This entry was posted on Mar 2, 2023 by Charlotte Bell.
Folks generally chuckle after I inform them that sitting on a meditation cushion is bodily rigorous. However it’s true. If you sit nonetheless and tune into your physique for any size of time, you’re prone to change into uncomfortable. And sitting for lengthy durations in the identical place will sooner or later begin to make you antsy.
Even in my hour-long meditation class, folks generally expertise bodily difficulties. That’s after I work with them to search out the very best sitting place. How comfy you’re while you’re training sitting meditation is basically decided by what you select to take a seat on. Every particular person’s physique is totally different, so I additionally assist them discover the fitting assist for his or her particular person physique..
It’s All About Your Skeleton
Snug sitting depends upon your backbone’s potential to keep up its pure curves (see illustration). The human backbone holds itself up naturally when its curves are in integrity. The place of your sacrum determines your spinal curves. The optimum place for the sacrum is an roughly 30-degree ahead tilt. When the sacrum is in that place, the remainder of the curves extra simply fall into place.
In sitting meditation, due to the form and construction of our hip joints, or due to inflexibility, the sacrum typically results in a vertical place, as a substitute of the 30-degree ahead tilt. In some circumstances, the sacrum may even tilt backward as a substitute of ahead. When this occurs, our lumbar curve has to straighten and even flex ahead, inflicting us to have to make use of an entire lot of core energy to take a seat upright. Once we spend loads of power simply to take a seat upright, we get drained fairly rapidly.
How You Sit Issues
Whereas Sukhasana (Simple Cross-Legged Pose) is the normal sitting place, not everybody can sit this manner. Some folks’s hip joints simply rotate externally, whereas others’ extra simply rotate internally. In case your knees are decrease than your hip bones while you sit cross-legged on a meditation cushion, meaning your hip joints rotate externally with ease. When your knees are decrease than the hip bones, your sacrum will tilt ahead, protecting your spinal curves intact. In case your hip joints internally rotate extra simply, your knees will rise to the extent of the hip bones or greater. When your knees are greater than your hip bones, your sacrum will naturally tilt backward, making sitting for lengthy durations uncomfortable.
We have to sit excessive sufficient on a meditation cushion or bench in order that our sacrum, and due to this fact our pelvis, can tilt ahead in order that the spinal curves can fall into place. That’s the reason meditation cushions are designed to offer us additional peak. Listed below are some tips about how to decide on the very best assist to your physique and your follow:
Zafu and Zen Meditation Cushions
Zafus are the normal, spherical meditation cushion. At about 5 inches excessive, Zafus will probably be greater than ample for comfy sitting for most individuals.
Our Zen Cushions are comparable in peak to our Zafus, however rectangular and wider in form. Whether or not you select the Zafu or Zen is a matter of non-public desire. Sitting on the large aspect of the Zen Pillow will assist the tops of your thighs greater than the Zafu will. Some folks favor extra thigh assist, whereas others favor that their higher thighs prolong off the sting of their cushion. All in all, the assist could be very comparable between the 2 of them.
In the event you’re considering of making an attempt a Zafu or Zen Cushion for cross-legged sitting, first attempt sitting on a 5-inch-high stack of agency blankets together with your ankles on the ground in entrance of your blanket stack. Verify the place your knees land, and in the event you discover that your knees are at hip bone stage or greater, Sukhasana won’t be your greatest meditation place.
The excellent news is that the Zafu and Zen are adaptable. If cross-legged sitting doesn’t give you the results you want, you may flip your Zafu or Zen Cushion on its aspect. Place it between your thighs and sit on it together with your knees bent, shins on the ground on both aspect of the cushion.
V-Formed Meditation Cushion
Our V-Formed Cushion is analogous in peak and goal to the Zafu. However right here’s what makes me love the V-Formed Cushion: As a result of my hip joints externally rotate simply, my legs want extra assist than conventional cushions may give. The V-Formed Cushion slants downward in order that it helps your whole leg and encourages your pelvis to tilt ahead—offered your hips externally rotate as described above.
As with the Zafus, you may test whether or not a V-Formed Meditation Cushion is acceptable for you by sitting on a 5-inch stack of agency blankets and observing whether or not your legs are greater or decrease than your pelvis. In case your legs can’t relaxation on the “legs” of the cushion as a result of they’re excessive within the air, the V-Formed Cushion gained’t be comfy. If you need to use a Zafu in a cross-legged place, you’ll most likely additionally discover the V-Formed Cushion to be comfy.
All of Hugger Mugger’s meditation cushions are full of natural buckwheat hulls. The zippered covers permit you to add or subtract filling as you want. Right here’s an outline of all the alternatives.
Meditation Bench
A Meditation Bench is a superb various to utilizing a meditation cushion. There are a number of benefits. As a result of you don’t sit cross-legged on a Meditation Bench, it doesn’t matter whether or not or not your hip joints externally rotate.
When you’ve got an inclination to get drained while you meditate, a Meditation Bench may be a good selection. Briefly, sitting on a bench can, for some folks, improve your power stage. Right here’s a submit that explains why.
Zabuton
A Zabuton is sort of a mini-futon. It’s a large, rectangular, cotton-filled cushion with a detachable cotton cowl.
Putting a Zabuton below your meditation cushion or bench will increase your consolation. Ankle bones, ft or knees urgent in opposition to a tough flooring might really feel okay at first. However over time, even 20 to half-hour, it’s prone to get fairly uncomfortable.
A Zabuton is a worthwhile funding in the event you’re going to decide to a meditation follow.
Sukasana Meditation Cushion
Hugger Mugger’s Sukasana Cushion is a a lot smaller, moveable meditation cushion. Whereas it doesn’t give as a lot hip assist as our different meditation cushions, this small cushion is nice for touring or for taking with you to a yoga studio.
Consolation is Key
Whether or not you resolve to make use of a Zafu, Zen Pillow, V-Formed Cushion or Meditation Bench is a matter of non-public desire. Do not forget that no matter you select ought to permit you to sit comfortably with all of your spinal curves intact.
Take a look at our Meditation Cushion Information for more information.
If you wish to learn in additional element about how one can sit comfortably, or how one can construction a yoga follow to assist your sitting, decide up my e book Yoga for Meditators. In it I commit a number of chapters to selecting the best sitting assist and discovering the optimum sitting place.
Zafuko® Cushions: A Light-weight Different
In the previous couple of years, we added one other various to our meditation cushion assortment. Our Zafuko® Cushions are extraordinarily mild weight, an incredible various to the heavier meditation cushions and benches we provide. Right here’s an article that explains all of the choices.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and started instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Aware Yoga, Aware Life: A Information for On a regular basis Observe and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third e book is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and folks sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards in 2010.
