Customer Reviews
Not that bad. 
2008-04-08
As a beginner in yoga I was looking for a mat that would work and be pleasant to look at. This mat is perfect, especially the brown and blue mat; it's lovely. A lot of people have complained about the smell of the mat when first unrolled and they're right, it's not good; but it's not bad either. Just unroll the mat, even open some windows if the weather permits, and let it air out. I would not recommend using it as soon as you get it because of the smell. You waited to order it and to have it delivered, you can wait another day or two.
regular mat 2008-03-06
A good, durable mat. The blossom print is an attractive change from plain colored mats.
Earth Meets Sky 
2008-03-01
I love the way this mat looks, with the brown background and the blue leaves. Several people in my classes have commented on it and wanted to know where they could get one.
Since it's made by Gaiam, you know that it's standard size for yoga and a product of good quality which provides excellent traction.
Mine arrived sealed in a plastic wrap and once unwrapped, it needed a few days of airing out, but that was not a problem for me, especially since I had been forewarned by previous reviewers. I'm very pleased with my pretty mat.
An OK mat.... for the price... 
2008-01-28
I was looking for something that would keep me in place while I practiced my yoga and exercise moves. I found this mat in the horrendous maze of exercise/yoga mats and purchased based on the reviews I read. It seemed like a decent enough mat for the price...
Most of the other customers were complaining about a terrible rubber smell when you opened the plastic... And this was CERTAINLY the case. As soon as I opened it, the smell hit my nostrils, filled the room, and stayed there until I finally rolled the mat up and put it in my closet. I wasn't expecting it to be such a strong smell!!!
As far as an actual "mat" is concerned, this one provided hardly any traction for me at all. As soon as I started stretching, I started to slip around right away. As it turned out, halfway through my work-out, I threw the mat aside, and continued on my floor. I had more traction on my own carpet, particularly in the Downward Dog pose, which is a pose I come back to frequently. This may be a good mat for hardwood floors or something similar, but if you've got carpet in your exercise/yoga area, find another mat, or stick with your carpet for your workout...
Great looking mat 2008-01-16
This mat costs more than a non-printed mat, but it's beautiful to look at. I really enjoy unrolling it in yoga class and stretching out over something pretty. It will also stand out from the rest of the mats in class - I have yet to meet anyone who has a similar mat and I go to a couple of different yoga studios a week.
The mat does smell strangely when you first open it, but just spread it out on your floor for a couple of days (flip it over once!) and the smell will go away.
I ordered the mat and a yoga mat harness at the same time from Amazon to get the free shipping ($25 min) and I was quite happy with both items.
Sweet mat 2008-06-23
So far, after airing it out I have enjoyed owning and using this mat. I don't do hot yoga so I don't know if it gets slippery with sweat or not, but it has served me well so far.
Don't bother... 
2008-06-15
Don't bother with this mat. I just purchased it and I would send it back except that I paid over $5 in shipping and another $5 to send it back would amount to half the cost of it anyway, so I'll just keep it as a spare. First of all, it has a noxious odor. It's made from PVC which is known to leach into the skin and cause adverse health affects. Not only that but it's production causes major environmental damage. When you open the package, the smell basically hits you in the face and stinks up any room you keep it in. I had to hang mine outside for a day just to calm down the smell as it gave me a serious headache. It IS toxic! Not only that, but this mat is too thin. It's only 2mm whereas most decent mats are 3mm at least. Plus it's super slippery. I tried it out and couldn't even stay in downward dog. I kept slipping all over the place. Anyway, I just bought a Jade Harmony mat. Environmentally friendly, perfect grip and padding felt great. I went to yoga this morning but went for round 2 just now because the Harmony mat is so great I didn't want to get off of it! So much better than this one from Gaiam and well worth the investment.
not that great 
2008-06-03
this product is alright in material but the thing to take note is its terrible odor when you first open it and the odor sticks for a very long time. Don't get if you can't tolerate smelly things. It's barely tolerable. With yoga in certain positions you are close to the mat and I had to smell it. So I end up throwing it out.
A Little Thin 2008-06-01
Although this yoga mat is made to some standard dimensions, the mat is a bit thin. There are some mats out there that are much thicker (twice as thick) and softer for yoga. We ended up returning this mat to order a different mat somewhere else that was thicker.
The design on this mat is sweet and hard to find (which is one reason we ordered this). The mats we ended up getting were plain colored with no graphics (a minor trade for upgrading to a thicker mat).
Good YOGA mat 2008-04-28
I was expecting something a little bit thicker in padding. However, someone explained to me that the mat is suppose to be thinner to provide better support for various yoga positions. So I give the mat a high rating on being a Yoga mat only.
