7 Best Yoga Pants for Women

Yoga pants are, without a doubt, the single most important piece of clothing for yoga practitioners. With the right pair of pants, you’re more likely to have a more effective and rewarding experience.

Finding the best pair of yoga pants for your lifestyle, tastes, and specific discipline doesn’t have to be tedious. In fact, it can be a pretty enjoyable process.

And that’s exactly what this buying guide is all about. We want to help you make the best purchasing decision possible. After all, no one wants to deal with buyer’s remorse.

Below, we’ll share several key things you need to know before buying a pair of yoga pants. We promise: selecting the best yoga pants will become so much easier after this buying guide.

Let’s dive right in!

Why should you get yoga pants?

Wearing proper yoga pants is essential to enjoy an effective and comfortable workout. More than any other type of fitness discipline, feeling relaxed, at ease, and focused is important in yoga. As such, it’s easy to imagine how wearing the wrong kind of clothing can ruin your sessions.

Rather than wearing old sweatpants or random leggings to your workout, yoga pants have been specially made for the practice. Here are the top reasons why investing in a good quality pair of yoga pants is a smart idea.

• They provide flexibility – A good pair of yoga pants will allow you to breathe properly, stretch freely, and execute even the most complicated poses with ease. This is something that you won’t find in regular pants. Remember: free and comfortable movement is essential to the very core principles of yoga. Without it, your sessions are practically pointless.
• They’re versatile – The right yoga pants will remain useful and comfortable beyond the confines of your favorite studio. There’s a bunch of styles available depending on your preferred fit and silhouette, so styling yoga pants to fit casual situations isn’t too difficult. Plus, wearing yoga pants to run errands is now very commonplace.
• They’re comfortable and hygienic – Yoga can be sweaty affair—especially if you’re into hot yoga. A good pair of yoga pants will keep you feeling dry and comfortable until the very end of your class. This also protects you from nasty infections that may arise from the combination of moisture and warmth that you’re usually exposed to while working out.

Different Types of Yoga Pants

Yoga pants come in a variety of cuts and shapes to suit every preference. Curious about which one fits your needs best? Check this out.

1. Yoga tights/Yoga leggings. This style of yoga pants is the most popular—at least in the past couple of years. As the name suggests, yoga tights have a skin-tight yet comfortable fit. They’re flexible and lightweight, and there’s no excess fabric that could get in the way of executing all your usual poses.
2. Harem pants. Harem yoga pants mimic the traditional dhoti that traditional practitioners wear. Harem pants are very loose from below the waistband down to the ankle bands, which allows free movement and easier breathing.
3. Bootleg/straight cut pants. Bootleg and straight cut pants are mostly like yoga leggings, but they fit loosely from the knees down.  
4. Yoga shorts. Yoga shorts use the least amount of fabric. Because of that, they’re generally well-regarded for allowing free movement. If you prefer not having any leg coverage, yoga shorts may be your best bet.

Natural vs Synthetic Fabrics

The fabric composition used in a pair of workout pants will say a lot about its performance. That said, it’s important to pay attention to the type of fabric used in a pair before making a purchase.

Yoga pants come in different fabrics. The most common are synthetic fabrics, natural fabrics like bamboo and cotton, and cotton-synthetic blends. Here’s a brief guide to their corresponding characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.

Cotton

Yoga pants that are made of cotton are soft and comfy. They’re pretty unbeatable in terms of feel, which is why they’re a great option if you love lounging in yoga pants even when you’re not actually planning to exercise.

On the other hand, cotton may not be the smartest choice if you practice hot yoga or wear your yoga pants to perform other types of high-intensity exercise. Cotton isn’t the best fabric for anything that makes you sweat a lot. Instead of wicking away moisture, cotton simply absorbs it. This causes the fabric to become heavy and clingy. What’s more, it doesn’t help your body cool down as effectively as more breathable fabrics do.

All that being said, we recommend that you reserve cotton yoga pants for light activities like stretching, walking, and slower types of yoga. If you’re a fan of sweaty workouts but would rather stick to cotton, try to take a look at cotton-synthetic blends for a good in-betweener.

Synthetic fabrics

Synthetic fabrics have always been the obvious choice for high-impact workouts. If your chosen fitness activity exposes you to a lot of perspiration, synthetics like polyester and nylon work great.

Synthetic fabrics are known to be excellent at wicking away moisture. They allow perspiration to evaporate from your skin. These materials do not absorb sweat, so they do not get weighed down as much as cotton does. This property also allows them to resist unsightly sweat marks.

Another advantage of synthetic fabrics is their breathability. Working out in hot, humid environments can feel uncomfortable and “stuffy.” Wearing synthetic fabrics helps prevent this from happening.

Lastly, synthetic fabrics are generally more durable than natural fabrics. They’re more likely to resist deformation, fading, and fraying as time goes by. Synthetic fabrics that contain spandex are also super stretchable and tend to retain their shape even after the deepest of squats.

The downsides to synthetics? First off, they’re not as soft as cotton or bamboo. Some synthetic fibers like polyester are also more prone to bacteria buildup. This could lead to smelly situations if you’re the type who likes to remain in your yoga pants long after your last pose.

Bamboo

Bamboo is one of the most popular fabrics for yoga pants because it feels very soft and is moisture-wicking. Yet another natural fabric, bamboo is an organic and renewable source that is known to be more sustainable to produce than cotton.

Bamboo feels thicker than cotton. It also boasts a more luxurious feel. But what makes bamboo really stand out—apart from the pros already mentioned—is that it offers a nice balance between durability and comfort. It’s a breathable fabric that adapts well to seasonal changes—keeping you warm during winter and cool during summer.

Due to its softness, bamboo fabric is great for those with sensitive skin. In addition, it will work with both restorative and slow-paced yoga and high-impact workouts.

As for cons, bamboo is quite pricey compared to other fabrics. Also, white bamboo fabric is prone to yellowing over time.

Yoga Pants Buying and Wearing Tips

Don’t compromise on quality

We get it. Yoga pants can get really pricey—especially branded pairs. We’re not saying that the most expensive yoga pants are automatically the best. However, in this particular niche of workout apparel, the price generally corresponds to quality.

As we’ve mentioned above, quality clothing is essential in practicing yoga. You might think that spending more than $20 is unnecessary. But trust us: mid-range to high-end yoga pants will always give you superior quality and performance over cheap pairs.

You can expect that more expensive yoga pants will have better-quality fabric. They’re also going to be more durable and well-constructed, especially at the seams and in terms of stitching.

That said, it’s always better to prioritize quality. For instance, if you have $60 to spare, you’re better off buying one good quality pair than two to three pairs of cheaper leggings.

Watch out for sheer fabric

Many of us have been victimized by sheer leggings at some point. Don’t let your yoga pants put you in this embarrassing situation!

It isn’t always easy to tell whether or not a specific pair of yoga pants will sheer out in certain poses. That’s precisely why many of us end up as unsuspecting victims. You put on a pair of yoga pants that look and feel like it’s of good quality, so you trust it not to do you dirty. And voila, before you know it, you’ve given everyone behind you quite the show!

That said, it’s important to really test a pair of yoga pants before using it out in public for the very first time. Before buying yoga pants, do some squats in the fitting room to make sure that it doesn’t sheer out. If you bought the pair online, try the merch right away so you can return it if it doesn’t pass your standards.

Take proper care of your yoga pants

Taking good care of your workout apparel is crucial if you want them to last longer. Many of us are guilty of letting laziness consume us. But paying attention to how you treat your yoga pants will give you the most bang for your back in the long run.

Now, the absolute best way to care for any single pair of yoga pants is to follow the recommended cleaning instructions given by the manufacturer. Different fabrics and styles will require different cleaning and drying methods. Trust us, resisting the urge to simply throw your yoga pants in a random laundry load will usually pay off.

This one’s also important: wash your yoga pants after every use! Even if they don’t look or smell dirty, they’re probably already laden with stink-causing bacteria. Wearing used yoga pants not only makes you smell bad, but it makes you more prone to infections, as well.

Quantity is important, too

If you practice yoga every day (or almost every day), we recommend that you invest in at least two pairs of yoga pants. That way, you can rotate between them easily.

This does two things. One, you won’t be pressured to immediately wash and dry your yoga pants every day, which means you have the freedom to let them air dry. And two, this helps your yoga pants last longer.

Having multiple pairs of yoga pants is also handy if you practice different types of yoga. You may choose to invest in different cuts and fabrics to fit the different styles of yoga that you’re into.