Developing a Good Meditation Posture: Does Anybody Have Advice?
Lately I am meditating by sitting on the floor. This is a big change. For the first 5+ years of my practice I would always sit in a hard-back chair.
There is no real reason for the change other than the heck of it, it’s a bit of variety. The idea of the traditional meditator is somebody sitting on the floor, often with their hands out in some radical pose, so why not give it a try.
I just try to get stable and neutral so I can focus on the breathing.
Meditation Posture Challenges
There are a few issues that happen with my posture when I sit on the floor.
(1) Foot pain / pressure on my bones
If I sit up as well as I can, legs criss-crossed, it usually puts a lot of pressure on one of my two ankles. There’s a lot of pressure on the bone against the hard floor which gets painful after the first few minutes. I have to adjust it within ~7 minutes.
Afterwards there is some light bruising if I really push it.
I am getting a little better through experimentation but it still seems like no matter what I do, there is at least one point on my feet/ankles that has to take too much weight on a weird spot and just gets bruised up.
Does anybody know a good solution or resource to improve my posture while meditating? I could take some photo / video of me in my typical posture if it helps.
(2) Back Pain
This is less common and more of a personal issue. It is why I used to meditate in a chair all the time. My upper back tends to hurt if I sit without back support for long.
Meditation isn’t the main time that this flares up. It’s more of a general problem that I should deal with through exercise and good practices elsewhere (like getting a standing desk). Still it does relate to my meditation practice - I always sit against a wall so I can rest my back at least a little bit.
There is a weird flip side to this. I can play the drum set for many hours with no back support and its fine. IDK why, because in any other situation I start to experience pain. who knows
Nothing to Worry About
These are small issues that I look forward to tackling in the next week. It’s nothing that threatens to make me stop meditating. I can always use a chair if I feel like my posture is too uncomfortable on the floor that day.
There is a lot of variety in this topic and its always interesting to hear people’s stories. How do you sit when you meditate?
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To me it doesn't seem like sitting cross-legged would work very well. It's not a very balanced position and will result in the kinds of things you mention. If your hips aren't lose enough to attempt lotus or half-lotus, maybe you should buy a small cushion to sit on. You could also try sitting on your knees, like the Japanese. Some people don't like doing that, but personally I have n o problems doing it. That position might also benefit from a cushion.
When I meditate I usually sit in lotus or in seiza (Japanese style). If I sat in a chair I think I would either straighten my back too much so it would hurt or I'd fall asleep. haha
Ok I have heard about the lotus style but I haven't really looked into it. I will check those out and maybe get a small cushion like you describe... thank you @dbooster thats helpful advice.
Sitting in seiza (Japanese style kneeling) is the best for your spine as it places the hips in the right position for low stress on the lower back so no need for a backrest. The only issue with this posture for many people is that it can cut off a large amount of blood supply below the knees. The traditional way to offset this is to go slowly and gently into the position as if you’re sitting on a sheet of paper that you must not crinkle.
However, if you place a soft cushion between your bottom and heels it will eliminate most of the problem. You will also benefit from placing something soft like a thick yoga Matt on the floor too.
Good luck!
Kneeling meditation sounds so weird to me! I'm down to try it but not sure if I could adapt to that as my daily practice. I associate "normal" meditation as being some kind of seated position.
Fair enough, but the Japanese, Koreans and other Asian nations have been meditating in kneeling positions for hundreds of years & I do personally consider it a kind of sitting position (although people not used to it, might need to do it for a few months to get used to it - like anything new), so if you're having issues with sitting on your bum, you could try sitting in seiza...
Another solution is to place the cushion at the edge of your bottom to tilt the hips and spin in the correct position.
Of course, yoga &/or martial arts stretching fixes most issues with sitting...
No disrespect intended nathan! I believe you that the kneeling position is a historically effective and useful method across many cultures. I will give it a try in the next few days and will try to let you know how it goes...
No worries mate. I hope it works, but give it some time. Hey, if it doesn’t work for you, at least you have it a go.
Hopefully you’ll find the perfect solution.
Yes, I was going to suggest trying one of those blocks or half blocks that are often used in yoga, and sitting on a thick mat, as previous responses have suggested.
About your back, a few good stretches to open the chest area ... as you are saying it relates to what you are doing the rest of the time - maybe some yoga before/after meditation or some other time of day?
You are right Yoga would be amazing. I've done a few classes and loved it. I need to take more classes if I am going to try to use it as part of my regular method. Maybe that is a good idea...
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Hi @heymattsokol! Sounds like you are making good efforts! I've played around with my posture for meditation practice quite a bit. It makes a big difference when you "find your centre". If your hips are open enough and you have fairly strong core, sitting cross-legged is actually the most stable and balanced posture that can be sustained without too much effort for prolonged periods of time.
First of all, I'd suggest to use a folded blanket/ yoga mat or something similar to sit on, but not something as soft as a pillow (it makes it harder to keep balance). It is usually more comfortable to have it slightly thicker under your hips and slightly thinner under your knees.
If your ankles start to hurt, there are a few variations of cross-legged sitting you could try: full lotus (both feet on top your thighs, half lotus (one foot on top of the thigh and another under), easy pose (both feet on the floor under your thighs).
Usually people experience lower back pain from long meditation sessions. You are lucky not to 😉. As it is your upper back, try finding the heaviest point under your hips and the highest point at the top of your head, where the bones meet and where babies have a soft spot. Elongate your spine between these 2 points and relax your shoulders. Broaden your chest while keeping your lower ribs tucked in (not sticking out). Lean forward and backward very slightly with your spine straight to find the most balanced position in which you have to use the least amount of effort to sustain your upright posture, in which your weight goes straight into the ground. Bring your chin slightly down.
Try stretching your upper back and shoulders for 2-3 minutes right before sitting down for meditation to get the tension out.
Throughout your meditation keep bringing your awareness to the posture every now and then. And see if you moved out of the most balanced alignment.
If this doesn't work, please ask someone to take a photo of you in your regular meditative posture and share it.
I'll be happy to take a look. It's usually pretty easy to see what might be causing one pain from looking at their posture.