Yoga Mat - History

History

Ancient yoga practice in India was originally conducted on kusha grass, on hard earth without any cover, or on a rug of deer or tiger skin. Due to the scarcity and cost of such rugs, they are now rarely used even in India.

With yoga's introduction in the West, many practitioners used towels or cotton mats on wooden floors. Rubber mats were introduced as an intermediate material to prevent cotton mats from slipping on wooden floors. Slipping of hands and feet was avoided by squirting a mist of water on the mats on the respective places of positions.

In 1982, while teaching yoga in Germany, Angela Farmer used carpet underlay cut to towel size during yoga classes; later she returned home to London with the material. Angela's father, Richard Farmer, contacted the German padding manufacturer and became the first retailer of "sticky mats".

The first purpose-made yoga mat was manufactured and sold by Hugger Mugger Yoga Products in the 1990s. In 2002 the first ‘eco-conscious’ mat was manufactured by EcoYoga and sold through Yogamatters in Britain.

Yoga mats increasingly fulfill the purpose of reducing risk of injury, and some insurance companies require yoga practice to be executed with a non-slip mat in order to be eligible for coverage.