Lululemon Take Form yoga mat review

 The Lululemon Take Form yoga mat is the latest addition to the yoga mat family, aimed at improving positioning and alignment so you can focus on finding your flow state instead. 

Makers of some of the best yoga mats on the market, we’re big fans of the Lululemon brand and — having practiced yoga for a long while — couldn’t wait to plant our limbs down on the Take Form mat.  

 The Take Form incorporates innovative 3D concentric circles into a stunningly eye-catching design. They ripple across the mat like raindrops, forming cleverly positioned and subtle ridges for your body to learn intuitively.

Alignment yoga mats often have lines drawn into the design to create clear-cut cues, but this approach is delicate and almost mindful. We spent hours testing it and exploring our way around during class while maximizing the benefits of yoga. 

Find some surprising hot yoga benefits, or read on for our full review of the Lululemon Take Form yoga mat and whether it’s worth the steep price tag.  

Price and availability

The MSRP of the Lululemon Take Form yoga mat is $138 / £94-£118 (depending on design), available via Lululemon and other third-party retailers. It’s not cheap — especially with the cost of living crisis currently consuming us all — which we cover more on below.

Design

When we read that this mat uses 3D design to help improve your positioning and practice, we were stumped on how Lululemon could achieve this. But once we rolled it out, we could see how clever the design was.

Concentric circles splash like raindrops across the mat, and they’re not sporadically placed either. Instead, two circles at the top and bottom indicate positioning for your hands and feet, connected by a line of circles dripped neatly down the center. Each ridged ripple allows you to intuitively sense your position and the remainder of the mat is textured so you can feel the difference between the spaces compared to where your body is. 

First and foremost, the design is beautiful. The soft hues of dusty pinks, pastel blue, and tidewater teal create a tranquil tye-dye marble effect, and the white streaks look like sunlight dancing across the mat. It’s pretty, subtle, and very calming. It is heavy though, and we’ve got plenty of lightweight travel options in our guide.

The Take Form mat is made using natural rubber that is sustainably sourced and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which supports the protection of forest ecosystems. Throughout testing, we have found natural rubber mats to be the grippiest, and this mat is no exception.

Unlike the Jade Harmony yoga mat, the polyurethane surface is smooth with a textured rubber underside. However, the smooth surface doesn’t take away from just how much grip you get; we were able to use this mat just as effectively in a heated Vinyasa as we could in a restorative class, which is a testament to design versatility.

Performance

Much of yoga involves balance and proprioception (a sense that allows you to perceive location, movement, and action of your limbs and judge their movements and positions around you, according to Science Direct).

The idea is that the 3D design should (in theory) improve your practice by helping you to find poses and positioning without looking down. When we scanned through the reviews on the Lululemon website, we were surprised to see how many people didn’t find the design helpful. 

Having tested this mat in several settings, we found that the ridges could be clearer and it’s understandable why some people felt undersold. However, we think this model is a grower, and get the impression that you learn this mat over time, rather than after one or two classes. After all, it’s about striking a balance. Making the ridges too big could be distracting and affect your ability to find balance in more complex poses, whereas too subtle mutes the point of the design entirely. 

We found our way around the mat just fine, but it didn’t entirely eliminate the need to look down. We hope this will decrease as time passes, and we’ll update this review soon. 

We loved the size of the mat. As a 5”2 yogi, I never really have to worry about length, but the spaciousness is noticeable, and you can play around more with alignment in warrior two and transitions like jump-backs. 

Some reviews say the mat feels thinner than the Lululemon Reversible 5mm yoga mat, even though they both provide the same 5mm thickness. We personally wouldn’t want it to be any thicker, and it was certainly enough for us to melt into the mat during restorative classes comfortably. Any thicker, you’d struggle for balance and to feel adequately connected. 

The Take Form is up there with its peers for grip, primarily due to the natural rubber material, and we didn’t have any issues with slippage, which could be down to the textured rubber underside. The slightly squeaky and sticky texture could make smooth transitions harder, but this feature on mats generally divides crowds. 

With grip comes a common gripe — marks and scuffs. This model does collect dust and dirt, but it’s nearly impossible to find a grippy mat that doesn’t; with a quick clean you can hit the reset button ready for your next class, and we found it easier to clean than the coarsely textured Jade Harmony mat.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that spending big on a yoga mat is a luxury for many people right now, and the Take Form model is extravagantly priced. If you think you’ve got your alignment down pat, it could be worth saving your money and exploring other options in our guide.

Care

 Learning how to clean a yoga mat will improve its longevity. Lululemon recommends wiping the mat down post-practice with a natural cleaner and keeping the mat away from direct sunlight. To protect the 3D surface, roll the mat topside facing out. 

The Take Form mat is unsuitable for weight training and shoes.

User reviews

We were surprised that this yoga mat only pulled in 3.4 stars out of 5. Positive reviews complimented the comfortable thickness, and one user stated they ‘do not slip in the slightest, even during hot yoga,’ while another said ‘excellent grip.’ 

Negative feedback said the 3D design didn’t help with positioning as the markers were too subtle. Some also thought the mat felt thinner than 5mm, although we disagree that it’s too thin. Another user said the Take Form was ‘too sticky’ and made transitioning hard.

Should you buy?

If you need a helping hand with your positioning during practice and cost isn’t a concern — you could love this model. It’s super comfortable, grippy, spacious, and beautiful, but you’ll need the patience to learn your way around. Those expecting lots of help from the mat might be disappointed, but we thoroughly enjoyed testing it, and it’ll be a staple in our future classes.  

Alternatives

If you’re after a budget buy, the Gaiam Premium 2-Color yoga mat Premium 2-color yoga mat from Amazon comes highly recommended. It offers 6mm of plush thickness and is both sweat-resistant and reversible.

If you want to stick with Lululemon, then the Lululemon Reversible 5mm yoga mat (pictured above) is arguably the brand’s most popular model. It’s highly versatile and cheaper than the Take Form if you want to save some cash.