Glossary
Knee pad
An extra-cushioned pad or mat insert placed under the knees for comfort in kneeling poses.
A yoga knee pad is a small, extra-thick cushion, sometimes a standalone pad and sometimes built into a mat, placed under the knees during kneeling poses like tabletop, low lunge or camel. It exists because even a well-cushioned full mat can still feel firm under one small point of contact when body weight is concentrated on a single knee.
Standalone pads are useful for anyone practising on a hard floor, a thin travel mat, or a studio mat that is thinner than what they use at home, since a pad can be added only where it is needed rather than carrying a whole thicker mat around. Some pads fold flat for a bag, others are shaped to sit under one or both knees at once.
A common point of confusion is assuming general mat thickness solves kneeling discomfort on its own. A 5mm mat cushions the whole body evenly, but a knee bearing full weight in a lunge can still feel the floor through it, which is exactly the gap a dedicated pad is built to close.