Gaiam Yoga Mat - Premium 6mm Print Reversible Extra Thick Non Slip Exercise & Fitness Mat for All Types of Yoga, Pilates & Floor Workouts (68" x 24" x 6mm Thick)

I'm a Yoga instructor and I love Gaiam mats because they're not outrageously expensive, are a good value, and do the job you need them to do. I purchased this in December 2016 and there was NO chemical odor or problem, beyond the initial rubbery scent that dissipated within a few hours. (I've never had a smell problem with Gaiam mats and whatever smell other reviewers were encountering seems to have been from an external source and has been solved.) My mat is bright, beautiful, and does everything I need it to do.As for the slickness, I don't have a problem with slickness with this mat ... however, note that this is a 5mm thickness, slightly squishier than a thinner mat. You will have to grip a little when you're in your poses. If you have a vigorous or sweaty practice, you should be on a thinner mat. Remember, you're doing the Yoga, not your mat. So, yes, you do need to activate hands and feet in your poses. 5mm thickness is great for basic Yoga and most traditions, including flow practices. I also recommend a 5mm thickness as a comfort for older students or anyone with minor joint issues.

I'm somewhat tall for a girl, and have bad knees - this yoga mat is long enough for me to do most of my practice and the thickness is really great on my knees without being too squishy for balance work.There was a little bit of a weird smell when it first arrived, but that aired out quickly. As an added bonus, my animals love using it when I'm not!

A beautiful mat - with a small warning. I decided it was time to replace my 11 year old (yes! Eleven!) Gaiam 5mm mat. Not because it was worn, but because the light orange color was really crummy looking, but still in great shape. It will now be my outdoor yoga mat. This mat is GORGEOUS. My only comment is a warning about the "new mat smell". I opened the mat moments before my class and had a hard time holding any pose where my face was on the mat. My mistake. I now have it laying out to air out, and will be spraying the Gaiam mat wash (which smells amazing!) frequently over the next few days. I like the reversible patterns and colors on either side of this lovely mat, and look forward to many years of use.

I have only used less expensive mats; Gaiam, a travel 3mm Nike, and No Name 1/4" think Yoga/Pilates combo mat so this may not hold up to those who are expecting $100+ mat results but I love my mat. It beautiful and I get compliments on it every time I use it. I have had it for two-ish years but its only seen about 6 months of consistent use. I recently got back into yoga and was considering getting a pricier mat but few are as pretty as this Gaiam one. Yes it smells when you take it out of the package, it takes about a week for that to dissipate. Yes its slippery at first, wash it with soap and water and scrub it down, not hard enough to ruin the design but firmly then hang it up to dry/air out for a few days (also helps with the smell) it may need a few washing's/uses to get sticky but mine only took one major wash and a few minor wipe downs to be slip free and by the second class the smell was hardly noticeable and by the third completely undetectable. It plastic, its going to have these issues and other brand mats of similar cost have been the same for me. I have heard that rubber smells even worse but may try a rubber mat out now that I am transitioning into hot yoga.

I absolutely love this mat! It's beautiful on BOTH sides and was just as pictured. It's slightly thicker than I thought it would be, mainly because I am a bit cynical about the quality of anything I order offline. It was a bit slippery when I first got it, but now that I have used it a few times, I noticed it isn't slick at all. The color and pattern does not rub off either, or at least it hasn't so far. I have been using it for a week or so now, and I absolutely love it. I do mostly relaxing vinyasa yoga and power yoga on it, and play with a lot of inversion poses, balance poses, etc, and this mat has been just fine for all of it. I haven't had any issues with slipping (outside of day 1 and it was only slightly), and I feel like it has a decent amount of grip in the patterned design of the mat. I use it on hardwood floors too if that is helpful knowledge to anyone. Anyway, I love it and think it is well worth the price.

It's beautiful, comfortable, and I haven't had problems slipping on it. But it stained the very first time I used it, got worse the second time, and the stains haven't budged. I've followed Gaiam's cleaning recommendations and bought the best-reviewed yoga mat cleaner I could find, but nothing. The stains are ordinary. They're sweat from my feet moving up and down the mat. The third time I used it, I found myself significantly altering the way I moved through class, so I wouldn't worsen the stains. A distracting hurdle for someone new to yoga. Picture attached (after cleaning attempts).I have enough issues feeling self-conscious at yoga without being the guy with giant skid marks on his mat. I bought this mat to help my confidence and commit myself to yoga, but I've been skipping more classes than ever. I admit that's pathetic, and those issues are mine, not Gaiam's, but a mat this expensive shouldn't irreversibly stain the first time you use it because you got sweaty.I thought I was buying something long-term, but now I feel like I bought something disposable. Yes, the mat still functions, but if you'd scoff at the thought of buying a new mat with stains on it, why should you be okay with one that stains after one use?

Love this mat. A little bit of an odor for a couple days but after a few uses it's gone. The designs make me so happy!

I like a lot of things about this mat like the design,color and how thicker it is but the smell is unbearable. I put it in my car and my car stinks like strong chemicals. I do not think I am going to be able to relax doing Yoga on this mat with this smell. strong smell.

Lots of curiosity and compliments on the pretty peacock mat from my yoga classes. 😊. The mat is sticky and doesn’t move on laminated floor yoga studios which is great for jumping on. There’s no stretching when doing warrior 2. The 6mm thickness is fine without being too bulky to carry. I bought a canvas yoga matt bag from Boence which fits. It’s weird that no carrier strap comes with this yoga mat. My old mat from another firm was cheap and came with a carrier strap. Other reviewers have complained of the strong plastic smell. I think it’s the printed paint. They probably print on demand as we order so the paint smell is much like having to put up with freshly painted walls in your home. It does dissipates with time. I use a towel with a bit of perfume on it when doing floor exercises and my nose is facing the mat. That masks the plastic smell well. I have to see how durable the mat is after some months to see if it disintegrates like all my previous matts

Really unhappy about this. The doesnt smell great also that being said it may take longer however if yoy see the pictures its not been cut properly and has made a awful double curve in the mat! I have tried to re roll opposite way as well as laying something down on top of it overnight and still the same... really disappointed and can't be used properly. I'm shocked considering the price! I thought going for a decent brand i would have this problem... 1 star and that generous!

The mat looks great and is thick, but it smells so bad! I aired it for days before taking it away with me, even sprayed it with perfume.. now away and I’ve had to stop using it and put in the bathroom as my head ache from having it in the bedroom was so bad. It’s got a chemical rubber smell so strong that it makes the whole room smell, and I cans bear to have my nose on it - actually making me feel ill. Such a shame as it’s a great looking mat. Maybe it will go given enough airing- but for now I can’t possibly use it which was disappointing as I bought it for a long weekend away of yoga etc and have had to use two blankets instead, even putting a blanket over the top didn’t help.

Grip and design seems good but the smell to glue or whatever that is, is very very strong and horrible, doesn't let me chill or breathe while doing yoga. I wonder if they could have done something about it, by they I wiped it before using it and the strong smell still there, hope it is not made of toxic material....but the truth is that smells like it. The really bad smell is the reason why I give two stars, considering also is not a cheap mat

Thick mat, great colours. Sadly biggest downfall was the awful smell. I have had for 4 days and still unable to use. Have washed it left it outside to air and smell still overpowering. For the price I amDisappointed in the mat because of the smell .