

9 Best Yoga Mats For Your Yoga Practice
I'm all about reclaiming my time and tapping into my inner peace. Yoga has a reputation for helping us accomplish a satisfying "woosah" we all need. But before you get ready to master the downward dog, the yoga mat you use can truly determine what type of yoga experience you'll have. The thickness, material, length, and even cell type of a yoga mat are all factors to consider when you're on the hunt for your perfect yoga accessory.
Whether you plan on taking a yoga class on the beach during a girls' trip or want to indulge in hot yoga to sweat off the stress, there's a mat for that -- you just have to select the right one.
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1.BalanceFrom GoYoga All-Purpose Mat
Walmart
While you're still perfecting your yoga poses, this mat is protecting your joints and body. It has a high-density foam that reduces the soreness you might experience once you're finished. It's water-resistant so feel free to wash it down with soap and water. It also touts a free yoga mat strap to secure in between classes.
2.Lululemon's The Reversible Mat 3mm
Lululemon
For those who have enough on their mind while practicing yoga, the Reversible Yoga Mat 3mm from Lululemon serves more than one purpose. It has an impressive grip to make sure you don't slip during those sweaty yoga classes. The top layer even absorbs sweat and moisture. Flip over the mat to the other side when you want more of a cushion.
3.The B MAT Everyday Mat
B Mat Everyday Mat
It's perfect if you want to indulge in a yoga session from the comfort of your own home. The B MAT Everyday Mat is long-lasting and has a solid grip. It has a superior cushion and was created to battle heat and sweat, making it ideal if you want to take on yoga on a daily basis.
4.Gaiam Yoga Mat
Gaiam
Whether you're a pro or just getting the hang of the yoga lifestyle, the Gaiam Yoga Mat is an overall option. There's lots of cushion, but the mat won't slide back and forth. It comes with a downloadable yoga workout, which will help you if you're just getting started.
5.Aurorae Synergy 2 In 1 Yoga Mat
Amazon
If hot yoga is calling you every day, the Aurorae Synergy 2 in 1 mat might be calling you too. It comes with a mat and a towel for those extra sweaty sessions. In fact, this was created for hot yoga lovers in mind because the more you sweat, the better the grip.
6.Alo Yoga Warrior Mat
Neiman Marcus
Is having just one mat for all of your yoga needs ideal for you? The Alo Yoga Warrior Mat doesn't just come in an assortment of chic colors like Smoky Quartz and Eclipse, it's also an all-around mat that you can take to any type of course (and look cute doing it).
7.Heathyoga Eco-Friendly Non-Slip Yoga Mat
Heathyoga
If yoga is something new for you, the Heathyoga Eco-Friendly non-Slip mat caters to beginners. The top layer includes lines that help make sure your hands and feet are in place for each pose. A second layer serves as a tight grip to help your balance. And it's eco-friendly!
8.Suga Recycled Wetsuit Mat
Suga Yoga Mat
Suga took sustainability to another level when it released a yoga mat line made out of recycled wetsuits. They're nonslip and have an oversized option for the taller ladies. The product is made of natural rubber. Suga also plants a tree for each recycled yoga mat that it sells.
9.Manduka eKO Lite 4mm Yoga Mat
Manduka
The Manduka eKO Lite 4mm Yoga Mat is a top choice for those looking for a lightweight product. It's not extremely heavy or spongy, but also doesn't shift during a yoga session. It only weighs about five pounds, so it can easily be tucked into a suitcase for travel without taking up too much space.
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Charmaine Patterson is a journalist, lifestyle blogger, and a lover of all things pop culture. While she has much experience in covering top entertainment news stories, she aims to share her everyday life experiences, old and new, with other women who can relate, laugh, and love along with her. Follow Char on Twitter @charjpatterson, Instagram @charpatterson, and keep up with her journey at CharJPatterson.com .
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TW: some depictions of intrusive thoughts may be disturbing for readers.
Have you ever caught your mind drifting off to entertain the most disturbing scenarios imaginable? Maybe you can’t stop thinking of all the ways a loved one could pass away or worrying that you left every candle lit in your apartment to which you’d return to a home in ruins. If distressing ruminations like these have crossed your mind, you may be experiencing an intrusive thought.
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted or distressing thoughts, images, or impulses that pop into your mind without your control or consent. These thoughts can be repetitive, unsettling, or even violent in nature, and can cause anxiety and frustration for those who experience them.
“Generally they're unwanted thoughts that come up in our head that interrupt what we're doing or thinking, and can feel very foreign,” says Adia Gooden, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and host of the Unconditionally Worthy podcast. “It’s any thought that intrudes or interrupts what you are doing. They can be distressing and upsetting for us because it feels like we are not in control of them, and they're coming up out of nowhere and aren’t in line with how you normally think.”
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
Certain trauma or stress can contribute to the development of intrusive thoughts, so having a challenging experience from the past or current life situations may trigger them to form. “An intrusive thought could come in the form of a flashback, image, or a thought about something that's happened to you,” Dr. Gooden tells xoNecole. “When it gets to the point where you feel like you can't function or make clear decisions, that's when intrusive thoughts become really challenging.”
While some of the 1 billion videos found under the #intrusivethoughts hashtag on TikTok would lead you to believe that these thoughts are nothing more than casual displays of our imagination going untamed. Intrusive thoughts are more than sticking your hand in a soap dispenser, wanting to cut all your hair off at 3 a.m., or having a random impulse to eat fake bread in public.
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America reports that approximately six million individuals, equating to roughly two percent of the American population, encounter intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are often linked with obsessive-compulsive disorders, but they can also manifest in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or anxiety.
Examples of Common Intrusive Thoughts
Because of the explicit nature of intrusive thoughts, they tend to cause shame and internal conflict in those who experience them. Although these thoughts can differ from person to person, these ideation can consist of:
- Violent or aggressive thoughts towards oneself or others, such as harming or killing someone;
- Sexual thoughts that are unwanted or inappropriate;
- Repetitive thoughts, such as a song or a phrase that keeps repeating in your mind;
- Contamination or germ-related thoughts or the fear of contamination and getting sick;
- Religious or blasphemous thoughts, such as questioning one's faith or having thoughts that go against religious beliefs;
- Doubts or uncertainty about one's own actions or decisions, such as fear of making a mistake or fear of not doing something right.
Intrusive Thoughts and OCD
That’s why Dr. Gooden encourages everyone to understand the difference between our fleeting thoughts and impulses and true, intrusive thoughts. “What level of distress does it cause and is it something you would never consider,” she says. “If you're finding that these thoughts are getting in the way of you living your life and that you're controlled by the thoughts, those are some signs that it would be good to get some support in navigating it.”
She also emphasizes the importance of understanding that while we may not always have control over our thoughts, we can control our behavior. “On TikTok, people are sort of blaming intrusive thoughts on their behavior, and our behavior is always a choice,” she says. “If we are in our right mind and we're not having a psychotic episode, our behavior is our choice — we are not obligated to follow any given thought that we have.”
Are Intrusive Thoughts Normal?
With intrusive thoughts, it’s natural to question whether these thoughts are “normal” to have. However, these thoughts are not meant to define who you are as a person but simply indicate that you have a functioning human mind with automated thoughts that you, or any of us, can’t control. These thoughts may come, but they don’t have to be acted upon, nor do they define who you are.
“I've worked with clients in the past who say, ‘Why am I thinking these things? What's wrong with me?’ But if you're not acting on the thought, then it's probably not a huge issue,” Dr. Gooden says. “If you are thinking a harmful thought towards yourself or someone else and you are making plans to act on that thought, then yes, we need to do something about it.”
How To Manage Intrusive Thoughts
If you are struggling with managing unwanted thoughts, Dr. Aida suggests taking these tips to help manage your mindset when they occur:
- "Recognize that it's a thought and thoughts are just thoughts. We often put a little bit too much weight on our thoughts, and that can create a lot of distress. But remember that thoughts are not facts."
- "Having a thought that's disturbing or upsetting doesn't make you a bad person, and it doesn't mean that you are suffering from a mental illness."
- "Sometimes the best thing you can do is say, 'Huh, that was an interesting thought. I'm going to let that go. That thought is not helpful for me right now."
- "Ask yourself: is this helpful? Is it helpful for me to buy into this thought and believe this thought? Asking that question can be really helpful because we are not at the mercy of our thoughts. If it's not helpful, you can let it go."
Intrusive thoughts can feel bizarre and foreign when they come up, but they aren't inherently "bad." Our minds can sometimes be filled with random and inappropriate thoughts, but that's what our stream of consciousness does: it thinks. Fortunately, we can release those thoughts at any moment; you don't have to follow through with them.
And ultimately, not every TikTok diagnosis is one that we should label ourselves with.
"It's important for people to acknowledge what they're experiencing but not run too quickly to diagnose themselves with some mental illness or disorder," Dr. Gooden advises. "It ends with confusion, and we miss the opportunity to understand the people who really do have that mental health challenge."
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