I’m Kayla, and my knees are chatty. Old soccer bruises, long runs, hardwood floors—they all add up. In low lunge, my patella felt like it hit a pebble. Camel? I’d stall. Child's pose on a cold studio floor made me wince. I tried folding my mat. I tried a towel. Still hurt. Then I brought yoga knee pads to class, and honestly, I felt silly I waited. Turns out there’s a whole rabbit hole of yoga knee pads out there, and choosing one isn’t as tricky as I thought.
For the full backstory on the very pads that finally muted my kneecap nerves, you can skim my separate play-by-play in Yoga Knee Pads: The Day My Knees Finally Stopped Yelling.
You know what? My knees said “thank you” out loud. Not with words, but you get it.
If you’re hunting for more ideas on keeping joints happy on the mat, the team at Its All About Yoga has a solid rundown worth bookmarking.
What I actually used (yes, real pads)
- SukhaMat Yoga Knee Pad, 15 mm foam. Light, long strip, squishy, black.
- Yoga Jellies, the round gel discs. Bright, sticky, kind of fun to poke.
- Liforme Yoga Pad (the short mini-mat, 4.2 mm). Firm, grippy, purple in my case.
- Gaiam Knee Pad Cushion, TPE foam, mid-thickness, teal.
I rotated these for six weeks—hot vinyasa, slow flow, a mellow yin night, and two PT sessions for my right knee.
How they felt in real class
Vinyasa Tuesday: sweat, speed, and cat-cow
- SukhaMat: In tabletop, my knees sank in and stopped complaining. No sharp bite. On my Manduka mat, it stayed put unless the floor got slick. In low lunge with the back knee down, it was perfect. I did have to nudge it forward mid-flow.
- Yoga Jellies: These locked onto my mat. Great in cat-cow and half splits. But in quick moves, I had to land my kneecap right in the center of the ring. Miss the sweet spot and you feel an edge.
- Liforme Pad: Less cushion, more stable. In warrior transitions, my balance felt even. During camel, though, I wished for more plush.
- Gaiam Pad: A nice middle road—softer than Liforme, less bulky than SukhaMat. It did slide once on a very smooth studio floor. I fixed that with a damp wipe under it.
By the way, if you're wondering how the famously sticky B Mat fares when you’re hustling through subway commutes and quick-fire flows, my side-by-side notes live in this B Mat sweat-test.
Hot yoga Thursday: the sweat test
- SukhaMat soaked a bit on top, but it didn’t get gross. I wiped it after class with diluted soap.
- Yoga Jellies got grippier with sweat. Loved that. They did leave faint little circles on my mat for a minute.
- Liforme Pad stayed firm and didn’t shift. My knees felt fine, but not gushy-comfy.
- Gaiam Pad was fine, though it curled a hair at the corner when I rolled it tight in my bag.
Hot rooms create a battlefield of puddles, so I also put half a dozen grippy options through scorching sessions—my candid pick for the best hot-yoga mat might surprise you.
If you lean more toward classic Bikram 90-minute marathons, the puddle-proof beast I vetted in this Bikram-specific mat review never lost traction.
Yin night: long holds, slow breath
- SukhaMat won here. In supported hero and long child’s pose, the cushion felt kind. No tingles down the shin.
- Liforme Pad worked well for wrists under sphinx, but for knees it felt thin over 5+ minutes.
- Yoga Jellies were good for targeted pressure, like under one knee in gate pose, though I wouldn’t use them for both knees in a long hold.
- Gaiam Pad was comfy enough, but I noticed a small dent after class (compression set—just means it kept a mark for a bit).
What made me smile
- Real relief. No sharp kneecap pain in low lunge or camel.
- Light to carry. SukhaMat and Gaiam fit in my tote next to a block.
- Multi-use. I stuck pads under my wrists for plank and under my ankles in hero.
- Easy care. Quick rinse, air dry. Closed-cell foams don’t soak water much.
What bugged me a bit
- Thickness mismatch. A thick pad under knees and not under hands can throw off your stack. I sometimes slid a folded hand towel up front so both ends felt even.
- A faint rubber smell. SukhaMat had a whiff for two classes. It faded.
- Target zone stress with Yoga Jellies. Miss the center ring and you feel it. Great for precision, not great when you’re tired and sloppy.
- Slip risk on super slick studio floors. Gaiam slid once; a damp cloth under it fixed it.
For more experiments with slip-versus-stick drama (and which mat almost shot out from under me), scan my brutally honest hot-yoga no-slip trial.
A tiny detour: cheap hacks that worked
One week, I cut a rectangle from an old mat and used that. Worked fine for travel. Also, a garden knee pad from the hardware store saved me on a park class—ugly green, but sweet on kneecaps. If money’s tight, that’s a smart move.
And if aesthetics matter as much as savings, I sweat-tested some wild prints in this deep dive on custom yoga mats—function first, pretty second.
My go-to picks (and why)
- Daily classes: SukhaMat 15 mm. It’s soft, wide, and kind to bruisy spots. I place it just under the knee cap area, more under the top of the shin, so the kneecap floats.
- Slow work at home: Liforme Yoga Pad. It’s steady and grippy. My balance feels clean in half splits and camel.
- PT days or barre: Yoga Jellies. I can target one knee or one wrist.
- Light travel: Gaiam Pad. It weighs almost nothing and gets the job done.
If you want just one, and your knees tend to bark, take the soft, thicker strip style. If you want control and stable feel, the firm mini-mat style makes sense. If you still feel stuck deciding, this straightforward roundup of the best yoga knee pads lays out specs side-by-side.
Tiny tips that saved me
- Don’t park your kneecap dead center on a hard edge. Aim a bit below, so the pad supports the top of the shin. Your patella likes that.
- For balance, pad your hands too in table or plank. Small towel or second pad.
- Clean with mild soap. Air dry. Heat can warp foam.
- If you feel wobbly, go thinner. If you feel pain, go thicker. Simple tradeoff.
Durability and cost, plain speak
- SukhaMat: After 4 months, slightly less springy, still comfy. About the cost of two classes.
- Yoga Jellies: Still sticky after sweat, no cracks. A bit pricier, but they last.
- Liforme Pad: Feels new after many uses. It’s firm foam, so no sinking.
- Gaiam Pad: Light wear after a month, tiny dents that smoothed out later.
So, would I buy again?
Yes. My knees no longer steer my practice. I can drop the back knee in low lunge without a flinch. I can hold camel without bargaining with fate. Small pad, big relief.
If your knees talk like mine do, give them a soft place to land. Your breath will go deeper. Your moves will feel kinder. And you’ll stay on the mat longer, which—if we’re honest—is the whole point.
When your joints finally simmer down and you feel effortlessly at ease in your own skin, that newfound comfort often spills beyond the studio—sometimes even into your dating life. If you’re curious how body-confidence can translate into a more relaxed, empowered approach to intimacy, swing by [this