be your priority.
That’s why I guide beginners towards either the GRP Adapt or the eKO, with the final decision coming down to secondary considerations like weight, natural materials, and cleaning preferences.
When you’re new to yoga, you don’t yet know what class you’ll try tomorrow or how your body will respond. If you have grip, you can show up, focus, and learn. Everything else can be refined as your practice and your understanding grow.
One last thing: while colour matters (and we make plenty of beautiful options), I'd encourage you to let performance drive the decision first. You'll spend far more time feeling your mat than looking at it.
If reliable grip in all conditions is your priority, explore our GRP Adapt series.
If you want reliable grip made from a natural material, explore our eKO series.
Written by James Appleby, President of Manduka
James Appleby is President of Manduka and a long time yogi who began his practice nearly 20 years ago as his wife’s first student.
