Do you want to find ways to get more healthy? A fitness mat provides a number of different opportunities for increased physical (and even mental) health. Below are some of the best of the many different ways to use a fitness mat in your life.
- Yoga. Yoga is the most well known purpose of a fitness mat. Yoga mats are great because they cushion your feet and hands as you do your different poses. They help you keep a grip in poses that are prone to sliding because of where your weight is resting. And in cool down poses, they provide a comfortable cushion for the spine and head. Also, the personal space of the yoga mat gives you some reference for alignment and can help you stay centered.
- Pilates. Pilates is similar to yoga, but newer and arguably more intense (and less reflective). As with yoga, Pilates often has you staying in one place and moving your body various ways, so using a fitness mat gives you a comfortable place to stay while doing the exercises. The grip also helps you stay on task without slipping, especially since you’re probably sweaty while you exercise anyway.
- Daily exercises. It doesn’t take a DVD or certified fitness instructor to reap the simplest benefits from a fitness mat. Use it in the morning or before you go to bed to do push ups, sit ups, crunches, leg lifts, and other traditional exercises. It gives you a nice clean place to focus your attention, and provides a nice cushion for your head, back, hips, hands, or whichever parts touch the floor in the various exercises you can do.
- Work out at work. It may not seem like the right time or place, but work is actually a great place to get fit. Fitness mats are very portable, so you can bring yours to work whenever you like. Devoting a portion of your lunch hour or even a few minutes during a morning or afternoon break, is a great opportunity to wake your body up from the time it spends sitting at your desk.
These are just a few. The purposes a fitness mat can serve are as diverse as the people who use them. Be creative, and adapt it to best meet your own fitness, space, and scheduling needs.