The Meditation Banig
For sitting, stillness and savasana
- Weave
- Single-weave tikog, bound hem
- Size
- 80 × 190 cm
€79First batch — autumn 2026
Reserve via waitlistHandwoven in Basey, Samar — the first island
Two weeks of weaving.
A lifetime of stillness.
Across the islands of Asia, people have always slept, prayed and rested on woven grass. We work with the master weavers of those islands — beginning with the banig weavers of Basey, in the Philippines — to bring their mats to your practice.
First run of 150 mats · woven to order · plastic-free
The Samar Collection
Three weaves, one promise: every mat is made by a named weaver, paid fairly, in her own village. No factory will ever touch an Island Weavers mat.
Most loved
The Yoga Banig
Double-weave for yin, hatha and restorative practice
- Weave
- Double-weave tikog, reinforced edge
- Size
- 66 × 190 cm
€119First batch — autumn 2026
Reserve via waitlistThe Founders' Banig
Finest weave, signed by the weaver. One run of 50.
- Weave
- Fine double-weave, natural dyes, woven signature
- Size
- 66 × 190 cm
€179Numbered 1–50
Reserve via waitlistPrices include EU VAT. Duties handled by us — the price you see is the price you pay.
Islands to come: Panay (bariw) · Kumamoto (igusa) · Ceylon (Dumbara). One island at a time, one weaving community at a time.
Not a sticky mat.
Something older.
Long before yoga was a brand, practice happened on woven grass — kusha mats in India, igusa rush in Japan, banig in the Philippines. A woven mat is firm where foam is mushy, cool where rubber sweats, and alive in a way plastic never is.
We'll be straight with you: for hot, fast vinyasa you'll still want rubber under your hands — many of our early testers lay the banig on top of their old mat. For everything slow and still, the banig alone is the whole point.
Meditation & pranayama
A firm, grounding seat that never goes flat.
Yin, hatha & restorative
Cool natural texture that keeps you present.
Savasana & yoga nidra
The gentle weave pattern relaxes like a massage.
Beach, garden & travel
Rolls tight, weighs almost nothing, shakes clean.
Woven by the paraglara of Basey
Basey, on the island of Samar, is the mat-weaving capital of the Philippines. The craft passes from mother to daughter; the weavers are called paraglara. In 2000 the town wove a single banig more than a kilometre long. Ours are a more practical size.
- 01
Harvest
Tikog — a wild sedge grass — is cut by hand in the wetlands of Samar, then sun-dried until it turns the colour of pale gold.
- 02
Dye
Strands are dyed in small batches. Our practice mats use sweat-fast, skin-safe dyes — tested, because your mat is not a wall hanging.
- 03
Weave
A paraglara — a master weaver of Basey — folds each strand by hand. One mat takes up to two weeks. No loom. No machine. No hurry.
- 04
Finish
Every Island Weavers mat gets a bound hem, a woven maker's mark and a final inspection in the Philippines before it travels to you.
"Every mat you unroll somewhere in the world began as grass in our wetlands, and two weeks of someone's hands in our town."
— What we hope a weaver will say about us. We publish our weaver payments yearly, starting with batch one.
One craft, a whole continent
From the tikog wetlands of Samar to the igusa fields of Kumamoto and the kusha grass of the Gangetic plain — Asia sleeps, prays and practises on woven grass. This is the map we work from. Today we weave in one place: the Philippines.
A weaver's chart, not a navigator's: positions are true, coastlines are left to the imagination.
Woven with us now (Philippines) Islands to come On the mat map
Every mat on the map — the full list+
| Mat | Region | Country | Material | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banig (tikog) | Basey, Samar | Philippines | Tikog sedge | Woven with us now |
| Banig (bariw) | Nabas & Libertad, Panay | Philippines | Bariw pandan | Woven with us now |
| Banig (sodsod) | Bukidnon, Mindanao | Philippines | Sodsod sedge | Woven with us now |
| Banig (karagumoy) | Cebu | Philippines | Karagumoy pandan | Woven with us now |
| Banig (pandan) | Sulu & Tawi-Tawi | Philippines | Pandan | Woven with us now |
| Banig (buri) | Romblon | Philippines | Buri palm | Woven with us now |
| Igusa / tatami | Kumamoto, Kyūshū | Japan | Igusa soft rush | Islands to come |
| Hwamunseok | Ganghwa Island | South Korea | Sedge | On the mat map |
| Liángxí (summer mats) | Zhejiang & Jiangsu | China | Rush & bamboo | On the mat map |
| Yuanli rush mats | Yuanli, Miaoli | Taiwan | Triangle rush | On the mat map |
| Chiếu cói | Nga Sơn & Kim Sơn | Vietnam | Sedge | On the mat map |
| Sua kok | Chanthaburi | Thailand | Kok reed | On the mat map |
| Kantuel mats | Tonlé Sap | Cambodia | Reed & pandan | On the mat map |
| Thin phyu | Danubyu, Ayeyarwady | Myanmar | Reed | On the mat map |
| Tikar mendong | Tasikmalaya, Java | Indonesia | Mendong grass | Islands to come |
| Tikar pandan | Kalimantan, Borneo | Indonesia | Pandan & rattan | On the mat map |
| Tikar mengkuang | Peninsular Malaysia & Sarawak | Malaysia | Mengkuang pandan | On the mat map |
| Pattamadai pai | Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu | India | Korai grass & silk | On the mat map |
| Madurkathi | Medinipur, West Bengal | India | Madur reed | On the mat map |
| Kora / Palakkad mats | Kerala | India | Kora grass | On the mat map |
| Kusha āsana | Gangetic plain | India | Kusha (darbha) grass | On the mat map |
| Shital pati | Sylhet | Bangladesh | Murta cane | On the mat map |
| Dumbara mats | Dumbara valley, Kandy | Sri Lanka | Hana fibre | Islands to come |
Questions, answered
Is a banig a sticky yoga mat?+
No — and it doesn't try to be. A banig is a firm, cool, woven grass surface: perfect for meditation, yin, hatha, breathwork and savasana. For sweaty vinyasa flows, lay it over your rubber mat as a natural top layer, the way rush mats have been used in Japan for centuries.
What is it made of?+
100% tikog sedge grass, handwoven in Basey, Samar — the mat-weaving capital of the Philippines. No plastics, no foams, no glue in the pure-weave mats.
How do I care for it?+
Wipe with a dry or barely damp cloth, air it in the shade, store it dry and rolled. Kept dry, a well-woven banig lasts for many years — in the Philippines they are heirlooms.
Where does my money go?+
We buy directly from weaving cooperatives in Samar at prices the weavers set, with no middlemen. Each mat names its weaver. We publish what we pay, every year.
When do you ship?+
The first batch is being woven now and ships in autumn 2026 — EU first, worldwide after. Waitlist members choose their mat before anyone else.
150 mats. One weaving season. Your place in line.
The first batch is on the looms of Basey now. Join the waitlist and you'll choose your mat before public release — no payment until your banig is woven.