Best Yoga Mat for Beginners in 2023 – Our Top 7 Picks
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If you want reviews of the latest and greatest yoga mats for beginners, call off the search. We’ve reviewed the newest releases of 2021 and 2022 and found the best yoga mats for beginners to get you through 2023 and beyond. Read our review and choose the perfect mat for your year of fitness.
If you are starting your career as a yogi or simply want something work out on at home, finding the best yoga mat for beginners is essential. From picking that perfect thickness, through to grip and quality, there are a range of factors that could guide your choice.
To help you find the best yoga mat for beginners, we’ve consulted yoga experts and reviewed a range of brands to bring you these top five products. We’ve tested all these mats out and put each one under the microscope, so you can be sure you’ve made the right choice.
Which is the best yoga mat for beginners?
If you’re after the best all-rounder yoga mat and don’t want to read the full article, this one came out on top for us:
- Great brand
- Comes with plenty of good reviews
- Specifically made for beginners
- Good thickness
- Alignment lines to help beginners with placement
- Eco-friendly material
- Grippy rather than slippy
- Easy to clean and waterproof
- Comes with carry strap
If you want to find out why we rated this one so highly, read on! We’ve also split them down into the best all-rounder, the thickest material, best value for money, the best for workouts and the best yoga mat for beginners. Whatever you need from your mat, you’ll find the ideal option right here. Read on for more.
The best yoga mat for beginners – our top 7
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1. Ewedoo Beginners Yoga Mat
- Great brand
- Comes with plenty of good reviews
- Specifically made for beginners
- Good thickness
- Alignment lines to help beginners with placement
- Eco-friendly material
- Grippy rather than slippy
- Easy to clean and waterproof
- Comes with carry strap
- Not as thick as other options
- More expensive than other options
The Ewedoo Yoga Mat is an excellent contender for best yoga mat for beginners. You can see from the markings that this mat has been specifically designed to help newbies get to grips with some key movements. The helpful alignment lines printed on the surface are there to ensure you have guidance through every one of the yoga poses as you learn.
As is standard with all the best yoga mats for beginners, it also has a good 1/4 inch thickness which is great for ensuring you have good padding for your knees, and a high quality mat for fitness workouts.
On top of all this, this is a great option for the best yoga mats for beginners, because it’s eco friendly, perfect for those who appreciate a high-quality product that’s good for the planet too.
It’s also available in a huge range of colours, so you can choose a great option for you.
2. CopyCat Instructional Yoga Mat for Beginners
- Excellent educational product
- Clear markings to help with foot and hand placement
- Can support you as you learn
- Good material
- Grippy material
- Quality product
- Clearly displays key yoga poses
- The thickness isn’t the best
- More expensive than other options
This made it very high on our list, and is a great option for the best yoga mat for beginners. Not only does it come with alignment markings to help you get your placement on point as you learn you poses, it also provides detailed images of some of the key movements.
This makes it one of our top choices for the best yoga mat for beginners, as it offers a great amount of support for someone starting out with yoga.
The mat itself is made of excellent quality material, however it doesn’t say whether or not it’s an eco conscious option. The only thing that stopped this from being placed as the best yoga mat for beginners is the fact there are thicker options out there, that might be more suitable for workouts and for people with sore knees.
It’s also on the pricier end of the spectrum, but we feel it’s an amazing choice for a new yogi due to the helpful markings and the great quality. Overall, it’s a fantastic option for the best yoga mat for beginners.
3. Gaiam Yoga Mat
- Great thickness
- Lightweight design
- Premium material
- Selection of designs
- Excellent grip
- Made with non-toxic materials
- Lifetime Guarantee
- Good price point
- Free yoga workout included
When it comes to finding the best yoga mat brands, Gaiam ticks all the boxes. We found the material was of excellent thickness, making it comfortable to use for a beginner, whilst also offering great grip and non-slip qualities.
It’s lightweight and easy to fold and store away, so when you’re done or you need to take it home after a class, it’s a breeze to roll up and take with you.
It also has the unique benefit of being available in a range of unique designs. So, whether you want to be in the envy of all the other yogi’s in your class, or you just like a cute look to your yoga mats, the Gaiam delivers.
On top of all that, it’s also free of non-toxic materials, making it a favourite among yogi’s who are conscious of protecting the planet too. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee and a FREE downloadable yoga workout, which is great if you’re just starting out as a beginner.
Overall, we rated this as the best yoga mat for beginners of all the ones we reviewed, which is why it’s top of our list. But the icing on the cake was the price. It comes in at just under $30, which is excellent for such a premium product.
4. AmazonBasic 1/2 inch Yoga Mat
- Good thickness for beginners
- Strong, durable material
- Lightweight
- Great price point for starting out
- Handy carry strap
- Might not have the best grip
If you’re just starting out, this is our second choice for best yoga mat for beginners. With a 1/2 inch cushioning, a carry strap, durable material and a very reasonable price, you can’t go wrong.
The 1/2 inch thickness is a great amount if you are getting used to kneeling a lot in positions like table top and child’s pose, as it is enough to cushion your knees and hands, protecting you from any aches as you get used to working out on a mat. The carry strap ensures you can roll it up neatly and put it away when you’re done, while also making it super easy to throw in your car when you go out to a yoga class.
The price is also great on this. At around $19, you’re not blowing out on anything super expensive, which is great if you’re just starting out and need a mat that will help take you through the basics. And, if you find yoga isn’t your thing, then you haven’t blown your wages on a pro mat!
Overall, we’d rate this as the best yoga mat for beginners.
5. BalanceFrom Extra Thick Yoga Mat
- Best cushioning
- Extra thick cushioning
- Durable material
- Grip and non-slip
- Carry strap
- Good price point
- Larger and bulkier than other options
After a review, we found that BalanceFrom offer the best yoga mat for thickness, which is great for beginners. With an impressive one inch cushioning, this is a fantastic mat if you suffer from sore knees when you’re kneeling during yoga or a workout.
On top of the excellent thickness, the material is durable and strong, offering excellent grip and a reliable mat that should last you through workouts and yoga alike. This makes it a great investment for beginners, who’re looking for something they can rely on.
The carry straps makes this easy to carry around to classes with you or store away. This is essential, as the extra thickness means this mat will be a lot more bulky than other options. This is something it bear in mind, but if you’re after a thicker yoga mat, this is pretty much unavoidable anyway.
What’s more, for a yoga mat of this thickness and quality, the price is also very reasonable. Overall, it’s the best yoga mat for beginners who want an extra soft surface.
6. TOPLUS Pro Yoga Mat
- Best for workouts
- Premium material
- Excellent grip
- Non-slip material
- Eco friendly
- Comfortable, yet good thickness for workouts
- One year warranty
If you’re after a yoga mat that doubles up as a great workout mat, then the TOPLUS Pro does it all. The extra sturdy premium material and the great non-slip fabric means this is perfect for experienced yogis, but great for beginners and can withstand workouts too.
The material is also eco friendly, which makes it a great choice for the eco conscious buyer out there.
On top of all this, the one year warranty gives you a sense of security that this yoga mat will still be in great condition for long term use, meaning you’ll get great value for money. Which brings us to price. Although it’s at the upper end of the spectrum compared to the others, you’re paying for the quality of the fabric here, which you’ll need for workouts.
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7. Retrospec Solana Yoga Mat
- Great brand
- Comes with lots of good reviews
- Good material
- Carry case
- Lightweight
- Low price
- Not the best quality
- Grip not as strong as other options
Retrospec is one of the best yoga mat brands out there and comes with a lot of fantastic reviews. The Retrospec Solana yoga mat comes in at a very reasonable price at $18.99.
With so many great reviews, good quality material and good thickness, it’s a great yoga mat. It ticks all the boxes for a strong quality yoga mat for beginners, and with such a good price, you can’t go wrong.
It’s also available in a range of colours, so you can choose a stylish option.
How we chose the best yoga mat for beginners
Picking out and reviewing the best yoga mat for beginners is all about testing the products about some key criteria. We consulted expert yogis to help us create this criteria, and find the best yoga mat for beginners.
Namely, we were looking for the following qualities that apply uniquely to the needs of a new yogi:
- Material quality – The best yoga mat for beginners needs a great material as a foundation. This means that, not only does it need to be durable and strong, it also needs to provide a grippy surface, that helps a beginner to achieve their poses, without worrying about slipping. On top of that, waterproof materials are good, if you’re working out and sweat, you want to know your mat can be easily cleaned and maintained.
- Material thickness – If you’re looking for the best yoga mat for beginners, thickness is important. The thicker the material, the more cushioning you have for your knees and feet when you’re maintaining a yoga pose, or working out.
- Is it eco conscious? – When we’re on the search for the best yoga mat for beginners, we’re on the look out something that’s eco-conscious. We know a huge number of yogi’s are very in tune with their impact on the planet, so it’s something we couldn’t ignore when searching for the best yoga mat for beginners.
- What support can it offer a beginner? – If you’re looking for the best yoga mat for beginners, it needs to offer something a little more than just your average product. Whether that’s extra thickness, helpful alignment markings or even extra grip, we want to make sure it’s got everything a beginner needs.
- Price and value – We know that if you’re just starting out, you want to know you’re getting your money’s worth. Now, that doesn’t always mean the best yoga mat for beginners is necessarily the cheapest, but if you read our review, you’ll be spending your money in the right place.
With these points as our guidelines, we’ve carefully reviewed each of the products on our list of the best yoga mats for beginners to bring you the highest quality designs, that will give you an excellent workout, and provide you with a mat that will last.
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