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Yoga & Exercise

VIDEO: SmartMat, World’s First Responsive Yoga Mat, Launches

SmartMat is a portable yoga mat that connects to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth to help track, improve and adjust a yoga practice by learning the user’s position and suggestions corrections toward a better alignment or pose.

A user can calibrate the mat by entering height, weight, gender and age, and then by laying on the mat, it will determine a person’s “Ape Index (ratio/length of torso/arms vs. legs),” according to the company. “SmartMat is trained to recognize almost every yoga pose out there and give meaningful feedback. On some poses, balance is less relevant than alignment so SmartMat will adjust feedback accordingly,” the company’s website states.

“We built SmartMat because we wanted a way to receive personalized yoga instruction without having to go to an outside class or hire a private teacher,” SmartMat’s founder Neyma Jahan told CNET.com. “SmartMat synchs with and analyzes each user via a unique calibration process, providing the kind of custom biofeedback once exclusive to private lessons.”

The mat needs to be charged via a wall socket or micro USB and USB charger for 90 minutes, and will hold a charge for six hours of practice. It can also be programmed for multiple users, each with his or her own initial calibration needed.

The company launched a Indiegogo campaign to raise money, and people can purchase a SmartMat at a discounted price of $297 for a limited time here.

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