Lululemon Unveils A World’s First For The Yoga Industry

VANCOUVER, Canada — Athleisure powerhouse Lululemon has unveiled a category disrupting yoga mat designed to help improve alignment for a more focused yoga practice. 

Leveraging cutting-edge technology to create 3D ripples that are strategically positioned to guide the user through common yoga poses, the ‘Take Form Yoga Mat’ delivers functional alignment cues, as well as a seamless aesthetic and technical construction, says the brand. The launch follows two years worth of research and development carried out by its Whitespace Lab R&D team.

“We designed lululemon’s new Take Form Yoga Mat using innovative, 3D technology to create a brand new sensory experience and solve challenges in alignment and focus during yoga practice,” explained Dennis Wang, Vice President of Accessories Design at Lululemon.

“Its design and development was informed by insights collected by our Whitespace Lab R&D team during extensive research with yogis of all levels, exploring these challenges and the cues they use to guide their practice,” he added.

To enable those practising yoga to feel their way to correct positioning, rather than watching for visual clues, the mat has been designed so that the user can feel the ripples beneath their toes and instinctively know where to put their hands and feet during different yoga poses.

Lululemon Unveils A World’s First For The Yoga Industry
Image: Lululemon

According to Lululemon ambassador Maude Hirst, this makes the experience of feeling into your body and your practice much easier. 

“The 3D zones support alignment without having to look down, as you can feel the texture of the mat under your hands and feet. This allows space to focus on the breath and truly feel into your practice,” she shared in a statement.

Lululemon says the mat, which will retail at £108, will also offer additional grip and stability for enhanced performance and functionality. Keeping in line with the company’s recent commitment to becoming more sustainable, it will utilise a natural, sustainably sourced certified rubber material.

As with many of Lululemon’s innovations, the design of the mat has also been heavily influenced by its ‘science of feel’ philosophy — this revolves around how people feel while they’re active, instead of focusing on the action itself. 

The holistic approach takes into account the emotional impact of the brand’s apparel and accessories, such as how the fabric travels with or across the skin as the body moves, or the noise it makes in response to movement, and how this can inhibit or boost performance.