Sun Salutation or Freedom Flow?
Same size, same material, same price. The only real difference is whether the pictures ask your child to stand up or to settle down.
Sun Salutation
An active sequence, numbered one to fifteen.
Starts with mouse (1) and cat (3), and finishes with eagle (13), tree (14) and dancer (15). The others include cow, downward dog, dolphin, rag doll, mountain, chair, rainbow, frog, airplane and deer.
Choose this if
- A child who wants to get up and move
- Burning off energy before tea or after school
- Following a sequence in order, one to fifteen
Freedom Flow
A calmer sequence, mostly on the floor.
Starts with flower (1) and star (3), and finishes with happy baby (13), rabbit (14) and waterfall (15). Butterfly, boat, fish, bridge and crab are among the others. Mostly sitting or lying down, with a kneeling pose or two and a standing finish.
Choose this if
- Winding down rather than winding up
- Bedtime, or a quiet corner in the afternoon
- Younger children still finding their balance
Identical in every other way
There is no better or worse mat here, and nothing is held back for the more expensive one, because there isn't one.
- Size
- 183 × 61 cm, full length
- Thickness
- 6 mm
- Weight
- About 800 g
- Material
- PVC-free TPE
- Poses
- Fifteen, marked into the mat
- Carry strap
- Included with both
- Colours
- All seven, on both designs
- Price
- £34.99, whichever you choose
Still not sure?
Most parents start with Sun Salutation, because standing poses are easier for a child to copy on their own. One buyer told us her only mistake was buying one mat instead of two.
Questions about choosing a mat
Freedom Flow is the gentler start, because most of it is sitting or lying down. If your three-year-old is always on the move, Sun Salutation can suit them just as well: it starts with mouse, and cat comes third, both simple animal shapes to copy.
Yes. Both are 183 x 61 cm, 6 mm thick and about 800 g, in PVC-free TPE, with a carry strap. The only difference is the sequence of fifteen poses laser-engraved into the surface.
They can take turns, and the mat is full length so an adult fits too. If you are buying for two, one of each design lets one child wind up while the other winds down. Two or more mats are 10 per cent off, applied automatically.
No. The poses are numbered, so a child follows them in order on their own. A grown-up can join in, but nobody has to lead.