AURORAE Classic/Printed Extra Thick and Long 72" Premium Yoga Mat for Men and Woman,Pilates,Exercise & Fitness, Aerobics,Home/Gym Workouts Beginners to Pros.2 Year Warranty w/Slip Free Rosin Included

Great yoga mat. I've only been doing yoga a little over a year, but for a new person to it, this is the only mat I need. I got this after a lot of research as my first yoga mat. The padding is easy for the knees, its nice and long, provides good grip for my hatha yoga and is so lovely. I had it and loved it for 6 months and then I foolishly left it out and my dogs loved chewing it completely up. So after it was destroyed my lovely husband bought me a a much more expensive (around $100 Jade mat)- his reasoning was if it was expensive it was good. My feedback (keeping in mind I've been doing it only about a year, don't do hot yoga): 1) The grip factor was about the same for both. I took private lessons to start with and that guy had me sweating every time. My hands would sometimes slip on both. I will say that the more expensive Jade was the same grip as Aurorae. And the hand powder work wonders to help with grip. 2) Length- Both about the same 3) Pad thickness/ comfort- Aurorae hands down (again for a newbie like me). I'm only 35 but my knees could not handle being on Jade. I always had to use a towel. 4) Hygiene: I'm not sure what it was, but the Jade got quite grubby very quickly. I clean my mats after every time, but it was almost like it attracted and held on to dirt. It stained and I couldn't wash them out. So, after 4 months I threw my Jade away because it had gotten so gross (again just my experience, maybe my dogs were purposefully doing it so as to devour it without guilt later). I got to the point where I wouldn't do anything on it without a towel because it looked so dirty. And how can you really do a downward with a towel. And the day when I was trying to relax with restorative yoga without actually touching any part of the mat I realized it had to go. I got a couple of cheap mats after that to get me through- I never recommend that. Ordered the Aurorae again and it was like a breath of fresh air from an old friend when I used it again. This mat is all I need and I don't think I will ever buy another brand again

I've been doing yoga for about a year now, approximately 3-4 times per week. I first had a Gaiam mat that became so slippery, despite regular cleanings, that it was disrupting my practice. I also didn't like the thinness of that mat -- it didn't really feel like anything was there. So I ventured to find a new yoga mat that would be both durable and functional. I've been using the Aurorae mat for about four months now and I love it. Pros: -It's 5mm thick, which is thicker than your regular yoga mat. It helps tremendously for poses that involve your knees and hands. -At 72" it's also longer than your average yoga mat. It always bothered me when my feet would stick out over the mat during Shavasana, but at my heigh of 5'5" I fit perfectly on the mat. -There was no sticky or slippery feeling when I first received the mat. After all these months I can still plant my feet on the mat and be connected and stable. -The colours on Amazon match quite well with the product that I actually received. Cons: -Its width is just barely larger than my Gaiam yoga bag has room for, so some of it sticks out the top. I can imagine this would be a similar issue with other yoga bags. -There was a faint odour that we're all familiar with when we open something straight from the box. Just let your mat out to air and it quickly disappears, though. I've heard that this mat can be machine-washed, although I haven't yet tried that method. I use Aurorae's mat spray, which works well for a quick spray-down, and then good ol' soap and water works for more thorough cleanings. Another big difference between this mat and the Gaiam mat I had was that the Gaiam mat always had residue from when I cleaned it, which I know made it more slippery and thus quite frustrating to use. This is a non-issue with the Aurorae mat, which is by far the biggest selling point for me. And hey, the mat itself is pretty darn good-looking, and for $45 you're getting a high-quality mat for mid-range price. If you are really serious about your yoga, I definitely recommend ditching the cheap mats and going for something that will inspire and support your practice.

At first, I had was committed to purchasing an expensive mat ($60+). But I was hesitant to spend the money, especially when there were some lackluster reviews for those other products. When I came across Aurorae, read the reviews and then looked at the price, I was sold! I received this mat last week and have practiced on it one time outdoors. First off this is a beautiful mat! I selected the Northern Lights theme and it's just so simple, pretty, and not distracting to the eye. It's slightly heavier than my previous mats, but not a burden to carry. One thing I noticed was that this mat also had very, very little smell/odour when you first open it which is just excellent! It saved me days from having to air it out. Yay! Anyway, I followed the instructions and washed my mat with warm water and non-abrasive/light soap and left it out in the sun to dry. The result was a pleasantly sticky surface which supported my outdoor (at the time, warm and humid) practice. I've since cleaned it with my own homemade spray and appears to have held up well. I'm looking forward to using this mat for both indoors and outdoors and for more vigorous and gentler practices.

Beautiful