If you have a friend or family member that loves yoga then buying them a yoga-related gift the next time their birthday comes around is a really nice idea. You getting them something they’ll enjoy and find useful, it’s also a gift that will encourage them to keep up their practice. Because practicing yoga is proven to be extremely good for you physically as it can improve your flexibility, strength, posture, muscle tone, and range of motion.

And the controlled breathing, mindful movements, and spiritual aspects of yoga mean it’s great for your mental and emotional health too. Yoga can calm your busy mind, relieve stress, improve your mood, help you to sleep better afterward, and give you a sense of overall well-being. So, giving a gift that helps someone with their yoga practice can also contribute to keeping them healthy in all areas of their life.

However, it can be hard to know what to get if you don’t have experience of practicing yoga yourself!

So, to help, this is a list of yoga gift ideas that will all be gratefully received by any yoga enthusiast.

Get Them A New Yoga Mat to Practice On

The most obvious place to start when looking for yoga gifts is a high-quality yoga mat to practice on. And while this is an obvious choice it can still make for a great gift idea.

Using a good mat can improve someone’s yoga experience by giving them the padding and cushioning they need to protect their joints, as well as a good grip to stop them slipping and hurting themselves. 

The varying cost of mats means that many people make do with using a cheaper and less suitable mat as they are reluctant to spend the extra money on themselves. So, they’ll love it if you buy them a new one for their birthday, as they’ll have a great mat to use without any of the associated guilty feelings of buying one themselves.

The good news is that when it comes to high-quality mats you have a wide range of brands and designs to choose from that will all do the job nicely. Just make sure you get them a mat with a thickness that matches their preferred style of yoga and with a good grip.

For people that practice faster, more flowing forms of yoga or travel a lot, a thinner mat will work, as this will give them more balance and stability, as well as lightness to travel with. Slower, more restorative types of yoga benefit from a thicker mat, as this has more padding to protect their joints and will help them to relax more deeply into the poses.

If They Already Have a Good Mat: A Good Mat Bag or Yoga Towel

A high-quality yoga mat will last you for years, but only if you take good care of it before, during, and after your yoga class.

Not only can your mat get dirty and sweaty as you use it, but it can also become damaged when exposed to the elements on your way to and from yoga. A couple of gift ideas that can help a yoga enthusiast keep their mat in tip-top condition are a yoga mat bag and a yoga mat towel.

Giving someone a specialized bag to zip their mat into will help them protect it from the wind, rain, and pollution outside, keeping it clean and dry. If you get them a bag with easy to carry shoulder straps it will allow them to keep their hands-free on the journey too, which is helpful and especially good for anyone who cycles to their yoga class.

Laying a yoga mat towel over the mat as you practice will keep it fresher and more hygienic to use, as this will keep sweat, odors and bacteria off the mat. You’ll also be less likely to slip and injure yourself too. A yoga mat towel makes an ideal gift for people who practice hot yoga, as they are likely to get very hot and sweaty during class!

Buy Them A Full Set of Yoga Props

Yoga is an easy activity to get started with as all you really need is a mat to practice on. However, there are many different yoga props you can add to the mix that can improve your ability and experience in a multitude of ways.

These are especially good for beginners, as they help them to stay correctly aligned and safely go deeper into the poses even when they have limited flexibility. But they can also be helpful for more experienced yogis too, providing support and stability when attempting more difficult poses like backbends or headstands. A set of yoga props can make for a wonderful gift bundle that they can use in yoga.

The most common props are yoga blocks, with cork blocks being firmer and better for balancing and stability, while foam blocks have more give and are more suited for sitting or lying on for support.

Then there are yoga straps that help to increase your flexibility and allow you to do more difficult poses while staying correctly aligned.

A yoga bolster is a firm cushion that provides support and allows you to sink deeper into poses when practicing gentler kinds of yoga. 

The yoga wheel is used for opening up your chest during backbends and giving your spine a nice pressure relieving massage. 

So, choose one or more that suit the yogi you have in mind and you’ll have a really nice gift to give them.

A Pair of Stylish Yoga Pants Will Always Be Appreciated

There aren’t many forms of clothing that women find more comfortable than yoga pants. They fit you like a glove, don’t restrict your movement in any way and are light to wear. These great features make them perfect for practicing yoga in, as you won’t have any bits of loose clothing getting in the way as you move comfortably through the postures.

So, a stylish pair of yoga pants is a gift that most female yogis will adore and the added bonus is many of these pants look great outside of the yoga studio too.

If you want to create a nice little gift package then you can add a stylish hoodie as well, as these look great when worn with yoga pants.

Give Them Something to Help Them Meditate

The mindful and spiritual parts of yoga practice mean it’s much more than just a physical activity, and most yoga classes recognize this by ending with some form of meditation. However, meditation is a difficult skill to master and can be frustrating for beginners.

So, why not get your favorite yogi a little something that will help them with their meditation practice?

You could get them a ‘How To’ book on meditation that will broaden their knowledge and skills and help them to quieten their busy minds.

Another idea is to get them a weighted eye pillow to use while meditating in the Savasana pose, as this will block out light and distractions, while the weight on the eyes will help them to relax.

You could also throw in a Mexican blanket that they can use to keep warm and comfortable, as your body temperature tends to drop when meditating.

For those that prefer meditating in a seated position rather than lying down, a set of meditation cushions makes for an ideal gift, as sitting cross-legged on your mat or on a hard floor can really start to hurt after a while.

Buy Them an Online Yoga Subscription

While yoga is a great activity to get into that carries so many health benefits, not everyone will enjoy going to yoga classes in person and some prefer to practice yoga online. 

It can be quite daunting for beginners to join a class full of people that seem to be able to bend and stretch their bodies at will in superhuman ways. Yoga classes also might not be a viable option for some people for other reasons.

The high prices that some yoga studios charge, not being able to fit classes into your busy schedule, or the pain of trying to get to your class when the weather is horrendous outside, are all obstacles for practicing in a yoga studio.

So, if you know someone that loves practicing yoga but hates going to the actual yoga classes, then buying them a subscription to an online yoga studio, is a fantastic gift idea. This way they can practice yoga at any time of the day and night from the comfort of their own home.

By Dan Singleton

Daniel Singleton is the founder of Back on Site, a website dedicated to helping people fight back against persistent back pain using the latest medical and scientific advice as well as his own personal experiences with the condition.