When I first started practicing vinyasa yoga, my hands slid off of most yoga mats as slowly as thick syrup coming out of a bottle. My palms have the texture of smooth leather (on a good day), so getting a steady grip on the mat felt like it was never going to happen unless I used one of the few rubber mats that worked with my hands.

Over the years, I've been able to find a grip on the mat that involves spreading my fingertips wide, pressing down with my finger pads, and imagine scooping sand in the middle of my palms — yeah, it's a bit of an intricate process. So when I got the opportunity to try the Manduka Yoga Grip Gel [1] ($15), I was excited to see if this could've been the product to save me hundreds of dollars from rotating through yoga mats that never made me feel secure.

Keep reading to find out what the product feels like when applied, how it performs, and the ways in which it's also useful off of the yoga mat.

Manduka Yoga Grip Gel On the Yoga Mat

When I initially took the gel out of the package, I needed to figure out how to open it. At first I tried twisting the bottle open but quickly realised that the way to getting the product out was by pulling the top up so that the product could come out of the small hole at the top. Once I got the product onto my hands, I was mesmerised at what happened next. My hands were turning white. The instructions said that the product might turn white but I was still surprised to see my ghostly and slightly chalky hands.

Once the product was fully dry it was time to put it to the test. I planted my hands on the mat without doing the previously mentioned intricate gripping method to find that my hands weren't sliding. Do you realise the amount of money I could've saved?! This little bottle of gel could've had my hands planted on any mat I wanted!

While it's still important to learn the proper intricate grip for poses like Down Dog, Crow, and Handstand, having this product would've made my intro to yoga so much easier. I could've payed attention on how to do the postures instead of filling my mind with worried thoughts of sliding off and face planting.

Off of the mat I've found that this gel is useful for strength training as well as barre [2] classes. During strength training, I'm able to get a firmer grip on the weights and for barre I'm able to get a secure grip on the barre, especially for chair pose.

Overall, I believe that this gel is definitely worth trying if you're like me and has leathery hands that find it hard to get a grip on your workout.

Tip: The chalky print washes away easily with a damp washcloth and warm water.