Yantra Mat

[bunny]

I think this is the right for this thread apologies if this is in the wrong place. I'm still finding my bearings, if I placed it incorrectly please place it in the correct place.

I noticed a mat last time I visited the health food store I thought it was a Yoga Mat, but on further inspection it was a Yantra Mat. Has anyone used such a mat? If so did you find any benefits?

[Lhug-Pa]

A Yantra mat, interesting. What is it made out of?

On the Yantra Yoga DVD's from Shang Shung, it looks like they're using a type of rug.

I have a real-wool Yoga blanket, and just fold it in half or in half twice depending on the movement.

[bunny]

Lhug-Pa: this is from the yanta mat website: http://theyantramat.co.uk/about-acupressure-mat.php

Yes it is a type of mat, I currently use a mat I got from a thrift store I got during my stay in Canada. I was just curious as to whether it would have any benefits or not. What I mean by this is from people who have used them. I appreciate that stores will say almost anything to sell a product.

[Lhug-Pa]

At first I was sort of under the impression that it might have been a mat made specifically for Yantra Yoga, which I'd never heard of, and which it obviously is not.

I've never used a "Yantra Mat", so I don't know if it lives up to its claims.

[bunny]

Thank you for your reply Lhug-Pa.

[Kaji]

That website says it is based on acupressure, an area of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Although not an expert, I understand acupressure to be more than massaging random spots on your back with a mat.

[viniketa]

Although not an expert, I understand acupressure to be more than massaging random spots on your back with a mat.

Indeed. This seems merely a ploy to sell mats. Yantras are good meditative objects, but not if you're sitting on them!

[zangskar]

I like them. My mother does too. For sitting or laying on. But it's not for yoga. If you asked for a yoga mat and that's what you need then you can ask for your money back since the seller doesn't know what he's selling. The producer is definitely a commercial operation but for all the claims of health benefits, I personally go by a simple "what you see/feel/taste/smell/hear is what you get" criteria: If it feels good to sit on it, that's the benefit, and if you're ill, see a doctor.

On the "feels nice" gimmicks topic I can recommend something for the head too, like these



Best wishes
Lars

[chokyi lodro]

My mother used a mat a bit like that for years. It was a yoga mat, but had a simplified yantra-like device in the middle. No averse effects, and she used yoga to prevent having to have spinal surgery.



(she also found the yantra useful for keeping count of her repetitions!)