Meditating while kneeling, using a cushion or stool
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If you can’t sit cross-legged in comfort, there are still many meditation postures open to you. You can sit in chair but many people find it’s not as satisfying as sitting on the floor.
Strange but true: somehow, being on the floor gives a more “grounded” feeling that makes it easier to calm the mind. All the same, I’ve often had to sit on a chair for various reasons and you do get used to it.
The most common alternative to a cross-legged meditation posture is to kneel, having the weight of the body supported on cushions or a meditation bench.
Finding good cushions is important. They need to be really firm, and most pillows just compress too much and can’t give you enough support.
The same goes for most ordinary, household cushions, which tend to compress too much. However, I have a lovely buckwheat pillow that is perfect when I turn it on end.
This meditator is using cushions (called zafus), that are specially designed for meditation. He’s kneeling with them between his legs, although cushions can of course be used for sitting cross-legged as well. Most people who sit astride cushions need two or three, depending on the height required.
The important thing is to get the right height. If you sit too low, you’ll end up slumping. Slumping interferes with your ability to stay aware, and can lead to discomfort.
If you sit too high, then you will have too much of a hollow in your back, which can lead to pinching. When your back is relatively upright, without you having to use any effort to keep it that way, then you’ve got the height about right.
Although the meditator above has his hands resting on his thighs, I recommend having your hands supported in front of you (see hands section). You can either have another cushion in front of you to rest your hands on, or you can tie something round your waist and rest your hands on that. I’ve often used a sweater with the arms tied behind my back. If you arrange the sweater carefully, you can make a little “nest” for your hands to rest on.
Comments
Comment from Dattaram Gangurde
Time: August 21, 2007, 6:23 am
Give me more information on meditating while kneeling while using a cushoin
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 21, 2007, 6:32 am
If you have a specific question I’ll be happy to offer an answer.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
PS. Whatever happened to saying “please”?
Comment from Martha
Time: August 25, 2007, 9:03 am
Thank you for the useful tips. I also would like to know more about the effects of meditating from the stool seated, legs behind position — the only one I seem to be able to take. I wonder what is lost by taking this position and if there are other special concerns, beyond watching the spinal alignment. I wonder if the full effects of meditation can be achieved in this posture. Any further advice would be very much appreciated. Many thanks.
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 25, 2007, 10:45 am
Hi Martha,
Kneeling on a stool is also how I meditate, and it’s been my experience that “the full effects of meditation” can certain be experienced sitting this way. There’s a bit of an unjustified mystique about the advantages of sitting cross-legged that I think is overblown.
There’s a lot you can watch out for including your butt, ankles, knees, and shoulders.
If you’re sitting regularly or for long periods you’ll need some kind of padding for your butt. For short sits a folded scarf will work fine, but if you’re on retreat you’ll probably need some kind of thin cushion. This of course changes the height, so an adjustable stool is very, very valuable. There’s a link to an online store selling these on page 2 of this article.
Knees: well, you just need to make sure you have good padding. A zabuton is ideal, although a folded blanked can work fine.
Ankles: this is mainly a problem when first getting used to kneeling, where the ankles may be uncomfortably stretched. A rolled-up blanket under the ankles can give support.
And shoulders: this actually goes back to the hands, which have to be supported so as not to put strain on the shoulders and on the muscles between the shoulder blades. If you’ve ever experienced painful knots forming on either side of the spine between the shoulder blades this is due to the hands not being supported. I find that in cold weather a blanket tied around the waist (even as high as or higher than the navel) provides something to tuck the hands into. In warmer weather a long scarf does the same job without making your legs overheat.
But there’s no question of this posture somehow inhibiting your ability to meditate.
Comment from Sara Alvarez
Time: February 21, 2008, 12:07 pm
Hello:
I began manufacturing a kneeling stool with my husband, that you can see at my web page http://www.kneelingstool.com. The price is $55 plus shipping by mail. It is very comfortable. I been using it and recommend it. The page is in spanish.
Thanks.
Sara
Comment from Matthew Searle
Time: April 7, 2008, 12:35 pm
Hello,
I have just started using a stool which does give me a very upright and secure posture, but when using it, my stomach muscles feel constantly clentched which affects my breathing. Is this indicitive of an incorrect posture or is just due to the fact that i’m not used to sitting in that postition?
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: April 7, 2008, 5:16 pm
Hi Matthew,
Posture is one area where it can be hard to make suggestions online. Without actually seeing your posture I’m left guessing what may be going on, but it does sound as if the stool is not actually providing you adequate support. It may be that the angle of the stool is wrong, and that you’re having to use the abdominal muscles in order to maintain an upright posture. I suppose the question I should ask is, what happens when you stop clenching those muscles? What does the rest of your body (especially your back) do?
Comment from Maria
Time: May 30, 2008, 5:43 pm
Hello,
My husband has graciously agreed to make a meditation stool for me. I thought I had saved a copy of your simple design (linked above), but I can’t find it on my hard drive, and the link above does not work. Would it be possible for you to make the plan available again?
Many thanks, and Namaste.
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: May 30, 2008, 6:21 pm
Hi Maria,
Sorry about that — we’ve made a few changes to the site recently and the link got broken. It’s now fixed however.
In the end I found that particular stool to be a bit small for me, but I’m 6′ tall — it may be that it’s a good height for you.
I must add drafting a new stool plan to my ever-increasing list of things to do!
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Comment from Maria
Time: May 30, 2008, 6:42 pm
Thank you for fixiing the link. I am over 5′10″, so we’ll take that into consideration when my husband makes the stool.
I am grateful.
Comment from Ross
Time: June 28, 2008, 1:55 pm
I am learning a martial art in which we start the class with a Buddhist meditation. It is this kneeling meditaion, however we use no support (no stool, cusions; nothing). Do you think this unwise? Also, I am unsure of the best way to have my feet (sitting directly on my heels, toes pointed backwards; the same but with toes curled under – can’t explain it any better; or heels either side of me). It is perhaps whatever is most comfortable for me, but I would appreciate some insight from you. Thank you.
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: June 28, 2008, 8:00 pm
Hi Ross,
Martial arts are rather outside my field of expertise, but according to this Aikido site one way to sit is with the toes straight back (not curled under) and the big toes crossed. But it appears that traditions vary, so this is really a question for your sensei.
As for whether it’s a good idea to sit this way, I can imagine it could be very uncomfortable to do this for long periods (and even for short periods when you’re not used to it) but it shouldn’t be harmful, especially if you build up gradually. You can expect your knees and the tops of your feet to hurt, and possible the ankles as well, until they get used to the stretch. And your lower legs may well go to sleep. I’d suggest you practice at home on a somewhat softer surface in order to get used to the pressure.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Comment from Kyle Rogers
Time: October 21, 2008, 2:29 pm
found your site through google, and i’m glad i did. I decided to try meditation to help motivate myself into a more disciplined morning ritual (morning as in, when i wake up…. sometimes afternoon)
First off, i found that in the chair attempt my back was sore after 5 minutes. This is prolly because it is a horrible chair, i then decided to try the kneeling position. This is what i came up with for a set-up:
I used a camping insulation mat for on the floor. it’s a thin foam roll out pad. I live in new england and my tile floor gets quite cold in the fall before the heat goes on.
i dont’ own any cushions that would be firm enough to support my slightly heavier than average wieght. however i found that when i took a laundry sack (kinda like a big pillow case) and i put 2 wool blankets 1 pair of jeans 1 pair of khakis and 2 shirts in there it provided exceptional support and allowed my knees to stop hurting.
as for hand support (i’m 6′1”) i put my hoodie on that has one of those large pockets in the front (kinda like a kangaroo pouch) and i found restingmy hands in that to be most comfortable and warm.
this worked much better than i thought it would and as a first timer for meditating….. ever, i do have to say i’m going to do it daily now.
ok now that i shared my newbie experience with you all, question time.
my morning ritual i hope to get going will involve breakfast, workout, meditation, and tai chi. any advise on which order they should go in?
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: October 21, 2008, 2:51 pm
Hi Kyle,
It sounds like you did a really good job of improvising using what was on hand. I admire your ingenuity!
I think you’d probably find that Tai Chi works well before meditation and that a workout is better done after meditation (it’s very stimulating). As for breakfast — maybe that depends on how long your tai chi and meditation are going to take, and how long you can go without eating!
Comment from Tim
Time: November 6, 2008, 3:43 pm
Hi – I broke my ankle a couple of years ago and have had a difficult time finding a good sitting posture since then. Sitting cross-legged on a cushion bends the ankle upwards and is making the break point feel tender and sore throughout the day.
The best position I’ve been able to find is stretching the one leg out in front of me while sitting on a cushion with my back against a wall, but I find I’m not as alert as when I’m supporting my back myself. I was wondering if a bench might be a better solution, but I’m not sure about the pressure it would put on my knees and ankles, particularly during intensive retreats.
Thanks so much for offering your advice here!
Comment from Ed McGuigan
Time: January 31, 2009, 4:20 pm
For any yoga practitioners out there, I found that I am very comfortable kneeling on my yoga mat folded 3-ply ( just long enough to kneel on ) and sitting on two stacked foam yoga blocks.
Just sitting on my heels did get quite uncomfortable but sitting on the blocks I have no discomfort even over 30 minutes. The blocks are arranged “crosswise” so that I can rest both “cheeks” on them.
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