Note: elephantjournal.com received these review items for free, in return for a guarantee that we would review said offering.  That said, we say what we want—good and bad, happy and sad.

Ever been in a heated room, surrounded by graceful bodies rhythmically moving and flowing, perspiration glistening on your skin like the morning dew, face soft and relaxed, your mat your willing partner in a graceful dance of breath and movement?

What a lovely and romantic picture of what a Vinyasa or hot yoga class really feels like. Flashback to that rigorous and challenging flow that shakes you to the core. You’re moving from a Down Dog to a Warrior Two pose and your feet are slipping and sliding on the mat.

Your feet are trying desperately to ground into the mat and your mind keeps shifting back to the breath to no avail. Instead of a wide and solid stance, your feet involuntarily move further away from each other and your awareness shifts to the overstretching in your groin. You have to stop and wipe down your mat before rejoining your fellow yogis in the sequence.

This unfortunate distraction can really bring you down when you’re moving and grooving on your mat.

As a consistent yoga practitioner and instructor, I’m not a huge believer in overdoing it with the yoga extras. My minimalist philosophy is that we don’t need all that extra clutter in our sacred yoga space.

But, in a one-breath-one-movement flow, where we build heat and sweat profusely, an absorbent mat towel can prevent your mat from becoming a hot mess.

That being said, I’ve tried a few different mats and towels in my years of practice because of the sweaty style of yoga that I love. I was excited to receive and review the Gaiam Thirsty Yoga Mat Towel.

Love the name. Clever and accurate.

The vivid orange with hot pink piping put a smile on my face. It dressed up my otherwise ordinary looking mat. (I can see the color alone inspiring me to practice on those drab winter days. )

The towel claims to be super-absorbent, fast-drying and hypo-allergenic—that’s important because of my sensitivity to harsh fabrics and I would be laying my face and body on it. It definitely lived up to the claim of drying much faster than other mats because it’s made of Microfiber, which reminded me of a car drying cloth, only softer to the touch.

The sweat soaked into the towel after my hot session and instead of wringing it out, I just hung it up to dry and and be ready for my next practice. (Honestly, I would use it a couple of times before washing it unless it reeked. )

I foresee lots of fun sweaty sessions for me and my new mat buddy.

It would be great for travel too. I’d love to bring my mat everywhere but sometimes it’s just not practical with all the extra baggage fees. Next time I’m out of town, checking out a new studio, I’d use this over the loaner mats as a buffer between me and the residual funk of yogis before me. 

 

 

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Ed: Bryonie Wise