Traveling is a hassle for everyone. Many people travel to get away from the day-to-day stress, but enjoy bringing a few comforts from home on their trips. Yoga enthusiasts may prefer to have an at-home yoga mat and a dedicated travel yoga mat.

If you’re driving to your destination, your yoga mat can easily be stored in your trunk or backseat. When flying, yoga mats often meet the carry-on requirements and you can even store your ID and other essentials in the pockets of the yoga mat bag.

These tips will help you know what to look for when choosing a travel yoga mat to take as you fulfill your wanderlust.

 

The benefits of having a travel yoga mat

Portable

Portability is an essential of any yoga mat, but especially so for a travel yoga mat. You want a mat that can easily be slung over your shoulder while also folded up to store in the overhead compartment of a plane.

Conventional yoga mats meant for use at home or in a classroom setting roll up, which actually takes up more room than you’d think. Look for a yoga mat that easily folds up for compact storage.

 

Lightweight

A component of a portable travel yoga mat is finding one lightweight that won’t weigh you down or burden your shoulders.

Lightweight, portable yoga mats need to be compact in size to fit carry-on requirements if you prefer to take it on the airplane with you.

If you’re trekking on a beach vacation, your yoga mat could need a good cleaning after a few sunrise yoga exercises on the sandy beaches. Invest in a mat that is portable, but also easy to clean with a quick rinse and air dries while you’re snorkeling or diving with the dolphins. You won’t need to worry about it woth our cork yoga mat! It is antibacterial, easy to clean and is water and sweat resistant!

 

Durable

When you’re traveling away from home, the last thing you want is for your yoga mat to fall apart and need to be replaced. Searching for a yoga mat in a tourist-heavy region may be easy, but it will also be pricey.

You can prevent this dilemma from happening by choosing a durable travel yoga mat that will last throughout your journey and onto the next one. Don’t be afraid to pay a little more for durability over flimsy material in the dollar deals bin.

Along with durability comes sustainability. If you can find one that fits your needs, choose a travel mat made from recycled materials or a yoga mat that are made with biodegradable materials. You want to see the world, but you don’t want to spread your carbon footprint everywhere you go, either.

 

Comfort

Yoga is meant to be a relaxing, invigorating experience. To achieve that, so many of the elements have to be comfortable – comfy shoes, comfy yoga pants, comfy environment. And most importantly, a comfy yoga mat.

When looking for the perfect travel yoga mat, you should look at the mat’s size, thickness and stability (stickiness.) You want a size that’s large enough to accommodate you throughout all of the poses, but also one that can easily be folded to an easy-to-travel, compact size.

The thickness of a mat will greatly affect how comfortable it is. While common sense dictates that the comfort level increases with the thickness, super thick mats will be difficult to fold for travel.

It is essential that any yoga mat, whether it’s your regular mat or a travel mat, has a firm grip on the ground or floor beneath it. Without a firm grip, your yoga mat could easily turn into a less fun version of the slip-n-slide of your youth.

So, your travel mat needs to be a little sticky on the bottom, not too large and not too thick. Sounds impossible to find, but nothing is impossible with the right motivation.

When you’re traveling, you need a functional yoga mat for your daily yoga practice. Carrying it on a plane can be convenient if your flight is delayed or a comfort if your luggage is lost.

A functional mat is lightweight, durable and easily unrolled for an impromptu yoga exercise. Hopefully these tips will help you find the perfect travel yoga mat for your backpacking adventures.