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1. 1. Best Overall Performance: Athleta Salutation Stash 5 Inch
2. 2. Best Smart Pockets: Prana Electa II
3. 3. Best for Mermaid Thighs: Patagonia Maipo 8 Inch
4. 4. Best For Slow Flow or Yin: Ridge Merino Iva Bell High Waist 8 Inch
5. 5. Best For Expectant Yogis: Girlfriend Collective Seamless Maternity Bike Short

Leggings are the undisputed queens of yoga practice with a straightforward swath of cloth that makes for a continuous sensory experience from waist to ankle. But yoga shorts allow you to enjoy bare knees and shins, provide help to find a distinct kind of grounding during Cat-Cow and Child’s Pose, and connect you to the earth in unprecedented fashion during Camel and seated stretches. And, in fact, there’s the sensible profit that less fabric means less material to trap sweat on hot days and in hot studios.

We spent the past two months dancing through warriors, easing into forward folds, and cultivating a chill restorative vibe in yoga shorts to search out out which of them best accommodate a spread of yogis and their practices. These five are our favorites.

RELATED: The ten Best Yoga Shorts for Men

5 Best Yoga Shorts

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(Photo: Athleta)

1. Best Overall Performance: Athleta Salutation Stash 5 Inch

In case you’re looking for no-brainer yoga shorts to suit any and each sort of practice, look no further than Athleta’s Salutation Stash. The material is a mix of Nylon and Lycra that’s plush, supportive, and beautifully wicking. We love the best way it hugs the body during quick flows, long holds, and low-key stretching sessions. Although the waist is perhaps a bit too high for petite yogis (try the Prana Electa II as an alternative), we appreciate how the thick construction and back yolk keep all the things in place during forward bends and quick transitions.

These are the rare yoga shorts that don’t feature flatlock seams down the side (they’re a conventional foldover seam as an alternative), but we didn’t experience any digging into our thighs. Because the name suggests, there’s a stash pocket on both sides, and although we did miss having a small key pocket on the waist, this keeps the tailored fit sleek. Bonus points for sizing that goes from 2XS to 3XL. And if a five-inch inseam is just too short for you, the Salutation Stash also is available in a seven-inch inseam.

$69 at Athleta

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(Photo: Prana)

2. Best Smart Pockets: Prana Electa II

For practitioners who wish to keep their personal items close, the Prana Electa II can’t be beat. There’s a large pocket on the waistband that may swallow a card wallet and key and two—two!—drop-in pockets on both sides of the leg. So should you, like considered one of our testers, have anxiety about pocket multitasking and losing your class pass when you reach to place your phone on silent, the Electa II will put you comfy.

And since that is Prana, the remaining of the small print are dialed in as well. The waistband is nicely thick and hugs the waist with a mid rise that sits just above the pelvis, so it stays put during forward folds and lunges. A gusseted crotch allows for deep yogi squats and cozy pigeons. And the seven-inch leg length hits a coverage sweet spot for a pleasant range of heights. Also great: The nylon-elastane fabric is UPF50+ and Bluesign approved, and the shorts were produced in a Certified Fair Trade factory. They’re also currently on sale for half the same old price.

$34.50 at Prana

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(Photo: Patagonia)

3. Best for Mermaid Thighs: Patagonia Maipo 8 Inch

These shorts were designed for multisport excellence, and so they don’t disappoint on the mat. Made with 80 percent recycled nylon and 20 percent spandex, the material is peachskin soft for a comfy feel but still thin, wicking, and breathable for when your practice heats up. Better of all, that softness-meets-performance means the Maipo doesn’t cut into your thighs but still hugs your body with a superb dose of support. After two months of damage—each on the mat and trail run warm-ups before sun salutations on the grass—the inner thighs had only minimal pilling, and we never experienced chafing from the extremely flat seams. The eight-inch inseam hits the sweet spot, too, providing a bit extra coverage while still letting the legs float free. We reached for these on the most popular August days and left our practice sweaty yet comfortable. Though we wish the Maipo had a waist pocket, the drop-in side pockets are appreciated.

$69 at Patagonia

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4. Best For Slow Flow or Yin: Ridge Merino Iva Bell High Waist 8 Inch

When the goal is deep leisure, we love to decorate in merino: it feels more nurturing than synthetics, manages moisture beautifully, and is of course odor-resistant. Ridge does a stupendous job with a double-knit fabric that’s 55 percent merino, 40 percent polyester, and 5 percent spandex. Though these are the least stretchy yoga shorts of any that we tried, we kept reaching for them (and the brand’s Send-It Seamless bra) on the times we barely made it to the mat for even a fast bedtime practice.

Where these shorts excelled was during poses that had us draped over bolsters or put our legs into beautiful elevation. There we found these shorts to be like a warm hug for the hips, quads, and hamstrings. Before and after practice, the drop-in side pockets were handy for keeping our phone close by. Though the crotch is gusseted, we could use a touch more maneuverability for things like flowing low lunges.

One caveat: these shorts run a touch small, since they’re not made with traditional stretch fabric. If you have got muscular legs, consider sizing up and using the inside drawstring to dial within the waist. Last time we checked, these were steeply discounted.

$48.50 at Ridge Merino

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(Photo: Girlfriend Collective)

5. Best For Expectant Yogis: Girlfriend Collective Seamless Maternity Bike Short

It’s difficult to search out maternity wear that’s built for greater than lounging, but Girlfriend Collective took the duty seriously with its offerings. These shorts are cut from a soft and lightweight nylon-spandex fabric that does a superb job of dumping heat and in addition doesn’t slip and slide when put through a gauntlet of Goddess variations. The oversize paneled waistband is incredibly comfortable on sensitive bumps, and through early pregnancy and postpartum, it will probably be folded down for a tighter fit—an accommodating touch that helps extend the usage of an otherwise limited-time garment. One tester wore these nearly every single day through her second pregnancy and was sad to say goodbye to them once they finally became too loose postpartum.

A pair downsides: There are not any pockets, and the softness of the material means it’s a bit susceptible to getting scuffed up on the quads and seat. We’d also wish to see Girlfriend make the maternity line eligible for its recycling program. Still, the opposite qualities—and the incontrovertible fact that they’re available in sizes 2XS to 6XL—make these one of the best maternity shorts currently on offer. (And for the record, we love Girlfriend Collective leggings, too.)

$58 at Girlfriend Collective

About Our Contributor

Aleta Burchyski is a author living within the Rocky Mountain foothills of Santa Fe, Recent Mexico. Her work has appeared in Outside and Recent York Magazine’s The Strategist. Her yoga journey began with classes that drew on hatha and yin principles; today her favorite is vinyasa flow on the park grass, especially together with her two young boys.