For the most relaxed and meditative forms of yoga, a mat alone is sufficient to provide a space for your practice and to make sure that you have a surface where you won’t slip. If you’re looking for a more intense workout, however, this can get dangerous. Mats aren’t designed to soak up water, and they will quickly become slick with sweat if you’re doing hot yoga or engaging in activity intense enough to make you very sweaty. If you want to make the most of your practice and keep it safe as well, you should add a yoga towel skidless to your equipment for class.

You could wipe your mat down periodically with any towel, but you would then have to make frequent breaks in your activity to try to keep the mat dry. This makes it difficult to keep the intensity level and focus up to a point where you can get the maximum benefits from the time that you’re putting into your practice. It also means that sweat will constantly be getting on the mat, and you’ll need to clean it frequently between lessons to make sure that it isn’t damaged and doesn’t become smelly.

A good skidless yoga towel, on the other hand, can simply be laid over your mat to soak up all of the sweat as it falls. They’re designed so that they won’t move under your feet and won’t create a dangerous situation in themselves, while they also provide a lot more traction than a mat or floor alone would. By buying a dedicated towel, you can also get something that looks good with your mat and that you feel proud to use during your classes. Sometimes, having a few beautiful items to take along to an exercise session is enough to add a little extra kick of motivation that keeps you from spending the evening on the couch instead.

Invest in a yoga towel that you really like and that is made well. You can get plenty of use out of them, since they’re also great as a way of keeping your hands and face dry during other types of workouts.