New mat woes.

[Sangelina]

I treated myself to a new Wai Lana 6mm mat as my old one gave up after 15 years sterling service. I'm a little bit in love with it. It's slippy though, esp in down dog and wide stance. Can I do anything to make it more grippy?

[JimineyJelickers]

Watching with interest because I spent a million quid (only a slight exaggeration) on a new mat and it's way more slippy than my old, €5 Aldi mat.

[CoteDAzur]

Can either of you find out what your mats are made of/coated with? If you can determine the material, you might be able to Google how to treat it to make it less slippery. Alternatively, you can use a full-length or small (sideways, under hands) non-slippery towel over your mat.

[Sangelina]

Good call Cote - I've just emailed them to ask.

[maybemyrtle]

Just jumping on to say that my ashtanga teacher warns against using sticky mats. Apparently the "stick" does some of the work for you so you end up not engaging the muscles correctly. She didn't like my (sticky, natural rubber) mat at all and told me to practice on the bare floorboards at home instead. Don't know if that makes you feel happier about your mat? :)

[Sangelina]

It does!! I heard from the suppliers and they said to wash it; it wouldn't go in my machine, do I mopped it with fairy liquid. I'll repo back after my next class! I understand what your tracker said about the compensation during positioning, but a was slipping too much; I was having to strain to stay in pose.

[CoteDAzur]

Have you tried your mat since washing it then? Did it work? (Curious minds want to know

[JimineyJelickers]

A bit late back to this, but thought I'd respond just in case anybody has this exact problem in the future.

I Googled and apparently scrubbing the mat with a mixture of baking powder and water takes the top filmy layer off. I tried it and it's definitely taken a bit of the slip off. My mat is a Manduka one if that makes a difference.