My review on the Jade voyager yoga mat after traveling together
This mat, the one I own, had the opportunity to get the real yogi experience, in India!
He was the chosen one from a yoga shop in Amsterdam together with a buddy, because my friend Elin decided on the spot to get one too.
So it was the 4 of us flying to India together, from stretchy yoga in Helsinki airport to morning vinyasa flows, body alignment classes, intense ashtanga and yoga on the beach.
About the brand Jade Yoga
Jade Yoga is a brand focused on producing eco-friendly products and non-slippery yoga mats.
They say that for every yoga mat sold they plant a tree! How cool is that?
The production of their products is based in the U.S. instead of China, where a lot of other (cheap) mats come from.
That means the products are produced under U.S. environmental and safety laws.
Jade Yoga also wants to make yoga available for people and places where it normally wouldn’t be available like prisons, hospitals, shelters.
AND they also donate and raise money for good causes (to find out more, head over to their website).
First thoughts
The mat is super flexible and light weight. It folds up really small and it unfolds without creases.
It looks ‘professional’ and after one try I was amazed by the grip!
I love the low saturated colors in which they sell the mats: midnight blue, olive green, purple, lavendar.
It was hard to choose between lavendar and olive green, but we both went for earthy/natural so olive green it was.
Is it a good travel companion?
Yes it really is!
Unlike many other travel ‘mats’ which are actually more like towels you can have a good, full practice on this mat.
It folds or rolls up really small so I took it with me in my carry-on and id some yoga on our layovers.
The mat doesn’t have a weird smell which is also a plus.
Since it’s a thin travel mat it doesn’t have a lot of padding, but I personally like that. I feel way more stable and grounded on a thin mat.
If, in certain poses, you want some padding; grab a towel and use that or put it on top of another mat when you’re at a yoga studio or school!
But are there also any downsides to this mat?
What I found frustrating is that sometimes with movement it cinches up and I have to stop in between poses to fix it.
I guess this happens because of the light weight, but it would be great if the mat would stick to the floor more.
After 2/3 weeks at the yoga school I switched over to mats provided there. It‘s very frustrating to have to fix your mat while doing guided ashtanga(and you don’t have any time in between poses)
The mat is made from natural rubber so something they warn you about when buying the mat is that it’s not suitable for extreme high temperatures and it shouldn’t be exposed too long to direct sunlight.
The rubber will dry out and it’s color will fade.
How did it hold up? What’s the quality like?
Well, the mat is not in ‘perfect’ shape anymore.
Some minor damage appeared on the surface somewhere along the trip, but I don’t know when or how exactly.
(some of the damage, marked red on the picture).
The damage is not disturbing while practicing so it’s nothing too bad.
Keep in mind.. this mat went on a 2 month trip in India including an intense yoga teacher training.
Also I find the mat a bit hard to clean because of the non-slippery, rubber surface, so there’s still some sand from Indian beaches on it.
Good souvenir!
Do I recommend this mat?
Yes I do recommend this mat for all you traveling yogi’s out there.
Well, not just when traveling. I use it with my home practice too, sometimes on top of another mat.
It’s very light weight, it packs up small and good for a full practice.
I paid 40 euros for this mat (at yogisha in Amsterdam) so I would say it’s not expensive, but the non-slippery surface is worth everything!
Don’t forget: eco-friendly & they plant a tree with every mat sold!
(I don’t hold the rights to this picture, it comes straight from the Jade Yoga website)
