Other people on occasion snigger after I inform them that sitting on a meditation cushion is bodily rigorous. However it’s true. Whilst you sit down nonetheless and track into your frame for any period of time, you’re more likely to turn into uncomfortable. And sitting for lengthy classes in the similar place will one day begin to make you antsy.

Even in my hour-long meditation magnificence, other folks on occasion enjoy bodily difficulties. That’s after I paintings with them to search out the most productive sitting place. How comfy you’re whilst you’re practising sitting meditation is in large part decided by means of what you select to sit down on. Every particular person’s frame is other, so I additionally assist them to find the fitting enhance for his or her particular person frame..

It’s All About Your Skeleton

Relaxed sitting will depend on your backbone’s skill to take care of its herbal curves (see representation). The human backbone holds itself up naturally when its curves are in integrity. The placement of your sacrum determines your spinal curves. The optimal 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 position.

In sitting meditation, on account of the form and construction of our hip joints, or on account of inflexibility, the sacrum continuously results in a vertical place, as an alternative of the 30-degree ahead tilt. In some instances, the sacrum will even tilt backward as an alternative of ahead. When this occurs, our lumbar curve has to straighten and even flex ahead, inflicting us to have to make use of a lot of core energy to sit down upright. Once we spend numerous power simply to sit down upright, we get drained beautiful briefly.

How You Take a seat Issues

Whilst Sukhasana (Simple Go-Legged Pose) is the normal sitting place, now not everybody can sit down this fashion. Some other folks’s hip joints simply rotate externally, whilst others’ extra simply rotate internally. In case your knees are less than your hip bones whilst you sit down cross-legged on a meditation cushion, that implies your hip joints rotate externally very easily. When your knees are less 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 upward thrust to the extent of the hip bones or upper. When your knees are upper than your hip bones, your sacrum will naturally tilt backward, making sitting for lengthy classes uncomfortable.

We’d like to sit down 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 position. This is why meditation cushions are designed to provide us additional peak. Listed below are some tips about how to select the most productive enhance to your frame 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 enough for comfy sitting for most of the people.

Our Zen Cushions are identical in peak to our Zafus, however oblong and wider in form. Whether or not you select the Zafu or Zen is an issue of private desire. Sitting at the vast facet of the Zen Pillow will enhance the tops of your thighs greater than the Zafu will. Some other folks desire extra thigh enhance, whilst others desire that their higher thighs lengthen off the brink in their cushion. All in all, the enhance may be very identical between the 2 of them.

When you’re pondering of making an attempt a Zafu or Zen Cushion for cross-legged sitting, first take a look at sitting on a 5-inch-high stack of establishment blankets along with your ankles at the flooring in entrance of your blanket stack. Take a look at the place your knees land, and for those who to find that your knees are at hip bone degree or upper, Sukhasana will not be your highest meditation place.

The excellent news is that the Zafu and Zen are adaptable. If cross-legged sitting doesn’t be just right for you, you’ll flip your Zafu or Zen Cushion on its facet. Position it between your thighs and sit down on it along with your knees bent, shins at the flooring on both sides of the cushion.

V-Formed Meditation Cushion

Our V-Formed Cushion is the same in peak and objective 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 enhance than conventional cushions may give. The V-Formed Cushion slants downward in order that it helps all of your leg and encourages your pelvis to tilt ahead—supplied your hips externally rotate as described above.

As with the Zafus, you’ll test whether or not a V-Formed Meditation Cushion is acceptable for you by means of sitting on a 5-inch stack of establishment blankets and looking at whether or not your legs are upper or less than your pelvis. In case your legs can’t leisure at 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’ll use a Zafu in a cross-legged place, you are going to most probably additionally to find the V-Formed Cushion to be comfy.

All of Hugger Mugger’s meditation cushions are stuffed with natural buckwheat hulls. The zippered covers let you upload or subtract filling as you prefer. Right here’s an summary of all of the possible choices.

Meditation Bench

A Meditation Bench is a smart selection to the use of a meditation cushion. There are a number of benefits. As a result of you don’t sit down cross-legged on a Meditation Bench, it doesn’t topic whether or not or now not your hip joints externally rotate.

If in case you have a bent to get drained whilst you meditate, a Meditation Bench may well be a sensible choice. Briefly, sitting on a bench can, for some other folks, build up your power degree. Right here’s a publish that explains why.

Zabuton

A Zabuton is sort of a mini-futon. It’s a large, oblong, cotton-filled cushion with a detachable cotton duvet.

Hanging a Zabuton below your meditation cushion or bench will increase your convenience. Ankle bones, ft or knees urgent towards a difficult flooring would possibly really feel k to start with. However through the years, even 20 to half-hour, it’s more likely to get beautiful uncomfortable.

A Zabuton is a profitable funding for those who’re going to decide to a meditation follow.

Sukasana Meditation Cushion

Hugger Mugger’s Sukasana Cushion is a way smaller, moveable meditation cushion. Whilst it doesn’t give as a lot hip enhance as our different meditation cushions, this small cushion is superb for touring or for taking with you to a yoga studio.

Convenience is Key

Whether or not you make a decision to make use of a Zafu, Zen Pillow, V-Formed Cushion or Meditation Bench is an issue of private desire. Keep in mind that no matter you select must permit you to sit down conveniently with your entire spinal curves intact.

Take a look at our Meditation Cushion Information for more information.

If you wish to learn in additional element about how to sit down conveniently, or how you can construction a yoga follow to enhance your sitting, pick out up my e-book Yoga for Meditators. In it I commit a number of chapters to selecting the best sitting enhance and discovering the optimal sitting place.

Zafuko® Cushions: A Light-weight Selection

In the previous couple of years, we added every other selection to our meditation cushion assortment. Our Zafuko® Cushions are extraordinarily mild weight, a really perfect selection to the heavier meditation cushions and benches we provide. Right here’s a piece of writing that explains all of the choices.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell came upon yoga in 1982 and started educating in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Existence: A Information for On a regular basis Observe and Yoga for Meditators, each printed by means of Rodmell Press. Her 3rd e-book is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Protective the Hips and Fending off SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a per thirty days column for CATALYST Mag 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 people sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards in 2010.