Aside from its significant physical and psychological benefits, yoga is a popular physical activity because it doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment and it can be done solo with the help of a yoga DVD or constant practice. It’s important, when practicing yoga, to have the right yoga clothes and a satisfactory yoga mat. Your yoga mat is the only real tool you’ll need in practicing this ancient meditative art, so make sure you pick a good one.

Yoga clothes vary based on a person’s physical fitness and interest. In general, your yoga clothes should allow you to have very flexible movement throughout your body. Most people prefer legging-style yoga pants and a form-fitting, flexible shirt. Shoes are optional. Some people prefer to perform their yoga barefooted and some prefer to use sneakers or slipper-like shoes. This really is dependent on your physical space and the type of yoga you’re doing. If you are in a public space, you may want your yoga clothes to include shoes because other people will be sweating in the same performance space as you. If you’re exercising power yoga, you’ll want to wear sneakers because there are active calisthenics involved and you’ll be moving at a fairly rapid speed. For most people, however, performing yoga barefoot is a preferred method because it ensures you the flexibility to move your body into any position.

In addition to your clothes, your yoga mat is surprisingly important for maximizing your range of flexibility. Most people prefer a yoga mat that is relatively sticky in nature because this keeps the mat from sliding and prevents you from sliding around on it. These types of yoga mats, however, are usually difficult to clean and tend to allow germs to stick. Machine-washable mats are usually a bit more expensive but are cleaner and generally more lightweight to carry. When choosing a yoga mat, remember that it needs to be soft enough to counteract the hardness of the floor below it. It should also have good sweat absorbency because pooled sweat will create a slippery and potentially dangerous mat.

Sometimes your yoga DVD will suggest a particular type of yoga mat for the exercises carried out. If this is the case, it’s to choose the mat the yoga DVD suggests. Sometimes yoga mats even come with the DVDs, or vice versa. The price of DVD sets varies based on the type of yoga and the number of exercises presented. Yoga clothes can usually be thrown together out of your closet, but a good pair of yoga pants with maximum flexibility and sweat-wicking material will cost between forty and sixty dollars. Mats vary enormously, but a standard “sticky” style mat will cost around thirty dollars. There are always options to tailor your materials to your personal needs, allowing the prices to vary tremendously.