Lying down to meditate
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I said earlier “forget about lying down” and it’s serious advice. If you lie down to meditate you’ll more than likely end up having a nice snooze, which may be pleasant but it’s not going to bring about a long-term change in the quality of your life.
However some people have serious back problems — either short- or long-term — and even sitting in a chair isn’t an option. I’ve been in that situation myself because of back pain that surfaces from time to time. By serious problems I mean intense nagging pain that affects your life not just when you’re trying to meditate. If it only affects you when you’re trying to meditate then you probably just need to adjust your posture.
We can learn to work with pain in meditation, but sometimes the pain is overwhelmingly powerful and dominates the mind entirely. And pain is also sometimes a sign that we’re causing damage to the body. So there can be very good reasons for meditating in a supine position.
If you are one of those people with serious back problems then you might well want to try lying down to meditate. You’ll need to have your head resting on something firm and yet padded. A thin cushion on a book can work well, as can a firm foam block. A book without padding will work for short meditations but over longer periods the back of your head will start to hurt. Even if you’re on a carpeted surface you might want to have a folded blanket or some other form of padding between your body and the floor.
The best position for lying down to meditate is the Alexander Semi-Supine position, where your knees are bent and pointing to the ceiling. The feet should be flat on the floor and should be roughly where your knees would be if your legs were straight. If your legs tend to collapse outwards as you relax then you might want to try turning your heels outwards a little, keeping your toes in place.
As mentioned, you’re much more likely to fall asleep if you meditate lying down. This danger becomes even more likely if you keep your focus in the belly while paying attention to the breath, so I’d advise you to pay attention to the breath in the upper chest, throat, head, or in the nostrils. This won’t guarantee that you’ll stay awake but it makes it less likely that you’ll fall asleep.
Comments
Comment from Scott
Time: May 24, 2008, 10:42 pm
I fit into this category of having chronic back pain that prevents me from sitting for very long at all. I try to meditate while laying down, and yes, I do fall asleep usually. I usually have my eyes closed while meditating. Could I try with my eyes open? I think that might make the difference, although I haven’t tried it yet. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: May 25, 2008, 2:27 pm
Hi Scott,
I’m sorry to hear about your back pain. In the past I’ve had to meditate lying down, and in fact several days into an intensive meditation retreat I’m still tempted.
Keeping your eyes open or half-open would undoubtedly make some difference and help you to stay awake. One thing that’s perhaps even more important though is to keep your awareness in the upper body — observing the breathing in the upper chest to head. Paying attention to the breathing any lower than this will tend to lull you into sleep. Oh, I see that’s in the text of this page already, but it won’t hurt to repeat it, I suppose.
One thing that’s not mentioned above is that you can bring some more energy into the practice by using your imagination. For example you can imagine that you’re breathing light in and out of the body.
Also, pay more attention to the in-breath. If you’re counting the breaths, skip the stage of counting the out-breaths and instead could each in-breath, or say “in” as you breath in (without saying “out” as you breathe out).
If you find anything else to be helpful, please share it with us.
Pingback from Grounded « Sister Alma Rose Has the Last Word
Time: October 3, 2008, 11:55 am
[...] is exceedingly important in meditation. Indeed, some forms of meditation are meant to be practiced lying down. But oftimes, when she is engaged in a meditation practice for which it is recommended that the [...]
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