US Patent 7108635 Yoga mat with body contact placement indicia

A yoga mat is provided having a symmetrical body placement guide on an upper surface of the mat. The body placement guide is configured to aid a yoga practitioner to properly align the practitioner's body during yoga postures. The body placement guide includes a patterned design defining a longitudinal axis substantially extending the length of and bisecting the upper surface of the mat. The patterned design also defines a transverse axis bisecting the longitudinal axis. The longitudinal axis and transverse axis define four equal quadrants. Each quadrant is adjacent to other quadrants, the pattern design in each quadrant being a mirror image of the pattern design of the two adjoining quadrants. The pattern design also includes step indicia within each quadrant.