Earlier this year I was scrolling through a Yoga Journal and came across an ad for Yoga-Paws. I was immediately interested. Basically, Yoga-Paws are a yoga mat that you wear on your hands and feet, kind of like gloves and socks, and I’ve found them to be so wonderful that I thought that I should share with the outdoor community.

Yoga-Paws!

The concept seemed too good to be true, and I asked a Yogi friend if he’d heard of them. After he raved about how wonderful they are for several minutes, I ordered pairs for myself and Mark. We carefully measured our hands and feet to ensure that we ordered the right sizes.

No need for bunched up towels or ground coverings.

What intrigued me most is how portable they are. The four pieces come in a small mesh bag that can be tossed into a backpack, day hatch or travel bag… which is really important for someone who lives out of a travel bag for weeks at a time. If these things worked then there would be no more bunched up grass and sand covered travel towels, no more searching for a yoga mat to borrow and no more sliding around on wet grass or slippery surfaces.

Enjoying the freedom of being able to walk around my “outdoor studio.”

One yoga session made me realize that Yoga-Paws not only solved all of the problems mentioned above, but have other benefits as well. First, when I’m instructing I can walk around my “outdoor studio” and my mat stays with me. Second, when at home I find that Yoga-Paws work great with a standard yoga mat to prevent slipping during extra sweaty workouts. Third, the “hand mats” provide some wrist support, so poses like Crow are gentler on the body and easier to do. These things are fantastic!

Yoga-Paws also work great with a standard yoga mat for extra slip prevention.

Mark and I have now used them since the beginning of the summer, and I find that I’m liking them more and more. We’ve done yoga all over Europe and the U.S., next to Icebergs in Greenland, on wet grass, on grainy sand, on smooth rocks and in parking lots, all the time wearing this cool travel yoga mat. The only thing that the mat doesn’t provide,which I wish it did, is knee protection… but hey, I guess you can’t have everything.

I highly recommend this mat for traveling Yogis, Yogis who need a little extra slip prevention or those who like a little more wrist protection. Oh, one other thing, ours have gotten wet, sandy, muddy and even sappy… and the filth just falls off once they dry. Loving them!

For more information or to order Yoga-Paws, visit www.yogapaws.com.

Photos by Mark Tozer and Bryant Burkhardt.