September Jump Back on new Manduka mat ( Jump back specific Review )

Have decided to post a new Jump back video in the first week of every month. Should be a good way to judge any progress and gives me something to work towards. I also want to set up a slide show, perhaps at the bottom of the page, with the last six months Jump backs embedded from Youtube. That way anyone visiting this page should be able to find one that comes closest to their own jump back and can see how mine developed from that point.

My Manduka mat arrived yesterday afternoon and the video is taken following this mornings practice, my first Manduka jump back video. Think i'll do a snapshot comparison with last months video later in the week.

I'll publish a full review of the mat tomorrow as I'm tending to do Intermediate on Wednesdays and want to see how it holds up. However.......

Manduka mat Jump Back review: Jump back specific.

I already love this mat! 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.
As you'll see in the full review, 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.