The Best Types of Yoga Studio Flooring: What You Need to Know

Hot Yoga

The ideal temperature for a hot yoga studio is 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is maintained by keeping the humidity level at 40%. The humidity level changes when more people sweat, making the floor slippery. The maxed-out moisture is what you get when there are a lot of sweaty bodies in the class. When calculating if wood flooring is a good choice for your hot yoga studio, you must also consider the wear and tear due to the humidity. Laminate floors can crack and peel, so this studio type is not a good choice. Rubber is waterproof but requires intensive maintenance. Marley or engineered wood will perform well and be more durable than hardwood in this case.

Home Sweet Home

At home, you don’t need to worry about major maintenance. Additionally, you should consider how you want your house to seem. Wood flooring, for example, can be easily reconfigured by a new owner if they want it to be something different.

Terra Firma Underfoot

Choose the best floor material for your yoga studio. This will depend on how comfortable and clean you want it to be and how affordable and stylish you want it to be. Make sure to explore the features of innovative and hybrid materials so that your studio can accommodate hot yoga classes without any problems.

The ideal yoga flooring can support your yoga company and practice. You might want to choose a surface like engineered hardwood, bamboo, cork, or Marley. Review the different types of yoga flooring to find the best one for you.

Strong Contenders

For yoga studios, the following flooring alternatives are excellent.

Hardwood

Many studio owners and yogis choose hardwood because it is a timeless and beautiful choice. Hardwood is also good for indoor air quality, durability, and being friendly to your feet. It absorbs shocks well and can be sanded and refinished to remove any scratches or marks. However, the wood may swell or even crack if it is constantly exposed to high humidity or moisture.

In a hot yoga studio, it is important to constantly monitor the humidity levels to keep the hardwood floors in good condition. New hardwood flooring installation might be pricey but not as expensive as recovered wood. Mind-Body Green recommends using FSC-certified wood in “A Healthy, Sustainable Home,” which is sustainably harvested to respect the ecosystem.

Reclaimed Wood

People often use reclaimed wood providers because they care about the environment. Reclaimed wood comes with its own history, which many people find attractive. However, it costs more than new hardwood floors because it takes more time and effort to find, match, and prepare old wood.

A studio floor made of reclaimed wood is an excellent method to complete the aesthetic of a loft studio in a repurposed factory, a studio in a repurposed barn, or a home studio in a historic home.

The amazing, one-of-a-kind floors must be sanded until they are smooth, uniform, and free of significant gouges and fissures. Every entrance to the studio should have a walk-off mat to trap abrasive dirt and protect the finish. Yoga Journal endorses “green” salvaged wood floors for home studios, emphasizing that a water-based sealer is healthier than polyurethane made from oil.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a renewable resource that is more durable than hardwood. It is resistant to dirt and can be cleaned with a brush or damp mop. You can fix it with mineral oil or a light buffing if it gets scratched.

Ethically harvested bamboo is a good flooring choice because it is less expensive than hardwood and attractive. Many magazines have mentioned Miami Life Center’s bamboo floors as some of the best in the world.

Cork

Cork floors are also renewable. They offer cushioned resistance, and they absorb impact and sound. Installation is easy, and cork is anti-microbial. Cork contains suberin, which repels viruses and bacteria carried on the skin and released by sweat.

Cork is a cheaper alternative to hardwood. The sound-dampening ability of the tiles or overlay means that noise or music emanating from one studio is muffled or eliminated in the adjacent studio. This is a useful benefit when numerous classes are scheduled simultaneously. Cork flooring is also low-maintenance, easy on the joints, and aesthetically pleasing.

Marley

Marley is a type of dance floor popular because it protects joints from being jarred and people who fall out of crow pose from getting bruises. It used to be made only out of non-skid vinyl, but now different types of Marley come in different colors. Rolls of Marley may be taped down instead of permanently installed, which is advantageous for studio owners contemplating a move.

Several professional dancing studio owners told Dance Magazine that they chose Marley because it has a pleasant “feel,” is safe, and is friendly to the body of an active exerciser. What permits en pointe is equally accommodating for pigeon position and warrior II. Marley is a workhorse and a good choice for a studio, but not a living space.

Good Value

The following options are of great value for yoga flooring.

Engineered Wood

Engineered wood is becoming more popular. It is real wood that has been put together to make it more resistant to moisture. It also looks good and costs about the same as traditional hardwood.

The material is a combination of laminate and wood. A real layer of wood is glued to a plywood or high-density fiberboard core. The core makes it stable in different temperatures and humidities, which is important for hot and wet places. Engineered wood is a structurally stable, durable flooring choice. It lasts a long time and has a high resale value.

Linoleum

Linoleum is a type of flooring that is becoming more and more popular. It is made from natural materials, so it is environmentally friendly. It is also comfortable walking on, making it great for yoga students.

You can choose from many colors and designs for your floor. A plain color would be the best choice for a yoga studio because it is calm and peaceful. It does not have any harmful chemicals that can out-gas, it does not contain any petroleum products, and it can be moped damp if needed. The flooring also usually comes with a cushion, which is helpful if the subfloor is unforgiving.

Because the oxidation of linseed oil inhibits the growth of staph and salmonella bacteria, linoleum is frequently advised for individuals with allergies or respiratory conditions. Additionally, linoleum responds to humidity levels; when it is too humid, it expands, and when it is too dry, it contracts. You may prevent this by regulating the humidity in your studio such that any expansion or contraction is imperceptible.

Rubber

Rubber flooring is made from recycled materials and can’t get much greener than that. It is waterproof, stain- and scuff-resistant, tough as nails, and shock-absorbent. Rubber flooring was designed for high-traffic public spaces and can wear like iron. However, it can be gouged and scratched by abusive treatment; restoring a floor that is not formed of interlocking tiles would be difficult.

The material is affordable and comes in sheets. You can choose from two kinds of tiles and an almost limitless array of colors and designs, including realistic stone. However, rubber can be difficult to clean; sweat will stay on the surface, so it needs special maintenance in a hot yoga studio.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a flooring material that is similar to bamboo. It is a hard-wearing material that grows quickly. It has a distinctive grain and looks like mahogany. It is tough and can withstand dents. It costs less than other types of wood flooring. HGTV recommends engineered eucalyptus for rooms that are often humid – like a yoga studio or lanai.

Cheaper Alternatives

There are also some less expensive options.

Laminate

Although it looks like wood and is less expensive, multilayer synthetic flooring is not as sturdy or long-lasting as real wood. Laminate is a thin imitation of hardwood or bamboo that is 3/8-inch thick. It has tongue-and-groove edges, so it is easy to install. If one part of the floor gets damaged, it is easy to replace.

Melissa Maker of “Clean My Space” says you can keep laminate clean by mopping it with or without water. Laminate is tough, so it doesn’t need a lot of maintenance to stay clean. However, it is not a long-term investment and doesn’t sound or feel like wood. But if you’re looking for a temporary solution, laminate might be perfect.

Vinyl

Vinyl is a type of flooring used in any yoga studio. It has properties that make it anti-fatigue, resistant to high traffic and impact, and able to quickly evaporate moisture. It is also a petroleum product, so it should be free of harmful chemicals like phthalates. The vinyl should also be stable at high temperatures for safety reasons.

Manufacturers that are responsible are careful about the products they make. You can choose a less-expensive, not-so-green product that is still easy to clean. Vinyl flooring comes in sheets that are usually installed by professionals.

Carpet, Concrete, Stone, and Ceramics

You should avoid some surfaces if you want to do yoga in your studio. Suppose your floor is one of these surfaces. In that case, it is best to cover it with a more forgiving or easily sanitized material. This will help maintain attention on the yoga postures rather than the floor.

You can cover the floor with new material to make your yoga space cleaner and more comfortable. This will make it safe and welcoming for your students. If you don’t have the option of replacing the floor, use a natural material or laminate that can be put over the existing floor.

Under the Mat

Establishing a link between the body and the earth is one of the objectives of yoga. You can do this in your indoor practice space by using whatever covers the floor. The right material feels good underfoot, has some resilience and give, and makes you feel good as you flow through a sequence or sink into the floor in savasana. You can work with the space you have, within budget, to find the floor that comes closest to nirvana for you or your students.

Read more: Yoga for Everyone