Everything is going back to basics, note barefoot running and the Paleo movement (ugh). Will the same happen with yoga mats?  Not any time soon according to the gigantic market for everything yoga.  Even yoga clothing companies, like Lululemon and Athleta are offering mats.  

Mat not only are they a surface on which to practice yoga, they are also something to possess, protect, clean, lose, covet, compare, and talk about.  The New York Times took notice with their article "Their Lotus Can't Take Root on a Yoga Mat".  Author Mary Billard contends that, "A small but passionate subset of yoga practitioners say no. Bravely entering studios with little more than a towel, they argue that yoga mats are over-commercialized, bad for the environment and less hygienic." 

There is more than meets the eye or the hands and the feet.  Mats are helpful for many reasons, no doubt.  They pad, protect and provide the "stick". The gripping that sticky mats give can assist certain poses, like many standing poses.  They hold your feet and hands in place, which is nice, but they also allow for some laziness as the mat does a lot the work for you. Notice a downward dog or Warrior 2 done on and off a mat.  Without a mat it takes much more muscular oomph to hold the pose together.  

For balancing poses the extra "give" a mat offers is not helpful.  You've probably noticed some students step off of their mats for balancing poses. Internationally recognized, certified Iyengar yoga teacher and sleep scientist (and lots of other kudos), Roger Cole,  prefers a bare floor for balancing, because it give him "finer control".  He adds that he especially prefer a hard floor for "balancing in handstands and other arm balances".

On the contrary, some padding is helpful or necessary. Many of us need the extra coosh for our knees in lunges and the top of our feet in virasana.  I recommend padding or double padding (with a mat) the head in headstands.  

Practicing without the confines of a pre-defined space can allow for freedom of movement.  You can explore and be more playful, making the entire room your "mat".  Follow non-matter, Edward Clark's example (but not too much) in his YouTube video  Tripsichore's Simple Yoga Practice (hah!, beautiful, yes, simple, no).

Why not give it a try.  Notice how it feels to make direct contact with your surface whether it is a hardwood floor, the sandy beach or soft, dewey grass.  Do your poses feel different?  Is it hard to release your attachment to your mat and your "space"?   Check it out and let me know.  I always appreciate and enjoy your comments.

Want to read some of my previous articles?  You can do it here.  Enjoy.