Top 10 Best Yoga Knee Pads For Cushion & Support

It can be pretty hard on your knees in yoga when moving from pose to pose if you don’t have the right amount of cushion. 

You may look glaringly at the teacher wondering why your body is hurting and not feeling more relaxed like it should. 

If you have pain in your joints they may be an easy solution. I hope to help you choose the best yoga knee pads for your needs. 

Let us start with the best option and work our way down. 

You most certainly COULD… However, there are much easier ways to go about this. Knee pads that you wear around your legs are obtrusive and tend to cut off circulation somewhat.

It’s best to get something you place on top of your yoga mat. This way you won’t have to deal with slipping extra bulky gear on and off. 

How much support do you need?

I put the Gorilla Grip at the top because that thing will most certainly help to cushion your knees. For a lot of people, that can be a bit overkill. Furthermore, the Gorilla Grip is good at home, but not so much to bring into a yoga studio. 

The SukhaMat yoga knee pad cushion is a much thinner solution. It’s got just over a half inch of padding and fits perfectly across your 24” yoga mat.

If you have serious knee issues then you’ll want something bigger. Most people tend to want just a little extra cushion and this is ideal for those who want a tiny bit more padding. 

Here’s a unique solution. 

If you want a knee pad exclusively for yoga and that’s it, then this would not be a good option for you. This balance pad is more for cultivating balance and as a “around the house” type pad.

It’s good for yoga because of the support it offers. You can kneel, press your forearms onto it for planks, and use it as an extra meditation cushion prop. 

Beyond that you’ll find a dozen uses for it around the house. It’s nice to have on the tile floor in the kitchen when you’ve gotta spend time looking for stuff in the bottom shelves.

It’s also good for kneeling down to take care of young children or babies when they are taking a bath in the tub or playing on the ground. 

There are dozens of yoga poses that are not hard on your knees. The trick is often moving between different poses that will cause knee pain. If you take things slow and find a teacher who is willing to work with you (most are) then you’ll be okay. 

If you want even more support, consider a yoga mat specifically for bad knees: https://yogawithlandon.com/best-yoga-mat-for-bad-knees/

These are fun and easy to take with you.

If you have a bag you take with you to yoga then these will easily fit inside. They are just over a half inch thick and about 6.5” in diameter. 

These disc style pads are often nice because larger pads can get in the way when moving from down dog into lunge. You need to lift your leg up even HIGHER when trying to clear a big pad. With these you can typically just move your foot around the small pads. 

It’s made from TPE which may be the same thing your mat is made from. Either way, they grip really nicely to your mat and don’t have an issue sliding around. 

You may be wondering,

“Do I just buy an extra thick yoga mat or should get a pad for my knees?” 

If that’s the case, then you should just get a pad for your knees, and get THIS pad in particular. There’s problems you run into with thicker yoga mats that may not seem apparent at first, but become pretty big problems. 

A thick mat means you’ll be carrying around a more cumbersome object. You’ll also notice that your balance is adversely effected because it won’t feel as stable as a thinner mat. 

The Sivan pad can roll up nice and easy so you can place it in your bag along with your water bottle, change of clothes and anything else you need for class. 

This could be any number of reasons. You may have been in improper alignment, you could have overdone it, or your body may just not be used to doing all of those new weird movements. 

Knee pain can also be caused by an inflammatory response to food. There are a lot of reasons so if it persists be sure to see a doctor, but first have a discussion with your yoga teacher to ensure you’re doing things with good form. 

Here is my go-to for knee padding. 

I will often use a VERY thin mat when doing yoga. A travel mat is often something I enjoy using. The problem is that when I need to be on my knees the 2mm thickness of the mat doesn’t provide any cushion. 

Yoga blankets like these are ideal for those who use thin mats and need a bit more space between them and the ground. Beyond that, they can be used as a neck roll, a small bolster, and a meditation cushion. 

No matter what you choose to get for your knees, having a yoga blanket around will be a wonderful prop you’ll use time and time again. 

Here's another good solution for padding. 

It’s about a half inch thick. It even has a nice mandala design on the pad as well. It won’t slip on your mat and it fits very nicely to the full width of most yoga mats.

There’s one thing to be concerned with, however. This pad will have a small bit of an odor to it when you first get it. A simple baking soda scrub should do the trick, but granted it’s annoying to have to clean your new accessory before using it. 

The upside is the price. For less than $15 you can have a knee pad that works really well and will last for a long time. 

This all depends on what you call a “yoga mat” really. The thickest mats I’ve seen are typically about 8mm thick. There are other mats out there that are as much as a full inch thick. 

They may claim to be made for yoga, but those are better for Pilates classes. Mats with lots of cushion are often hard to balance on and may cause more trouble than they are worth. A knee pad is always a better choice rather than getting a super thick mat. 

If size matters then this pad has a couple different options for you.

If you need something really thick you can go as high as 2.5 inches. These are comparable to the top choice, but this brand has not been around as long so I’d make sure you know exactly what size you need. 

Overall, it may not be the best for yoga, but it will most definitely help to cushion your knee. There’s plenty of padding so kneeling and forearm postures shouldn’t hurt your joints any more. 

AmazonBasics Balance Pad 

Here would be a good option for those who need help with knee pain and have troubles with balance. 

This is technically a balancing pad to help restore your balance. If you have a PT that has recommended doing this then you’ll want to check out this one here. 

What’s good is you can kill two birds with one stone if you are in need of something on your mat for your knees.

This small pad provides a tiny bit of padding - just 4mm is all! 

That sounds like it may not do much, but you would be surprised at how many people use two yoga mats to provide extra padding. This is pretty much the same thing, but now you have a tiny mat right where you want it. 

Beyond the knee padding, it’s good to have for more advanced poses when you need a bit more padding. Some postures like horse, peacock, and forearm stand can put a lot of pressure on your joints. This Is a quick solution to alleviate any issues you might face.