PRODUCT REVIEW: Yantra Mat, £39.90, theyantramat.co.uk

By Olivia Abbott on December 23rd 2010

Olivia Abbott tries out a new stress reliever based on an ancient healing system. Don’t be fooled by its primitive looks...

If it looks like an instrument of torture (which, let’s face it, it does) it could be because the Yantra Mat is based on the same principles as that old butt of many a cartoon joke, the Indian bed of nails. The roll-out mat is covered in spiky plastic flowers, carefully arranged to stimulate acupressure points throughout the body. So although it looks like something that might be used by a particularly sadistic James Bond baddie, it is, in fact, an instrument of healing and balance.

When mine arrived for testing, I must confess I couldn’t help regarding it with some suspicion. According to the blurb, the mat is helpful for insomnia, stress, back problems, lethargy and much more. And all you have to do is lie on it. Sounded a bit too good to be true to me, but I’m always up for trying something that says it’s going to make me feel better and healthier without any mention of cutting down on alcohol or eating fewer Mrs Crimbles coconut macaroons, so I was prepared to give it a go.

Can you feel it?

Lying down on the mat rather gingerly, the first thing I discovered was that it’s nowhere as evil as it looks. Having decided to give it a go, I wanted to really feel it - I’m of the Jane Fonda Workout ‘no pain, no gain’ generation and I like to know something’s going on. So I was a bit disappointed to not feel much, especially when the leaflet warns that you’re likely to feel discomfort for the first three to five minutes. But then I realised why - I had a thick T-shirt on. Ideally there should be nothing between you and the mat, but if the thought of exposing completely bare flesh to all those prickly little flowers is too much to contemplate, a thin material is recommended.

It is an odd, but not uncomfortable sensation. As long as you don’t wriggle around – which is just uncomfortably scratchy – it’s not at all unpleasant. Enforced stillness and relaxation for any amount of time is always a good thing in my book, even though it’s difficult not to fidget (above warning notwithstanding). But it wasn’t until afterwards that I really felt any effect. The makers advise starting with about 10 minutes of use for the first four days and building up after that, so after 10 minutes of what felt like not a lot happening, other than a growing awareness of which bits of me ached, I got up.

And then, just a little while later, I could feel a spreading warmth across my back, like somebody had sprayed me with Deep Heat but without the nasty skin tingling or smell that comes with that. My back and shoulders felt loosened and relaxed, and that night I slept better than I had done in ages.

You can use the mat under your back, you can lie face down on it, rest your face on it to loosen jaw muscle tightness, and even fold it on to a chair and sit on it. I’ve been using it off and on for a week or so now, and I really look forward to and enjoy my sessions – and I’m definitely sleeping better. So, not so much an instrument of torture after all...

• The Yantra Mat, £39.90, is available from Holland & Barrett, pharmacies and direct from Lifes2good on 0845 399 0038 or theyantramat.co.uk

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