Best Grip Yoga Mat - How to Stop Slipping

“Where can I find a high grip yoga mat?”

“My sweaty hands and feet are making a slippery yoga mat that I have no grip on?”

“My new yoga mat is too slippery. How can I make it less slippery and more sticky?”

 These are the complaints we hear in yoga classes all the time.

Wondering how to keep hands from slipping?

Invest in an anti-skid, natural rubber, even-when-wet grip yoga mat.

Choosing the best yoga mat for sweaty palms is an essential factor when considering investing in a high-quality product. When buying a yoga mat for grip, there are 5 key things to consider: material, texture, give, sweat and type of yoga practice.

We will spend a lot of time going into detail on the technical specifications and how we achieved a non-slip mat that even provides wet grip. However, if you want to skip to the part where we tell you what mat to get it’s this one: https://matmatshop.com/collections/ecofriendly-yogamats.

1. Best Material for High Grip Yoga Mat?

 (Sweaty) hands down: natural rubber with a vegan-suede microfiber surface is the best material for a high grip that you won’t slip on (even when wet).

Holy smokes captain-green-peace! 

I hear you say.

I know it’s a mouthful, but if you want to know what vegan-suede micro-fibre is - remember that super soft suede jacket your Aunt Susan had? – it’s that material (except this time it’s vegan).

Not only is it super grippy, it actually improves as you get wet! - we know, you’ve been slipping around like Bambi on ice, and you were wondering whether this hell would ever end - well now it has. Phew!

Time to step off the ice. Take a calm walk towards a higher quality product and start working on those high pressure poses or kicking into your hot classes.

If you’re slipping on your yoga mat, the chances are you’re using a low quality, PVC mat that is covering your skin in toxic chemicals every time you practice - yuck.

Switch out that PVC for a natural-rubber, vegan yoga mat that won’t give you health problems (yes, I’m serious about the health problems see: https://matmatshop.com/blogs/yoga-matters/why-a-matmat-is-the-best-yoga-mat-on-the-market).

It’s so important to us to spread the word about how to protect the environment with what you purchase. Looking at the materials that you are using is one way that you can begin to isolate what your impact on the planet looks like. Take some time to consider whether your consumption is one that you would consider sustainable or harmful for the planet. We only have one, and it would be great to leave some behind for the next generation.

2. Is Texture Important to the Grip of my Yoga Mat?

Hell yeah!

The texture is one of the most important factors to consider when buying a yoga mat with high grip.

Imagine when you roll a ball along a marble floor, it moves without friction and slips and slides easily.

Now imagine rolling that same ball in long grass.

The surface and texture of your mat are fundamental in providing grip during yoga practices, especially if you’re someone with sweaty hands or feet.

Suede surfaces are the equivalent of the long grass in the yoga mat world - they have a soft feel, but the micro-fibres create a texture that produces the best performance for sweaty hands and feet.

At the end of the day, wouldn’t you like it to feel nice on your hands too? It’s kind of like the moment you slip into your pyjamas at the end of the day. It’s a safe space and you should care about that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you get back to it. Mindfulness is a journey and we want to undergo that journey in the knowledge that our foundation is ethical, kind, beautiful and toxin-free. 

3. Best Grip Yoga Mat - AND it’s Organic? - How Natural Rubber Effects Performance 

Natural rubber yoga mats have the optimum balance of give and support.

Give is a critical factor to consider when thinking about how to prevent slipping in practice.

If your yoga mat has too little give, you’re going to end up unable to hold poses like downward dog or crab, especially if you have sweaty hands and feet.

If your yoga mat has too much give, you’re going to end up sinking into it and limit your ability to move with ease through your yoga practice.

The key to “how to pick the right yoga mat” is looking for something that has the right amount of give: Natural Rubber.

Seriously, natural rubber is a life-saver when it comes to yoga mats (and the planet): anti-skid, the right amount of weight (but not too heavy that you can’t carry around easily), no toxins, vegan, organic and no negative impact on the planet in the long-run. There are literally no downsides to this material that we can think of. 

Don’t even think about getting anything PVC - seriously, just don’t! - You will slip, and you will injure yourself. Plus, you will injure the planet in the long run too - if we are to truly live by the teachings of our practice, we should recognise the love and energy that mother earth brings to us.

Look for natural rubber yoga mats: be kind to your body and the planet.

4. Sweat in Yoga Making my New Yoga Mat Slippery

Everyone sweats when they do exercise.

However, some people sweat BIG TIME in yoga (especially if you’re in hot yoga classes).

If that’s you, don’t worry!

We are going to point you in the direction of the best yoga mat for sweaty hands and feet and walk you through how to make your yoga mat less slippery if you want a super grip on your yoga mat.

One of my friends from class once told me a horror story of a lady that had created a pool of sweat because of the material she was practicing on. It’s normal for us to perspire as we workout, stretch and move. It is natural and you should not feel embarrassed about taking proper precautions to ensure your practice goes smoothly.

“My new yoga mat is slippery” - said anyone that has ever bought a PVC mat and sweated on it.

My yogi friends, invest a little more and get a LOT more performance out of your mat.

Wet grip on the yoga mat is critical for a safe yoga practice if you sweat a lot during yoga sessions.

A vegan-suede finish doesn’t get slippy when you sweat on the mat. In fact, you can read our testimonials for yourself to see that a MatMat’s performance actually improves as you get sweaty hands and feet.

The reason that performance improves as you sweat on a MatMat is because of the absorbency of the vegan-suede finish. You’ve got a grippy surface which won’t decrease in performance as droplets form on your hands and feet (or even if there is sweat run off in Hot Yoga onto the mat). 

Vegan-suede yoga mat surfaces are designed to handle a really sweaty practice so don’t worry about your Hot Yoga classes making you slip because this yoga mat has your back.

Our best non-slip yoga mat reviews have shown that this is the way to go if you get sweaty hands and feet during yoga practice which makes you slip on your new yoga mat: https://matmatshop.com/collections/ecofriendly-yogamats.

5. Different Grip for Different Yoga Practices

When choosing the right yoga mat, you should always factor in exactly what type of yoga practice you are planning on doing. The world is big and there are so many different types of practice out there now.

The practice is growing every day in popularity and so, now more than ever, you should consider exactly what it is that you will be doing and how that translates into your requirements.

Hot yoga is VERY different from Ashtanga yoga.

If you need more information on the types of yoga you can find a beginner’s guide here: https://matmatshop.com/blogs/yoga-matters/the-beginners-guide-to-the-different-types-of-yoga

When thinking about how to pick the right yoga mat for best grip - consider the type of yoga practice you’re attending.

Ask yourself:

How much impact will I be exerting during practice on my joints and especially on my wrists?

How much will I sweat in my practice - do I get sweaty hands and feet that will impact performance?

How do I prevent slipping on the yoga mat based on these two factors?

Most types of yoga practice require some sort of joint support or give, and most yoga classes will aim to get your body working hard at some point.

That means that, in most types of yoga practices, you will require a yoga mat with a substantial amount of grip that will stop you from (gracefully) plummeting to the floor in a heap.

If you’re still not sure about how to choose the right yoga mat - evaluate whether you want to be slipping on a nasty PVC slab which reduces your performance/health OR if you wish to be in control, safe and improving your yoga practice day by day.

A natural-rubber yoga mat with a vegan-suede finish is a perfectly versatile foundation that has best grip performance on the market.

6. Yoga Towels - Do I need a towel to improve my grip in practice? 

You don’t need a yoga towel – unless you really want one.

Often, people will ask me about the “best yoga grip towel”.

This is the beauty of a vegan-suede finish surface...

You don’t need to shell out an extra stack of cash when your yoga mat underperforms on the grip, and you start slipping around all over the place.

Yoga grip towels are only required when you’re on a mat that hasn’t thought through how to best deliver on grip during your yoga practice - even through sweat! There are some good products on the market to solve this issue, but I would advise that you consider this as a plaster to the underlying issue. It’s time to invest in a better foundation.

Non-slip yoga towels (grippy towels that you can place over your mat) are fine but not perfect -we have tried them -trust us, they are pretty and affordable but not a substitute for a mat.

Yoga towels might be an option if you’re on a tight budget and you want to practice yoga on the go. They’re easy to pack and very lightweight, making them perfect travel companions.

My friends, invest a little more in a natural-rubber and vegan-suede yoga mat, and you will feel grounded and grip will improve even as you sweat.

If you’re building a collection of items that you take to yoga, then there are some beautiful options out there but pay attention to the material. If you’re anything like me, you’ll end up forgetting or losing a piece of your setup which will result in you shelling out even more money. Better to invest for the long-run and think about the impact that we are having on the planet with our consumption.

7. Make my Yoga Mat Sticky! - Beware of Old Tales about Vinegar

You might have read some other blogs that tell you to use a micro-fiber towel or wash your mat in apple vinegar to make your yoga mat more sticky.

Simply, this doesn’t work as well as having a high-quality mat.

The horrors of fake news continue even in this blissful realm. It's a terrible piece of advice and absolutely has no truth to it. It's a little bit like the tooth fairy story of the yoga world - you want to believe that it's true because it's an interesting concept - but the reality is a little disappointing because it wasn't at all as you hoped it would be.

You’ll end up slipping on a yoga mat that not only doesn’t protect your body, but also that smells funny.

The best way to improve grip is to make sure you bought the right yoga mat in the first place.

If you want a sticky yoga mat then, firstly, buy a vegan-suede natural rubber yoga mat.

With vegan -suede yoga mats the grip improves as you wear the mat in and as you sweat.

Practice, practice, practice.

Think of your mat like a nice pair of shoes: When you first put them on, they might give you a couple of blisters because they're slipping around a little. Over time, as you begin to wear them in and the soles of the shoes begin to mould to your fee. They become more and more stable. After a couple of weeks, you've got a solid pair of shoes that are comfortable and will last. After a year, you have a trusted and well-grooved piece of footwear that will fit like a glove. Some products need a little time to wear in before you start to see the best results.

Last resort: you can add a little detergent to our best grip yoga mat and gently hand wash the surface if you want to speed up the aging process to improve grip on a suede yoga mat.

A little about MatMat: We are passionate about helping yoga-lovers to find the best products. If you found this article helpful, then feel free to sign up to our email list and we will let you know when new posts get released. If you love our cause, then we would be forever grateful if you’d consider buying a mat from us or if you’d like to follow us on our socials. Scroll to the bottom of the page and make sure you’re following us on Instagram and that you’ve liked our FB page. Do also feel free to contact us regarding this post, our business or anything yoga related via info@matmatshop.com. Mind, Body, Soul and the Planet - Namaste.