5 Best Yoga Blankets and How to Use Them to Support Your Yoga Practice

Key Takeaway

Uncover how yoga blankets enhance comfort, assist, and warmth in your comply with, plus the very best picks to buy.

There’s nothing increased than curling up beneath a warmth cozy blanket by a winter hearth and sipping a mug of tea. However it appears that evidently blankets may very well be amazingly useful props in order so as to add to your yoga comply with as successfully. 

A yoga blanket is a clean assist in poses like Seated Forward Fold (Paschiomottanasana) and a further cushion in your bones and joints in poses like Cat/Cow. It moreover helps yogis hold warmth in prolonged meditation or yin yoga poses. 

As a yoga teacher, I’ve found that utilizing yoga blankets in my class makes newbies further cosy and relaxed. Blankets merely normally carry that cozy aura with them whatever the place they go. 

Let’s dive into what makes a blanket actually a “yoga blanket”, discover ways to use them to bolster your yoga comply with, and the easiest yoga blankets you can purchase. 

What’s a Yoga Blanket, Anyhow?

A yoga blanket is a single-layered piece of fabric that’s not too thick nor too skinny. They’re normally barely thicker than regular blankets and are ready to be folded or rolled for added assist in yoga asanas. 

Yoga blankets have been spherical for 1000’s of years. BKS Iyengar wrote in The Illustrated Delicate on Yoga {{that a}} folded yoga blanket laid on a stage flooring is the easiest base for a yoga comply with. 

The Major Benefits of a Yoga Blanket embody:

• Together with warmth in relaxed poses
• Cushioning joints and bones
• Together with prime to seated poses (assist the once more)
• Assist in flexibility and differ of motion
• Altering widespread yoga props

The Historic previous and Significance of Yoga Blankets

The rich historic previous and significance of yoga blankets are generally uncared for. They play a job inside the customized of yoga, offering not solely comfort however moreover a connection, to the earlier.

Yoga has existed for lots of of years, with practitioners using blankets to create a barrier between themselves and the underside. These simple, vital devices provided warmth and assist all through their comply with.

Over time, yoga blankets have reworked into tools that will enhance options of your yoga routine. Whether or not or not used for added assist in poses or as a provide of warmth all through meditation, they’ve become a part of the comply with.

By incorporating a yoga blanket into your routine, you pay homage to the rooted traditions of yoga. Arrange a reference to its historic origins. No matter being a piece of fabric, it carries historic price.

Everytime you attain in your yoga blanket, keep in mind its significance as higher than an adjunct—it serves as a bridge to the earlier and an indispensable a part of your comply with.

Excessive 5 Best Yoga Blankets

Best Pure Cotton Yoga Blanket: DEMMEX Pure Cotton XL Diamond Weave Turkish Cotton Blanket

Nobody needs to worry about nasty synthetic dyes or toxins in a blanket they plan to place their face on or sit back with all through yoga. This engaging yoga blanket is made with 100% GOTS (Worldwide Pure Textile Customary) licensed pure Turkish cotton and pure plant dyes. It is clean enough to utilize as a towel and pleasant enough to placed on as a shawl. 

Execs

• Completely pure and toxin-free
• Great clean and pleasant Turkish supplies
• Double knotted tassels to verify it doesn’t unravel
• Dense weave for extra assist
• Multipurpose use as towel, seaside blanket, scarf, and further
• Quick-drying and absorbent 

Cons

• Might need piling or shedding on account of pure fibers (washing with a cup of white vinegar helps) 

Best Mexican Yoga Blanket: Benevolence LA Real Mexican Blanket

This deal with the essential Mexican serape blanket is vibrantly vibrant, clean, and even fabricated from recycled eco-friendly provides! For yoga, this blanket is high-quality, breathable, and easily transportable. It provides mid-level assist when folded and a great deal of warmth for early morning or exterior meditation durations. 

Execs

• Recycled acrylic and cotton supplies are eco-friendly 
• Lightweight (about 3 lbs)
• Dense and made-to-last
• Socially conscious agency mission to fight for equal water entry in poverty stricken areas

Cons

• Acrylic stays to be a man-made (non-biodegradable) supplies
• Twin measurement may be too small for some of us

Best Huge Indian Yoga Blanket: Halfmoon Yoga Blanket 

Within the occasion you’re looking out for a primary Indian yoga blanket, this Halfmoon Yoga Blanket is extraordinarily clean, pretty, and purposeful. It is cushioning and supportive in poses and classy when being saved. These blankets are thicker than they seem and notably high-quality. Their sturdiness lends itself successfully to many makes use of, from yoga to tenting to a seaside blanket. 

Execs

• Tender and intensely cosy 
• Handwoven in India
• Aesthetically pleasing as a throw or accent blanket
• Versatile for out of doors use at seashores or parks
• Selvage edges make easy to fold or roll flat
• Lightweight (about 2.7 lbs)

Cons

• Not pure cotton
• Mid-range price degree 
• Requires gentle wash cycle and hanging to dry 

Best Meditation Blanket: Lotuscrafts Yoga Blanket 

Within the occasion you’ve certainly not tried Savasana beneath a wonderful clean meditation blanket, you’re missing out. The Lotuscrafts yoga blanket typically is a rug to placed on, a cushion in your knees, or a clean overlay on the end of a protracted comply with. This blanket is as eco-friendly, skin-friendly and comfortable as a result of it can get. 

Execs

• 100% pure cotton and non-toxic dyes
• Eco-friendly and made beneath truthful working conditions 
• Great clean and skin-friendly for these with allergic reactions
• Huge measurement fits most individuals
• Gorgeous simplistic design 

Cons

• Thinner than completely different producers
• Won’t be as so much cushion for joints

Best Easy Machine-Washable Yoga Blanket: Open Avenue Gadgets Handmade Secure Yoga Blanket

The minimalist laundry-doers (like me) most likely don’t want any further subtle washing requirements added to their yoga laundry. This blanket may very well be thrown in any wash cycle and even will get softer after each wash. It is thick, pretty, XL in measurement, and actually cozy on the knees. 

Execs

• Standard Mexican trend blanket
• Tender, thick, and supportive
• XL measurement (80” x 50”)
• Handwoven in Mexico 
• Merely machine washable- nothing subtle and nothing to worry about!

Cons

• Synthetic provides is not going to be as eco-friendly

Use A Yoga Blanket

Cushion Your Knees, Elbows and Wrists

Within the occasion you’ve ever questioned how yogis preserve poses like Low Lunge, Hen Canine, or Camel Pose for an extended interval with out their knees screaming at them- you’re not alone! Most of the time, solely a yoga mat isn’t enough for bony joints. 

Merely folding a yoga blanket beneath your knees or elbows takes the pressure off your fragile joints so that you presumably can profit from the facility and stretch the place it’s meant to be (inside the once more, core, arms, and so forth.)

Even in a pose as simple as Cat/Cow pose, a blanket works wonders. Over time, joints inevitably will become stronger and further resistant. However, yoga blankets make these poses further accessible to newcomers along with children or aged school college students. 

As a yoga teacher, I always preserve a yoga blanket accessible to point out simple modifications to poses that are exhausting on knees, elbows, or wrists. 

do Cat/Cow with a Yoga Blanket:

1. Fold the blanket and uncover the very best thickness in your physique. Be completely satisfied to experiment with a few completely completely different folds to get it correct.
2. Switch into all-fours, inserting your knees on prime of the blanket about hip-width apart and at a right-angle beneath your hips. 
3. Arms must be shoulder-width apart and stacked in response to the wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Head is neutral.
4. For Bitilasana (cow pose), inhale and arch the spine, pushing the abdomen in the direction of the underside and looking out up. Press the knees into the blanket for stability.
5. For Marjaryasana (cat pose), exhale and curl your spine upward to the ceiling like a cat, pulling the top and sit bones down in the direction of the bottom. 
6. Return to a neutral table-top spine and launch. 

Help Creating Flexibility

It’s always a bit intimidating when superior yogis merely slip into Pigeon Pose or a full lower up. “Will my hips ever be that open?” it’s possible you’ll find yourself contemplating.

In comes the yoga blanket! By tucking a blanket beneath your butt, you presumably can take pleasure in hip-opening poses for further time and with further comfort. Think about the yoga blanket as your teaching wheels on the journey in the direction of hip-opening. 

Use a Yoga Blanket to Loosen Hips: 

1. Tightly roll up your yoga blanket.
2. Place instantly beneath hips or butt whereas in a hip-opening pose.
3. Use a block or one different yoga blanket to boost the forehead or forearms.
4. Relax into the opening.

Warmth Comfort in Savasana and Meditation

Other than scorching yoga, many yoga studios (or just your mattress room) can get a bit of bit chilly while you stop transferring spherical in your asana flows. 

Everytime you plan to stay in a meditative pose for an extended time interval, it helps to take care of the muscle tissue warmth and cozy so that you presumably can focus in your breath and psychological stillness. The slight little little bit of pressure from a blanket on prime of your physique is extra stress-free, inciting a primal comfort very like being swaddled at supply. 

The hardest half is not falling asleep! 

Add Peak and Pelvic Tilt in Seated Poses

Many school college students uncover it robust to take care of their spine fully straight in a seated place. We most likely have know-how and trendy sedentary life to thank! Since these two can’t be immediately fixed, a yoga blanket is the right decision in the mean time. 

A folded yoga blanket beneath your hips actually barely shifts your pelvic tilt and offers prime to the once more of the physique. This makes the spine lengthen and straighten with none extra effort. 

Alignment is so important for stopping accidents and establishing energy, so I wish to advocate lifting the hips to beginner and superior yoga school college students alike. As soon as extra, you need to to experiment with completely completely different folds and heights that are most interesting in your physique.

Attempt a folded yoga blanket beneath the hips in Seated Forward Fold (Paschiomottanasana), Employees Pose (Dandasana), Easy Pose (Sukhasana), Half Lotus (Ardha Padmasana), or any seated asana in need of a bit of bit pelvic tilt for a straighter spine. 

Substitute for Widespread Yoga Props

A yoga blanket is after all a further transportable (and generally cheaper) numerous to widespread yoga props like blocks and bolsters. It brings the bottom nearer like a yoga block and provides softer assist than a bolster. You presumably may even use it as a yoga mat when in a pinch! 

Yoga blankets are so versatile. Roll it, fold it, or put it beneath your once more, neck, or joints for padding and opening.

Yogis with a rising baby abdomen may uncover positive poses like Infant’s Pose (Garbhasana) or Pigeon Pose (Eka Rada Rajakapotasana) to be tough or uncomfortable. 

A folded or rolled yoga blanket offers prime when positioned beneath the forehead, giving further area for that tender pregnant abdomen. A blanket can also merely act as a clean cushion instantly beneath the stomach.

How To Choose A Top quality Yoga Blanket

Everybody is aware of how flimsy, toxic, unsustainable, and itchy an inexpensive blanket may very well be. A high quality yoga blanket must be sturdy, clean, well-woven, and fabricated from prime quality non-toxic provides that are good for the environment along with the people who made the blanket and the people who will use it. 

Listed below are our prime concepts for choosing a high quality yoga blanket and our time-tested favorites for Yoga Nomads:

Supplies

Most yoga blankets are fabricated from wool, cotton, synthetic fibers, or a mixture of these supplies. Ponder your native climate, desired cushion, washing frequency, and texture preferences to determine on the easiest yoga blanket supplies. 

Wool

Wool might be essentially the most dense, sturdy, and cozy of all blanket provides. Moreover it’s in all probability essentially the most sustainable on account of cotton requires so much land and water, whereas sheep may very well be repeatedly sheared all by the season.

Wool blankets might need piling (pulling out of the fibers) over time or with washing. Nonetheless they’re very sweat and moisture resistant. 

Cotton

Cotton yoga blankets are the commonest and are moreover very sturdy. Pure cotton is most interesting, if you happen to might discover it. 

Cotton could also be very clean on the physique, nevertheless not pretty as dense and supportive as a wool blanket. Cotton yoga blankets may shrink when washed, so it is best helpful wash or use chilly water.

Blended Supplies

Material blends harking back to polyester and acrylic are in all probability essentially the most moderately priced yoga blankets. They’ve brighter colors and are typically made with recycled provides.

The draw again to blended synthetic supplies is the chance of microplastics or a chemical odor on the time of purchase.

Kind

There are about as many yoga blanket varieties as there are yoga mats or yoga leggings. A yoga blanket is an efficient solution to point out off your signature yoga vibe in a purposeful method. 

Mexican Baja Blankets

Mexican or “Baja” blankets are what generally come to ideas when any individual says “yoga blanket”. As quickly as as soon as extra, the well-known BKS Iyengar is claimed to have launched Mexican yoga blankets to the USA and they also have since become widespread in practically every yoga studio.

Handmade Mexican blankets are cosy, pretty, bohemian, and can be found a wide range of colors. They’re moreover thick and dense for loads of cushion on the mat. They typically embody fringe, which might fray or get in one of the simplest ways over time. 

Indian Yoga Blankets

Indian blankets are generally hand-loomed cotton from India. They’re further tightly knit than Mexican blankets and don’t typically have fringe. 

Felt Yoga Blankets

Wool felted yoga blankets have in all probability essentially the most “give” of all the yoga blanket varieties, which means they’re going to deflate a bit beneath pressure. However, they’re warmth and thick and work excellently when folded a variety of cases. 

Measurement

An identical to a towel, too large is always increased than too small. Try to hunt for a yoga blanket that is large enough to cowl your physique in Savasana. Most people will uncover a typical twin measurement yoga blanket to be acceptable for his or her needs, nevertheless there are many greater ones accessible. Merely keep in mind that you must have the flexibility to fold, roll, and cover with the similar material. 

The Environmental Impression of Yoga Blankets

Yoga blankets can affect the environment based on their provides. How they’re made. As an illustration, typical cotton farming makes use of a wide range of water and pesticides, which can damage ecosystems and wildlife. Then once more, synthetic provides like polyester are constructed from gasoline and may launch microplastics when washed.

It’s not all info. Many corporations that make yoga blankets are starting to make use of these methods. Pure cotton, recycled provides, and pure dyes have gotten choices. These alternate choices vastly reduce the affect. Give yogis a method to comply with in response to their values of defending the Earth.

Selecting a yoga blanket can have an impact. It’s a step that contributes to the movement in the direction of caring for our planet. So everytime you’re looking out for a yoga blanket, think about its environmental affect.

It’s a way to make it doable in your efforts convey outcomes for every your self and the group.

Benefit from a Additional Supported and Cozy Yoga Observe!

Have you ever ever tried together with a yoga blanket to your comply with or your yoga programs? It’s surprising how a simple piece of fabric might make points so much further cosy and cozy.

Namaste!