SmartMat Reviews

The SmartMat is a new product that helps people perfect their yoga exercises from the comforts of home.  This mat helps people achieve that perfect pose while tracking progress and providing the standard features you’d expect from a regular Yoga mat.

 

The idea for the product stems from the simple fact that, while being a highly desirable activity, many people get intimidated or don't have the time to attend Yoga classes.  This leaves you with two options for learning Yoga, either use home videos or hire a private instructor.

 

With the former you’re faced with learning on your own and no hands on guidance and the latter is a potentially costly solution.  The SmartMat was created to provide the perfect answer, a responsive mat that will help you achieve your poses for a one time fee and in the privacy of your own home.

To begin with you first calibrate the mat to your specific features.  After entering your physical dimensions you lie down and let the mat calculate your Ape Index and go through some initial poses to create a baseline profile.

 

The SmartMat is composed of a conductive grid that is placed over a piezoresistive layer and encapsulated by custom yoga mat material.  It is designed to roll up like and have the durability of a regular mat.  You can clean it and use it in hot Yoga sessions.

 

The SmartMat hooks up to a smart device like a smartphone or tablet.  Through their custom app you will get biometric readings and pose corrections.  The way this works is by measuring your alignment and balance and offering corrections based on the pose you are working on.

 

You have the option of choosing 3 different modes.  You can do in home private - in which you follow a class from your app, in class assist - in which you follow your own or your classes curriculum and the SmartMat offers real time adjustments, or Zen mode - in which it quietly records your movements for later analysis.

 

The mat has a 6 hour battery capacity before it needs to be recharged.

The SmartMat is currently available for pre-order for $297 and will begin shipping in july 2015.  If you have any questions you can reach a representative at contact@smartmat.com or by phone at 1-888-896-2304.  They also have a very helpful FAQ section on their website.

Given that the product is currently only available for preorder there aren’t many customer reviews.  However those Yoga practitioners that have had a chance to demo the mat have had great experiences and the product has been profiled in many tech blogs and magazines as a wonderful feat of engineering ingenuity.

As with most things Yoga is becoming a large market for tech and innovation.  Some other companies trying to update the way people do Yoga include GAIAM TV, Grokker.com, and the Cody app.  All of whom provide online video resources and coaching to help you perfect your practice.

 

If you have had a chance to try the SmartMat please leave your reviews below.