Find the Best Bag for Carrying Your Yoga Mat
Securely Carry Your Yoga Mat to Class
If you take your own yoga mat to class, you'll want a secure and easy way to carry it.
If you only need your mat, and you're not carrying much of anything else, something very simple will suffice; perhaps a tote bag, or even a simple carrying strap to keep it secure.
On the other hand, when you have more to carry, a gym bag will give you extra room to pack a water bottle, change of clothes, towel, or more equipment in an organized and easy-to-access fashion. If you're traveling to a workshop and need to carry more gear, you may want something like a roomy duffel bag to carry even more equipment.
Here you'll find a number of useful and well-designed bags and carrying systems, ranging from the very simple carrying straps and totes, to the larger, roomier gym and duffel bags.
(P.S. If you have AdBlock enabled on your browser, you may not be able to see the Amazon products that I've suggested.)
How do you carry your yoga mat to class?
The Yoga Mat Strap
Simple and Affordable Carrying Straps
Using a sturdy strap is an easy and economical way to transport your mat.
You might just use a regular yoga strap prop to cinch around your yoga mat to keep it from unrolling, or you might get one of the well-designed straps or slings designed especially for this purpose.
These straps are light-weight and easy to carry. An added benefit to using a carrying strap is that your yoga mat can air-dry more readily than if it's placed inside a bag.
Harness Strap
Yoga Mat Harness Strap
from: YogaAccessories.com, sold on Amazon.
This strap is inexpensive and simple to use. With its adjustable heavy duty easy-release buckles, it can hold most mat sizes. It has a nice-looking colored geometrical design that coordinates with most mat colors.
Slip this carrying strap over your shoulder as you walk or bike to and from your class, or just toting it between your car and the yoga studio.
While this strap will work for most mats, YogaAccessories also carries a larger size if your mat is quite thick or extra long.
Other Straps That Will Do the Job
There are a number of other straps and slings that will work well for securely holding your rolled mat. You can check out the large assortment on Amazon, including the Gaiam Easy Cinch sling, below. This sling is a practical and durable nylon strap with metal D-ring sliders to snugly secure your mat, and is representative of the many inexpensive and very functional strap holders that you can find.
Or Use Your Own Yoga Strap
A very simple solution is to use your own yoga strap to secure your rolled up mat. This video shows one way to create a carrying sling from your strap for your mat. The loop from the strap is placed at one end, and another slipknot loop is created for the other end. Simple and elegant!
This method is very similar to what I often use for short trips with my mat. I already have the yoga strap, so it's a very practical option for me.
(You'll also see a brief "Downward Facing Dog Pose" from the cute pooch in the video!)
Bags and Totes
These offer protection and ease of use
These practical and handy tote bags come in a large variety of designs, colors, sizes, and fabric.
They help to protect your yoga mat from the elements, keeping it clean and dry, and neatly rolled up while you carry it to and from your class.
When you choose a mat tote bag for yourself, make sure that it's large enough to hold your own mat with ease. It's frustrating to stuff a thick or extra long mat into a tote bag that's meant for thinner mats. Better to go a little roomier than to have too tight a fit.
Durable Cotton Mat Bags in Many Colors - Practical, Well-made
This Cotton Yoga Mat Bag is indeed a very practical and sturdy yoga mat bag. These extra large bags are made of durable, long-lasting 10 oz. cotton duck fabric, with a sturdy shoulder strap. At 27" long, and 7" wide, they hold most yoga mats, including those that are thicker and longer than average.
And you can choose from many colors.
The option shown here zips along the length, making it very easy to use, and there's enough room to add a towel or a water bottle as well. The outside zipper pocket can hold small items like your phone or keys.
Made in the USA.
Or For Something Fancier
The yoga bags shown above are very basic, although very practical. If you want something a little more fancy, there are many bags available that have more style, such as the embroidered bag shown here.
Stylish Embroidered Yoga Mat Bag
These beautiful, eye-catching bags will hold most mats along with a few smaller items, such as your wallet and a towel. There are a number of beautiful designs that you can choose from.
Yoga Gym Bags and Duffel Bags
These larger bags have a space for your mat as well as other items; such as other equipment that you might use for your class, like blocks, straps, or towels; a change of clothes, water bottle, and smaller pockets for keys, phone, and wallet.
As well as being stylish and practical for carrying your gear to and from your class, many of these bags also make great overnight or carry-ons for traveling to workshops.
This Aurorae Yoga Mat Sport Bag is a very attractive bag for holding your mat and other gear for your class, including a block, strap, towels, and yoga clothing. The main compartment is large enough to fit your iPad or a small laptop computer.
There's a side pocket for your water bottle, and a small zippered pocket to hold your keys and wallet. The sling shoulder strap has a built-in cell phone pocket.
It comes in a number of vibrant colors, so you can choose one that suits your personality.
Customer reviews on this bag are overwhelmingly positive. They say it's comfortable to carry, and there's plenty of room inside. It can also be used as a school book bag, or to carry gear while out hiking or biking.
An added benefit is that Aurorae sounds like a company that wants to keep its customers happy. A couple reviews mentioned occasional problems with the bag, and the company responded quickly and efficiently to help them, and to replace the bag if needed.
Stylish Gaiam "Everything Fits" Gym Bag
This attractive 100% recycled polyester bag is another excellent choice for carrying your mat along with other yoga or gym items.
It has many pockets to fit all that you need for going to the gym or to your yoga class. The large inside compartment holds your clothes. There are outside snap pockets to hold your water bottle and your phone, an inside zip pocket to keep your keys and wallet safe. There's also a vented compartment for shoes or wet clothes. The cinch cord on the bottom holds your rolled up yoga mat.
See a few more options
Here are a few more excellent choices for stylish, durable, and high quality yoga gym / duffel bags and totes.