If you think you can bring your beach Printed beach towels or bath towel to your yoga class, you might want to reconsider. Though they may feel similar, there are some major differences between regular, cotton towels and designated yoga towels. The primary distinction is in the absorbency. Regular cotton towels help you dry off, which means they don't need to be as absorbent as yoga towels. The materials used for yoga towels are stiffer and more durable than cotton, and their design allows them to thoroughly absorb the moisture around them. This feature makes them ideal for activities like hot yoga.Yoga towels are sweat-wicking. They absorb moisture and dry quickly, so you don't have to worry about dealing with a damp or soggy towel.
For many hot yoga practitioners, using a regular bath or beach towel won't be effective, since the towel will collect the moisture and quickly become saturated. That will leave you with a soggy towel on your mat and the excessive moisture will also make it lose its grip. Once it reaches its maximum capacity, it will cease to absorb more sweat. Even if you're not interested in hot yoga and aren't overly worried about your towel's absorbency, a yoga towel is still a better option for any yoga practice, especially if you're using a mat. A regular cotton towel doesn't have the unique grips under it like yoga towels do. These grips help the towel stick to the mat and prevent them from moving with you.
A regular cotton towel, even when dry, won't stick to the mat, so it'll be sliding around and distracting you. Yoga mats are relatively uniform in length, and yoga towels fit perfectly over them. Beach or bath towels are unlikely to be exactly as long and wide as the yoga mat, which means you may end up with your hands or feet on the mat instead of on the towel. To some, this might not be a big deal, but if the purpose of your yoga towel is to absorb the sweat and keep it off the mat an ill-fitting towel may end up being counterproductive.Alternately, a beach or bath towel may be too long for your yoga mat, which means you may end up exposing it to the dirty floor around your mat and the foreign bacteria that come with it.
Many yoga towels are microfiber, a high-absorbency material. Microfiber is a straightforward material to wash and maintain, often needing only a wash with cold water and no fabric softener. You can dry them in your dryer on low heat or hang them up to air-dry on a clothesline, since microfiber dries much faster than cotton.Some yoga towels may have specific washing and maintenance directions on their tags, but generally, it's as simple as tossing your used towel into the laundry after each use.A good rule to follow for yoga towels and anything else that absorbs sweat is to wash after every use. That includes yoga mats. However, since yoga mats are much more challenging to clean correctly, using a yoga towel on top of it protects the mat itself, which means you have to clean it less often. Washing your yoga towel after every use will ensure you always return to a clean and hygienic space to practice yoga.
