Manduka mat review

First impressions:

Heavy, very, very heavy about 9lb for my 100" mat But feels heavier. This is a solid mass of rubber and seems like it's cut out of a formula 1 racing tire. And it's Solid too, thick with seemingly no give. When you roll it out on the floor it rolls out quickly finishing with a loud thud.









Looks:

Looks like you mean business. If your feeling half-hearted about your practice one morning, stepping onto this mat will focus your mind, it demands a serious approach. It's like stepping out onto the grass at Wembley, Lords, Wimbledon... (OK getting carried away a bit now but it kinda feels a bit like that).






Feel:

It's thick about 6mm, but because it's so solid it appears thinner. It's not spongy and there's hardly any give but this makes your feet and hands feel more grounded. And yet it cushions your bones more than other mats.

It's sticky when dry but any moisture sits on it's surface and doesn't get absorbed into the mat. This means it can get really slippery quickly but it also means that you can wipe the moisture off easily. With other mats once they become sweaty you pretty much have to put up with it as you can't wipe it away, they are like sponges. With the Manduka, one wipe with a towel and it's as if you just unrolled it.



In Practice:

Slipperiness is the biggest issue with this mat. I tend to sweat quite a lot but I managed to get through the standing sequence without slipping. I tend to throw a few handstands into my Sury's and it felt firm and solid. I felt more stable and in control, likewise in headstands, forearm stands and especially in Utthita hasta padangusthasana

However in seated I found myself gliding through my jump backs and jump throughs, the faintest sheen of moisture was enough to make it slippery enough for my feet to glide across the surface.

Half way through seated I needed to start using a towel to regularly wipe my hands and the sides of the mat, perhaps every other jump through. But it only takes one wipe and your good to go.

Support:

Just what I'd hoped for, it took the pressure of my coccyx when rolling forward to jump back and off my spine in Garbha Pindasana. Also being a little wider there's less chance of you rolling off the mat as you work your 360. The knee has more support too in Vatyanasana from Intermediate. Nice bonus is that Nakasana is quieter on this mat which should please the neighbors.



Jump back specific:

My toes still tend to brush the top of the mat in my Jump backs and on my other mats at the beginning of practice this will tend to stop me dead until the the mat becomes a little sweaty. However with the Manduka I went straight back through. As it picked up a little moisture I was just gliding across the top, both jumping back and jumping through allowing me to focus on other elements. Slipperiness is an issue with the Manduka and I had to wipe my hands and the sides of the mat a few times throughout the practice. However, with other mats once the sweat starts seeping into the mat there's not a lot you can do about it but with the Manduka the sweat just sits on the top of the mat and will wipe away. Besides I kinda feel that if you're slipping on your mat then your doing something wrong, in that perhaps you haven't shifted your weight correctly or your stretch is too wide for your current muscle development. That said you do have to be careful with your hands slipping in Jump through but don't have to worry about rubbing and blistering your feet as you pass through allowing you to approach it With more confidence and more able to concentrate on your bandhas or keeping your knees up, feet tucked in etc.I've also noticed on my other mats that, with my bony backside, it can be a bit hard on my coccyx, same in Navasana, but on the Manduka, because the mat is so much firmer and gives much more support, I didn't feel a thing.



Intermediate Series:

Practiced Intermediate today and the slipperiness of the mat became intolerable, it was like a skating rink. Because of the Shalabasana series the mat gets sweaty from the word go. There's much more body/mat contact throughout Intermediate than primary so you get really fed up with wiping it down after every asana. In the end I threw my Mysore rug over the top and it was perfect. Jump backs and Jump throughs are different in Intermediate anyway so there's not the rubbing your feet raw on the rug concern as there is with primary. So plain manduka for primary, Manduka plus Mysore rug for intermediate.





Conclusions:

Only been a couple of days but I love this mat. It's helping me with my jump backs, not stopping me dead if my feet brush the surface. Moisture just wipes away with one wipe of a towel. It's firm and gives you a nice secure base for balancing and supports your joints and bones. It's a serious mat.

Drawbacks:

It's heavy and not really ideal for taking to class. Can be slippery and could be dangerous, so not for the total beginner, need to be a little adept at shifting/distributing your body weight. Would be unforgiving if you over stretch.


I'll come back to my conclusions a couple of weeks from now with an update.


-Just ordered Lino Miele's book. I couldn't find many reviews of it or any pictures of the layout or contents so will review it here in a week or so. Might as well review some of my other books and DVDs while I'm at it. Will justify it to the topic of this blog by paying special attention to their treatment of the Jump back.