Yoga and Wellbeing
What to Wear to Yoga – A Complete Guide
Wondering what to wear for yoga?
Choosing the right yoga outfit goes beyond style—it’s all about feeling your best while you flow through your practice. In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about choosing the right yoga wear, for every style of yoga, from the serene to the heated. Elevate your yoga experience by finding the perfect balance between comfort, style, and mindfulness.
Understanding Yoga Apparel
Yoga clothing can really enhance your practice by promoting comfort, flexibility, and mindfulness. Designed to aid and support a wide range of movements, yoga clothing allows practitioners to transition seamlessly between poses.
The choice of breathable fabrics such as bamboo viscose ensures optimal ventilation, maintaining a pleasant body temperature during your workout. Additionally, comfortable and well-fitted yoga wear supports mental focus, enabling individuals to fully immerse themselves in their practice of yoga, instead of worrying about leggings that keep slipping down! The right attire helps to enhance the overall yoga experience.
Types of Yoga Clothing
Yoga Pants and Leggings
Yoga pants and leggings are a great choice for yogis, renowned for their flexibility, they provide a full range of motion during various poses, adapting seamlessly to the body's movements.
The breathability of many yoga legging designs ensures a comfortable and breezy session, staying comfortable without the need for sweaty synthetics and covered with opaque leggings. This emphasises the importance of selecting quality materials for an optimal yoga experience. Our range of yoga clothing is designed with all this in mind, for a comfortable and performance-enhancing fit.
Yoga Tops
Various styles of yoga tops each have their own unique role in elevating your yoga experience. Vests and camis provide optimal breathability, allowing freedom of movement and comfort during various poses. Yoga t-shirts offer versatility and coverage, while long-sleeve yoga tops provide added warmth, making them suitable for cooler environments or lower impact yoga such as Yin yoga or yoga Nidra.
Yoga Sports Bras and Supporting Crop Tops
Low-support sports bras are ideal for low-impact yoga sessions, offering comfort and flexibility. Supportive yoga crop tops such as the Mallea, provide additional support, ensuring comfort during more dynamic movements while wicking moisture for a comfortable experience throughout your practice.
Yoga bodysuits & unitards
Yoga unitards and bodysuits such as the Mallea Yoga Bodysuit are a great choice for a quick all-in-one outfit that’s not only comfortable, but sculpting and supportive. Top tip when looking for yoga bodysuits is to avoid front seams to maximise comfort.
Accessories
Accessories like sweat wicking headbands and wristbands play a supportive role in enhancing the overall yoga experience. Headbands keep hair off the face, allowing for uninterrupted focus during poses.
Choosing the Right Material for Yoga Wear
When choosing what to wear to a yoga class, understanding the specific needs of different yoga types is helpful; for example, hot yoga may benefit from moisture-wicking fabrics, while you may want softer, cosier layers for gentle practices. Choosing the right clothes for each type of yoga ensures you're comfy and can move freely.
Cotton:
Suitability:
Suitable for gentle yoga sessions.
Benefits:
Offers breathability and softness.
Drawbacks:
May retain moisture, less ideal for hot yoga.
Polyester Blends:
Suitability:
Best for hot yoga.
Benefits:
Enhances moisture-wicking properties.
Drawbacks:
May lack natural breathability.
Spandex:
Suitability:
Perfect for dynamic and challenging poses.
Benefits:
Provides excellent stretch and elasticity.
Drawbacks:
Less breathable compared to natural fibres.
Bamboo Viscose:
Suitability:
Versatile for various yoga practices.
Benefits:
Combines softness, breathability, and moisture-wicking properties.
Drawbacks:
May require special care during washing to maintain durability.
BAM’s Bamboo Modal
BAM’s bamboo Modal is to cotton as cashmere is to wool. Softer, more luxurious and amazing next to even the most sensitive skin. It has sweat-wicking properties, so it stays dry and so do you. And it’s breathable, so you stay cool. It’s why extreme athletes, yogis and adventurers choose BAM.
BAM suggests wearing our Mallea fabric for yoga. It is our hero yoga fabric as it’s soft, supportive and stretchy with a weightless, barely there feel - and it’s developed in-house!
What to Wear to Hot Yoga
For a hot yoga class, where the room is heated to a high temperature, it's beneficial to choose clothing that allows for optimal comfort and breathability. Opt for high-quality yet moisture-wicking fabrics to help manage sweat and keep the body cool. Swapping synthetic activewear for bamboo here is a great move in keeping you cool and comfortable.
Opt for yoga shorts and a sports bra or a breathable tank top to stay comfortable in the heat. Our Mallea yoga shorts are cut for comfort with a shaped waist and long thigh. We’ve done away with any outer seams so there’s no chance of chafing. The key is to choose lightweight, stretchy materials that allow for unrestricted movement and help regulate body temperature throughout the intense session.
What to Wear for Yoga (Men)
So, what do men wear for yoga? When it comes to choosing men’s yoga clothes, they should look for yoga pants that offer multi-way stretch and are roomy enough to ensure unrestricted movement during various poses.
Quality men's yoga pants allow for unrestricted movement without any risk of splitting seams, offering a superior grip compared to sweaty skin. This enhanced grip is particularly beneficial for poses such as tree and crow, making them easier to hold. The Balance Jersey Yoga Pants are incredibly comfortable, breathable and sweat-wicking.
For men’s yoga tops, you might want to avoid loose, floppy tops that cover your head or ride up your back when doing inversions. Instead, look to our fitted Origin Luxe Bamboo T-Shirt for the ideal men’s yoga shirt. Alternatively, you may prefer tops without sleeves to keep cool and offer a less restrictive range of motion.
What To Wear To Yoga - Summary
Your yoga wear should feature flexible fabrics and a comfortable fit for unrestricted movement. Avoid overly loose or tight options; your clothing should seamlessly flow with your poses. Prioritise comfort – what you wear should make you feel at ease during your entire yoga session.
- Usefulness: Useful
- Considerations: Ideal for flexibility and comfort during various yoga poses. Opt for moisture-wicking fabric for hot yoga to help manage sweat. The Palazzo Pants are a good option here.
- Usefulness: Useful
- Considerations: Yoga tops are essential for freedom of movement. Choose breathable materials like cotton or moisture-wicking fabrics for hot yoga. Consider sleeve length based on personal preference and type of yoga.
- Usefulness: Useful
- Considerations: Offers full coverage and flexibility. Ideal for a wide range of yoga practices, including hot yoga. Look for moisture-wicking and breathable materials. For a bright and bold choice, look for printed yoga leggings or keep it simple with a block colour such as grey yoga leggings.
- Usefulness: Useful
- Considerations: Suitable for hot yoga or practices in warmer environments. Choose moisture-wicking fabric and an appropriate length for comfort and flexibility.
- Usefulness: Useful
- Considerations: Provides essential support during yoga sessions. Consider sports bras or supportive tank tops for added comfort, especially in hot yoga classes. Our Bamboo Crop Bralette is ideal for support and a comfortable fit.
- Usefulness: Useful
- Considerations: Try a Yoga Bodysuit for a statement piece that’s easy to throw on, whilst being sculpted and supported while practising.
- Usefulness: Considerate
- Considerations: Bamboo Socks are suitable for colder environments, or if you want to stay warm and cosy during a low impact class such as yin or nidra..
- Usefulness: Considerate
- Considerations: A sports headband can help keep hair off the face during yoga. Useful for hot yoga to absorb sweat and prevent it from dripping onto the mat. Personal preference for style and comfort.
- Usefulness: Considerate
- Considerations: Can absorb sweat during hot yoga. Optional based on personal preference and practice style.
BAM’s Yoga Wear Tips
Our team have put together the following tips to help enhance your yoga sessions:
- Avoid bras with hooks or uncomfortable closures.
- Choose a supportive sports bra to ensure comfort during various poses.
- Remove your shoes before entering the practice area.
- Layer thoughtfully - for cooler environments or gentle practices, layering with breathable fabrics allows you to adjust your comfort level. Lightweight layers can be easily added or removed as needed.
- Headbands and wristbands can be beneficial for absorbing sweat, keeping hair off your face during certain poses.
Our Resident Yoga Teacher’s Advice on What to Wear to Yoga
I'm often asked about my recommendations for what to wear to yoga (as Bam's resident yoga teacher and content creative), especially for my hot yoga classes. My biggest recommendation here is when heading to heated yoga, opt for prints or dark colours to help hide any sweat, as it can get pretty steamy in there.
Lately, I've been absolutely loving our Mallea Short Yoga Bodysuit – it's so fun and actually functional (it'll also look great on my summer yoga retreat). The short length is great for keeping me cool, and it's so soft and weightless to wear. If you're more into full length leggings for the extra grip I always recommend the high-waisted Enduro 7/8 Cross Waist Leggings in Black – the ultimate pair of black leggings, in my opinion. And the 7/8th length is perfect for those who are petite in stature like me.
Alternatively, the vibrant Mallea Yoga Leggings in Spring Rain Print have caught my eye, the fresh spring colour palette makes a nice change from my usual dark prints. Because I can't resist a matching set I'll team with the Mallea High Neck Crop Top, I love the keyhole back detail. The high neck also means I can inversion away and stay nice and secure.
For my yin classes, I prefer looser fits and layered options for unrestricted movement. Currently, the Tulip Leg Yoga Pants In Seaweed are my absolute favourites, teamed with a cool, floaty long sleeve top like the Horizon Back Wrap Yoga Top. They not only offer comfort and ease of movement, but also effortlessly transition from the mat to everyday wear, saving me the hassle of changing after class. Just throw on some trainers and a cosy fleece like the 73 Zero Fleece Jacket, and I'm good to go.
By Rachael, BAM’s resident yoga teacher and content creative. She can regularly be found teaching at Hotpod yoga, on the beach in her hometown and at retreats around the world.
What to Wear to Yoga FAQs
We answer all of your ‘what to wear to yoga’ questions…
Wear comfortable, stretchy clothing that allows freedom of movement. Yoga pants or leggings with a breathable top like a tank or T-shirt are popular choices.
Yoga is typically practised barefoot, allowing for a strong connection between the feet and the yoga mat. This practice enhances stability and balance, allowing the practitioner to fully engage with the poses. However, in certain situations or personal preferences, some individuals may choose to wear socks during a low-impact class such as yin or nidra.
For plus-sized yogis, it's crucial to prioritise comfort and flexibility in your attire. Opt for yoga pants or leggings with a wide, elastic waistband for ample support and coverage - our Cuffed Bamboo Yoga Pants are a great option.
Consider loose-fitting tops or breathable T-shirts that allow freedom of movement and provide adequate coverage. Additionally, investing in a supportive sports bra designed for plus-size individuals ensures comfort and confidence during yoga sessions. Embrace your personal style while focusing on functionality to enhance your overall yoga experience.
