Yoga Mats

[Jdc0llins]

Last year my girlfriend fell pregnant with our daughter, she found that yoga was a big help with easing some of the discomfort she felt during pregnancy, so I’ve decided to try and design a yoga mat which helps meet all of the needs of pregnant women during this immensely challenging part of their lives and I was wondering if anybody would be willing to discuss what they do/ do not like about their current yoga mat, and any features which they wish was available? Any comments or advice would be deeply appreciated

• Jack

Importantly, I forgot to ask what for any difficulties you had with yoga whilst pregnant, what issues did you have during your pregnancy which made yoga more challenging? And what did you most enjoy, what benefits did you actually see from your yoga!

What did you GF say was the problem with her yoga mat?

You could try taking into account that a heavily pregnant woman isn't always as narrow as a slim yogini and a bit more padding would be nice?

Oh, and a longer strap on a carrying bag will go over the increased size.

*your, not you

A yoga mat that meets the needs of pregnant women, what, like goes and makes tea, says soothing uncontroversial things and massages her feet?
Takes her out for a nice meal and an entertaining film?

Features? A yoga mat - features - flat and nonslip - that's about it.

An anti-sickness feature would be nice too

Tbh I can't think of anything that would need to be a feature of a yoga mat for pregnant women any more than for anyone else. The main requirements for anyone are for it to be the right thickness (various thicknesses are available) and, crucially, nice and grippy/non-slip. There are absolutely gazillions of brands on the market already though, made of a variety of materials, which already fulfil those requirements.

I’m not really sure that a mat can make much of a difference. It tends to be the props, that can be used in lots of different ways that are more useful eg bolster between the legs whilst lying on side, pillow, bean bag etc.
As a yoga teacher and having been pregnant twice I’m not sure how any design of a mat could help. But I am not particularly imaginative myself, so someone else may come along with some ideas!

The cynic I'm me just thinks "oh goody. Here's another man wanting to come along and tell us what we need during an experience he hasn't a fucking clue about". Sorry.

Honestly, the yoga equipment market is pretty saturated. Have you done any market research to see what else is out there ?

https://www.yogamatters.com

Careful with "extra padding". Balance poses are difficult on thick mats.

Also, women who already have a yoga practice will not buy a new mat when they get pregnant. So, your market is a very small group of women who decide to start yoga in pregnancy and don't mind spending additional £££ while budgeting for a pram, baby clothes, car seat etc.

ok I will let you know

Before modern times, meditative yoga and hatha yoga were practised on bare ground, sometimes with a deer or tiger skin rug. Modern mats suitable for energetic forms of yoga are made of plastic, rubber, and sometimes other materials including hessian and cork, trading off cost, comfort, grip, and weight.

www.doihealthy.com

Haven't hear the term "fell pregnant " for some time. Love it!

OP do you have a background in manufacture or design of sports equipment? Have your own business or company?
I actually find your question quite odd.
There are many yoga mats on the market at the moment- why do you think pregnancy needs a specially designed mat? And indeed what would that be?

Do you have any idea of the features of mats- and why pregnant women need special mats?

Women are not pregnant for very long.
In the first trimester many women continue as normal, may not want to do belly lying or deep squats.
In the last trimester moving can be diffficult, and gentle yoga can be easily done on a soft blanket.
The middle trimester lasts only 12 weeks- do you think many women would buy a special mat for such a short time?

Have you ever done yoga?