The History of Yoga Mats

The History of Yoga Mats

The modern yoga mat is relatively recent compared with the much longer history of yoga. In ancient India, yoga practitioners used natural materials such as kusha grass, woven fabrics, and animal skins as surfaces for seated practices. These materials were not designed to provide the type of traction associated with today's yoga mats. As yoga developed into more physically active forms of practice, practitioners increasingly needed a surface that would help prevent their hands and feet from slipping.

The modern sticky yoga mat emerged in the early 1980s. Yoga teacher Angela Farmer began using pieces of rubber carpet underlay while teaching in Germany because the material helped prevent her feet from sliding. The idea eventually became commercially available as a sticky yoga mat. During the following years, purpose-made yoga mats were developed with improved durability, materials, thicknesses, and grip. Yoga mats are now one of the most recognizable pieces of equipment associated with modern yoga practice.