What is the Difference Between a Yoga Mat and a Pilates Mat

Increasingly popular forms of exercise, yoga and pilates improve core strength, muscle control and flexibility.

While yoga centres on mindfulness and balancing out the body with breathing techniques and ‘flows’, pilates focuses more on working out the entire body using physical exercises and, in turn, strengthening muscles.

Both of these forms of exercise are completed on a mat but the mat will generally vary in both thickness and width.

Thickness of Yoga Mats

A standard yoga mat is one eighth of an inch thick – that’s around three millimetres. It allows the user to flow through the yoga poses while staying grounded, keeping balance and feeling like they are firmly ‘earthing’ their feet or hands – a key skill in yoga.

A regular pose for beginner yogis is downward dog. While this simple pose does require both the hands and balls of the feet to be firmly grounded into the mat, it doesn’t need much cushioning. Therefore, a three-millimetre mat is ideal.

Not only will the yogi feel like they are properly ‘earthing’ their hands and feet, but they will also find it easier to balance with a mat of this density because the floor underneath the mat can still provide firm grounding.

Some yoga mats can are slightly thicker than this. Often, an expert yogi will prefer a mat of around one quarter of an inch thick (six millimetres) because, the more experienced you are at yoga, the more likely you’ll be doing more advanced poses which require additional cushioning.

Thickness of Pilates Mats

A pilates mat, on the other hand, is much thicker than any yoga mat. At around half an inch (or 12 millimetres) thick, it provides far more cushioning than any yoga mat needs to.

Pilates is all about strength and focusing on particular muscle groups throughout each session.

Many pilates exercises are floor-based and a large number of them are completed on the stomach or back, often requiring the user to roll around on their tailbone. Therefore, cushioning from a thicker mat is absolutely essential to effectively support the spine and avoid injury.

Does Size Matter?

Most yoga and pilates mats are the same length and the length doesn’t really make much of a difference to your yoga or pilates experience.

Of course, if you’re tall and realise you’ve outgrown your mat, a longer mat may be a good idea but, generally, the length of both yoga and pilates mats is around 68 inches long.

However, pilates mats are sometimes wider than yoga mats, mainly because of the range of floor exercises in pilates that require a wider surface area to be covered.

The Key Differences?

So, there you have it! While both mats are usually the same size and both generally have a textured surface to stop the user slipping and sliding mid-flow, the main differences between a yoga mat and pilates mat is the thickness and width.

If you would like to know more about yoga mats why not read our article on How to Choose from the Best Yoga Mats. Then maybe pop along to see our reviews of the best yoga mats.