The purpose of using a mat while taking Yoga classes or doing Yoga at home is to create traction (that’s why they are sometimes called sticky mats) and to put some cushioning between you and the hard floor. These two features of Yoga mats make them versatile and ideal for so many other uses. There are many household uses for them and a myriad of fun things to do with them to entertain the kids. Now let’s take a close look at the ways a new or used Yoga mat can be used outdoors.

1. If you are preparing to plant a vegetable or herb harden or start a colorful flowerbed, use an old mat as a way to smother weeds before you plant. Lay the mat in one section of your garden and leave it for a few days, allowing the heat of the sun to go to work killing the weeds and even their seeds. Keep moving the mat to different spots in your garden area until you’ve weeded a big enough area to begin planting.

2. Cut several pieces of an old mat to the same size, stack them on top of each other, and then tie them together. Now you’ve got a great kneeler to use while working in that garden.

3. After working in the muddy garden, leave your dirty shoes by the door on a piece of a Yoga mat.

4. Use a Yoga mat as padding on the bench at your kid’s soccer or baseball games. You can even make individual padded seats to use on hard, uncomfortable bleachers anywhere. Cut two equal sized pieces of mat about the size of a newspaper folded in half. Poke holes around the edges of both pieces and then put a stack of newspaper between them. Use some twine or yarn to lace through the holes and tie in knots to secure the papers inside. You can easily replace the padding when it gets tattered.

5. A Yoga mat is great for extra padding under your sleeping bag on a camping trip. If you like to do Yoga while camping, you’ve killed two birds with one stone.

6. Yoga mats are great to use poolside or at the beach. Buy a new, extra thick mat for extra padding on the hard surfaces around swimming pools. Get something colorful and fun.

7. You may want to use that mat to cover a lawn chair or chaise lounge outside while you are sunning. Not only is it more comfortable, but you won’t get that funny pattern of the chair on the backs of your legs.

8. Use them to sit on while picnicking or attending an outdoor concert.

9. How about laying a mat in the trunk of your car or in the back of the SUV to keep the grocery bags from sliding around?

10. Some vehicles, especially SUVs, have luggage racks on top. But that rack may not completely prevent your suitcases and boxes from scratching the roof. Put an extra wide Yoga mat between your luggage and the roof of the car to prevent damage.

11. If you have a wooden deck with attached steps or perhaps a boat dock accessed by wooden steps, you’re probably aware that water from the weather or the lake can make these wooden surfaces extremely slippery. Cut your old Yoga mat into strips just slightly smaller than the steps and glue them to attach them permanently to the steps. However, the natural stickiness of a Yoga mat may be enough to hold them in place. You could also throw down on old mat on the dock where passengers get in and out of the boat to keep wet feet from slipping.

12. Cut mats to fit the floor of your boat to keep them from being too slippery.

If you like some of these ideas and would rather have a new mat, Sunshine Yoga offers just about anything you could want. A variety of quality levels and thicknesses are available, not to mention just about every color in the rainbow. They even have brightly patterned Mexican blanket Yoga mats, too. You could throw one of those over your lawn chair or Yoga mat at the pool, as well.

As an afterthought, here are a couple very practical things to consider doing with your old mats that will make you feel good, too. Donate them to homeless shelters to be used as sleeping pads or to animal shelters to line crates.

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It’s no secret that luxury has taken a beating in the Great Recession. High-end restaurants are hurting as people trade the $30 Steak for the $3 Big Mac. Saks Inc. lost $5.1 million in the first quarter of ‘09, a 129% drop from the previous year. Necessity is the new luxury.

BUY A $100 MANDUKA MAT ON SALE FOR $74.99

But at least one surprising product is bucking the trend. At a time when consumers are in a serious saving mode, why are sales of $100 yoga mats soaring?

That’s right — $100 for a stinkin’ mat. A company called Manduka, which makes these luxury yoga props, has seen its sales rise 55% in the first four months of 2009. Sales at Amazon.com during this period are up a stunning 87%, and the company just signed a deal with Dick’s Sporting Goods, a major retailer with 389 stores across the country. Manduka offers the Black Mat PRO, a thick, cushiony black mat, for between $74 and $130, depending on its length, and the biodegradable eKO for between $42 and $70. “Manduka is the Porsche, the Ferrari of yoga mats,” says Phil Swain, CEO of YogaWorks, a 22-store chain of studios and retail shops in California (the company is opening a New York City location this summer). (See pictures of facial yoga.)

But these days, isn’t driving a Toyota Corolla just fine? Yoga involves stretching, holding poses and doing other physical movement. We’re not talking cushions for backflips here. When it comes down to it, can’t you just do yoga on your carpet? Or grab a towel? Or pay for a $30 mat in the store?

According to the yogis, the thick black Manduka mat makes a real difference. First off, you’re paying for superior traction. “When you sweat during yoga, it’s easy to slip and slide,” says Dayna Macy, a managing editor for Yoga Journal, a trade publication. “You don’t slip with the Manduka.” Also, the mat’s extra cushioning softens the stress on your joints. “If you practice vigorously, you’ll be moving up and down a lot, and you’ll use your knees,” says Macy. “The mat is comfortable. And when you feel what’s under your feet, it can be a distraction.” (Watch a video about fitness gadgets.)

The popularity of pricey mats reflects a spike in yoga practice. Participants in the activity grew from 4.3 million to 12 million between 2001 and 2008, according to a recent study. Of the 12 million people who reported doing yoga in the past six months, nearly one million said they were trying it for the first time. Since the recession went from painful to disastrous in September 2008, yoga studios throughout the country have reported increased traffic. Irene Narissi, a New York City yoga instructor, says her business has jumped 10% to 15% over the past seven months. The feedback from new clients: they are either unemployed and want to maintain their mental health or insecure about their current job status and want to maintain their mental health. “The meditative aspects of yoga,” Narissi says, “satisfy the need to chill out.”

Still, why are these insecure new consumers paying so much for their props? A closer look at the yogi demographics, however, offers clues into purchasing behavior. Yoga practitioners no longer fit the stereotype of weird women chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. They’re young: 40.6% of those who do yoga are between 18 and 34, according to a 2008 Harris Interactive poll commissioned by Yoga Journal. They’re smart: 71.4% are college graduates, and 27% have postgraduate degrees. And they’re affluent: 44% of yogis have household incomes of $75,000 or more (that figure, of course, might be trickling down during the recession). In other words, yogis are yuppies. And if there’s one thing yuppies do, it’s copycat their brethren. So as more stressed-out young professionals flood the yoga studios and see other people with comfy Manduka mats supporting their glutes, they’re bound to buy the pricey products too. Look at me: I’ve got a Manduka; I’m totally into yoga.

Also, it’s easier to justify a $100 yoga mat than a lot of other expenses. “With hedonic consumption, at some point you’re going to feel quite a bit of guilt,” says C.W. Park, a marketing professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business and editor of the Journal of Consumer Psychology. “If the luxury item has some kind of functional value, you’re not going to feel that guilt.” You feel like you’re investing in your health, so a little splurge can’t hurt. Plus, Manduka mats carry a lifetime guarantee. If the mat lives up to its promise, you may even save some money in the long run.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that towel.

LOWEST PRICE ON MANDUKA BLACK MAT

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Selecting a yoga mat is about as individual as choosing which workout to do. There is no “one right type” for everyone. In fact, choosing the right mat depends on many different factors such as the type of yoga or the specific level you are at. If you are just starting out in yoga for weight loss, you will need a different mat than someone else who has been practicing for decades in, say, Ashtanga yoga.

The biggest factor when choosing a mat is your personal level. If you are just starting out, a “sticky” mat, or a mat that doesn’t slip when you are practicing your poses, would be your best bet. The reason is that if you are still learning the poses, you don’t exactly have the coordination it takes to keep the mat still, which could be dangerous should you happen to fall. It really is for safety purposes. A great example of this type of mat can be found here. This mat is designed to keep you in poses without slipping around!

However, if you are at the “pro” level, relying on a sticky mat is not optimizing your workout. This is because it defeats the purpose of what yoga is really supposed to be–a balance between mind and body. Having a sticky mat when you know what you are doing does not help you to achieve that level of awareness where you let your body just “fall into the poses”. Having a mat that doesn’t stick to the floor will help you achieve greater balance of body, as well as your mind–which is the main purpose of yoga. Of course, you don’t want your mat to be slippery, but it needs to be about as naturally slippery as if you were to be outside on the natural earth. Blankets made for this purpose are great for you and can be found here.

The type of yoga also determines what type of yoga mat you select. If you tend to sweat alot during yoga, such as in Bikram or Ashtanga yoga, then you need a mat that will absorb your sweat. While a natural slipping is good in yoga, slipping because the mat is wet from sweat is another matter altogether. You want a mat that will act almost like a towel.

Another type of mat that can be helpful in yoga are the extra thick mats. These are for people who may have some need for extra cushioning, such as older people or people who are recovering from a major illness or surgery. Or even people who have arthritis, sore joints, or just like extra cushions.

Whatever you choose, be sure to get what is right for you and your personal level and abilities. If you have the right mat, you will be able to make your yoga be more effective…which is what you want, right?

Yoga towels are a simple solution to slippage off the yoga mat that might occur from too much sweat while practicing yoga. Also called yoga mat towels, they’re designed to fit on top of your yoga mat and be absorbent, not only helping you stay in place but wicking up excess moisture, as well. These towels are soft on one side, and generally have grippers on the other, whether that be in the form of rubber dots or a latex-free coating that keeps the towel from sliding around.

Often times, people try to use beach or bath towels, but these are most always the wrong size, or not as absorbent as necessary. You want your towel to not only fit your mat, but take up as little room as possible, especially working out in a class with other people around. Yoga towels can also be a substitute mat in a pinch, and can be used in place of a regular towel, as well – especially after working out to hot yoga, like Bikram. They help you stay put by using your body weight to evenly distribute the gripping agent, meaning you get a steadier, more stable yoga experience every time.

The super absorbent material that comprises yoga mats is better at soaking up water and sweat than regular towels, dries quicker than a regular cotten towel, and the lightness of the towel means it can be rolled up and stored easily, without bulky excess in your yoga bag. Available in an array of colors and styles, yoga towels coordinate with your personality and style, without becoming an overwhelming accessory. Brightly colored towels might signify motivation for you, or a lighter color might help with relaxation during the meditation period.

Yoga towels are a little more expensive than regular towels, but many yoga practitioners feel they’re a good investment. It’s a good idea to have several yoga towels on hand at all times, so you always have a clean one and one that fits your mood. You can purchase discount and wholesale yoga towels and yoga blankets at SunShineYoga.com.

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