Manduka PROlite Yoga Mat - Premium Non-Slip Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat for Home & Studio Workouts - Ideal for Hot Yoga, Pilates & Meditation Practice

I'm very happy with this mat. I'm glad I decided to purchase the PROlite instead of the PRO. This mat is already quite thick and heavy. I find it to be very comfortable despite its firmness. I'm not sure this mat is for everyone, hence some of the negative reviews. I'm not someone who sweats a lot, and I hate hot yoga, so I think this mat is perfect for me. If you sweat a lot or do hot yoga, and you still want to purchase a Manduka mat, you may need to use a towel with it. I would say this mat has an A grip when dry, but that drops to a C when wet (check out Alexia K Yoga -- she has a video with a grip test).Also regarding the break-in process: I only had to do it once, and it worked like a charm. I used a slightly different process though, which went as follows:1) Lay the mat out in the sun and liberally spread kosher salt all over it2) Wait all day3) At the end of the day, I made a solution of about 1 parts distilled white vinegar to 4-5 parts water4) I took a microfiber cloth and dipped it in the water/vinegar solution and used it to scrub the mat vigorously with the salt. I repeated this process until the entire mat had received a good scrubbing.5) Hosed down the mat with fresh water and then took a clean cloth and dried it off as best I could6) Brought it inside to finish drying/airing outAfter this process, the grip was MUCH better. The mat smelled slightly like vinegar, but that was gone after a day or so. Overall I highly recommend this yoga mat!This mat is durable, light weight, and comfortable; I would like it if it was slightly thicker, but I still don’t feel like it’s too thin. If you want a thicker mat and you won’t be carrying your yoga mat to and from daily classes like I am, I would recommend the regular Pro. Because I carry this around with me a lot, the ProLite made more sense.On to the slipperiness….this mat, like every yoga mat I’ve ever bought, is slippery at first. My suggestion is to NOT try the salt method they recommend and instead put your yoga mat in the bathtub and wash it with a gentle dish soap, or a gentle laundry detergent. Trust me. This works 100x better than that weird salt method the company tells you to do. Do this 1-3x and your mat will be perfect! I washed and scrubbed mine with dish soap once, and a gentle laundry detergent the second time, and it was PERFECT! No slipping at all, even in hot yoga! I have used this method with every brand of yoga mat I’ve owned and it does not damage your mat, and it will save you a lot of hassle and slipping!I just received my new Manduka PROlite Yoga Mat. I was expecting it to be very slick after reading all the reviews. It was just the opposite. I'm very new to yoga but when I stand on it and try to slide my feet I can't. I did a downward dog and my feet and hands were firmly planted. Ay this point I'm hesitant to do anything else as far as breaking it in other than use it.This yoga mat is great, very durable and doesn’t slide around when I use it. Unfortunately the wrong color was sent, so I am taking off a star. Ordered midnight (navy) received a maroon color. I need a yoga badly enough and the return is not worth the hassle, so I am holding on to the maroon.Of all the light, take-to-the-studio yoga mats I've tried, the Manduka ProLite is the best in terms of grip and my hands and feet not slipping once I start sweating. I highly recommend this mat for its stability, comfort, and grip, especially for those who are allergic to latex.Amazing, amazing, amazing!! I have heard such great things about Manduka yoga mats, that when my company said they would reimburse employees for fitness equipment, my first thought was to get one of these babies! I chose the 71" Midnight Blue Manduka Pro Lite honestly just because it was within the reimbursement budget, but also because it is a great color. I love how it is made from recycled materials and champions an eco-friendly lifestyle. It is a great width and weight, and nice and grippy! In terms of use, I sweat a lot, and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. This does a really good job of preventing slip, but also at a certain point, no mat will ever stop someone who is straight up liquid, so be realistic with your expectations (i.e. I still find it slips sometimes). Also note that I tend to use my mat on carpet, and if you were to use it on hard flooring, the mat would be even grippier and I don't think I would have issues slipping at all!On maintenance - Manduka recommends you sprinkle a bunch of salt on your mat when you first get it to help "break it in." Who was I to question the natural and earthy powers of the great salt break in??? Who was I to place myself above the experts of Manduka????? I decided to heed their advice. With all the passion and excitement of unleashing my mat's true potential, I shook shook shook my salt shaker above its gleaming surface. I patiently waited, attune to my mat's needs. After 24 hours passed, I returned to my mat, ready to welcome it into its new form. But wait - I encountered a dilemma. How exactly, were I to lift this 71" rubber serpent from the ground?? How were I to safely deposit those millions of shaken salt crystals from my mat's plane??? Now let us pause and note that this would not have been as arduous of a task if I had not decided to complete the great salt shake in my carpeted bedroom. Alas, my decision had already been made, my ship set on its course. With all the great balance and coordination of an amateur yoga practitioner, I raised the sides of my mat, dragging it to my bathroom. Allthewhile, I sensed myself losing thousands of salt crystal souls on the way. After patiently attempting to contain the briny gems, I finally heaved my rubber flag over the bathtub and shook shook shook as best I could, to remove the salty deposits. Yet again, I found myself tormented. This mat is praised for its grip, its hold, its strength. And so the salt remained. Defeated, I climbed into the bathtub, swallowed my pride, and brushed each individual crystal from my mat's surface. To this day, I still find memories of the past clinging to my mat - small sodium chloride diamond reminders of heroes come and gone.So overall, I think you could probably break this in without having to salt it, unless you really really wanted to. Awesome addition to any exercise routine!!I had high expectations for this mat since the reviews were so good. I realize this mat needs some "break-in" time but to date I'm not impressed. My hands slid when doing downward dog, this mat is much thinner than I expected and it frequently bunches up when I move around. So far I've been working with it 6 weeks and haven't noticed any improvement. I keep hoping it will break in! Wish I would have stayed with the Jade Yoga mats that I've been using the last 20 years!I practice yoga daily and have only been using a cheap mat that I bought several years ago because i liked the colour. I bought this mat following several recommendations of the brand and after seeing that his brand is used on the youtube channel 'Yoga with Adriene'. I practice yoga daily and have only been using a cheap mat that I bought several years ago because i liked the colour. Since taking yoga more seriously, I decided to invest in a high quality mat since my old one did have a lot of slip. However, this mat is even worse! I followed the instructions as advised (salted) but there was no improvement. I am so disappointed and wish I could return the product. I understand that the slip should reduce with time, but I don't want to work on a mat with slip and hope it improves, especially given that it's worse than my old and cheap mat. I've now purchased the Liforme mat which is twice the price but also twice the quality - NO SLIP at all. I'm extremely disappointed and now out of pocket. Do not recommend.I know the reviews are confusing, as they often are. The mat is not bad quality so general score will reflect it.But the bottom line is that if you are looking for a sticky mat, this is not the one. if you even get slightly sweaty, and I do mean slightly, then you should look elsewhere.And the break in process is cute but other than you having a messy activity with your new mat, it doesn't do anything. does make you imagine it does for a bit so if you are into that, you can give it a go...Don't bother guys. So much work trying to break in this mat and it's still too slippy to hold a proper down dog. I've practiced 4-5 times a week for 4 months and done the salt scrub-down 3 times. They cheerfully tell you to scrub it with salt and leave it in the sun which is maybe ok in California but I live in an apartment with no balcony in a dark country. Still hoovering up salt months later. Buy something that's ready to actually use rather than this nonsense. A complete waste of money and time.YES it is one of the best mats available, YES it is slippy at first and gets better over time, YES it is guaranteed for a lifetime, but NO, I wouldn't use it for a hot yoga class without paring it with an anti-slip towel. I found that the perfect match for this product is the "Heathyoga Yoga Towel, Premium Non Slip Yoga Towel" which is not only fantastic, but also turns the Manduka PROLite into one of the most non-slip surfaces I've ever experienced - trust me, you won't believe it.It was really really slippy! I got this mat to replace my beginners one I bought two years ago as now my poses are more advanced I’m working myself harder and I need a mat with more grip! My beginners one cost £15 and although I slip after about 40 mins of hard practice I felt myself slipping after 5 on this Manduka mat! I contacted Manduka themselves and they told me to perform the salt scrub again a few more times and that it will improve once I have “broken it in.” I continued to practice daily on it as per their advice but to no change. Also, the main point for my return and dissatisfaction of this item is that for the amount of money it costs ... why should I have to break it in ? Surely it should come ready to use so I can enjoy and continue my yoga practice ? I began dreading practicing because I knew I would be slipping by the third sun salutation! Not impressed at all.