Your arms weigh a lot. If your hands are not supported, then your shoulders have to carry all of that weight. That means either that your shoulders and back will tense to bear the weight of your arms, or your shoulder muscles will be overstretched. Either way it’s going to be uncomfortable.
Make sure your hands are supported.
This will allow your shoulders to roll back further and be more relaxed. If you’re sitting in a chair, you can usually rest your hands on your thighs, but some people with long backs may need something to support the hands. If you’re kneeling, using cushions or a stool, then you may need to have some substantial support for your hands. In this case another meditation cushion, or perhaps a sweater or blanket tied round the waist, can be used.
If you feel knots of tension gathering between your shoulder-blades while sitting, this usually means that you need to have your hands supported higher. The knots are forming because your back is making an effort to stop the weight of your arms from pulling your trunk forwards.
Depending on factors like the relative length of your back and arms and your muscular flexibility, you may have to have your hands supported as high as just above the navel. To achieve this it’s usually necessary to have a blanket tied around the waist.
If you live in a climate where it gets hot then a blanket around the legs may not be practical (it certainly isn’t in a New England summer, although I’ve used many a blanket on Scottish “summer” retreats) then a scarf tied around the waist may be a more acceptable alternative. Make the knot behind you, keeping the scarf snug, but not so tight that it constricts your breathing. And then slip your hands between the scarf and your belly, preferably with your hands in dhyana mudra. If your hands feel a bit crushed then loosen the scarf a little.
This is a very comfortable position in which to rest the hands. It also acts as a “meditation effort meter.” When you’re slacking off in meditation and your mind is daydreaming, you’ll find that the thumbs drift apart. On the other hand, when you’re straining (which often happens unconsciously) the thumbs will be pressed together, making a small “mountain.”
So if you keep monitoring what’s going on in your thumb-tips it will help you to become more aware of whether you’re making too much or too little effort — of just the right amount.
When your meditation is going well and you’re alert but relaxed (i.e. you’re making just the right amount of effort in a relaxed and sensitive way) the thumbs are lightly touching.
Often people find that as they start to relax in meditation they begin to have pleasant sensations in the hands, and in the tips of the thumbs in particular. It can feel as if a mild current of energy is flowing between the thumbs in a very enjoyable way. This is normal. It’s nothing to worry about (people worry about all kinds of things, even pleasurable ones). In fact it’s a good sign because this only happens when you’re beginning to relax and when the mind is calming down significantly.
At that same time it’s nothing to get excited about. It’s not a sign that you’re enlightened and although it is an indication that your practice could go deeper, getting excited will actually stop that from happening. Telling you this probably won’t stop over-excitement happening in your practice — you’ll have to learn by experience — but it may help you to catch yourself sooner and just relax into the meditation practice when this sort of phenomenon happens.
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Thank you Bodhipaksa. I Googled 'hand rest for meditation' and found your blog. The scarf trick is an elegant solution. I kneel on a stool and had been using a pile of cushions but it was still too low I think as I get a lot of neck and shoulder tension.
Yes, a pile of cushions doesn't really give much support when you're kneeling. Improvising with a sweater works well, too.
I love your art, by the way — the still lives in particular. It's very vibrant.
Thank you!
Hi! Thank you so much for sharing, I find it amazing that you wrote this so long ago and people (me included now) still benefit today from your good action of the past. Ive been meditating for a year now and I could say I was feeling a lot of progress in so many ways. However I noticed my hands and arms were in an unusual position, I used to just place my hands on my thighs, pretty much halfway of the thigh or a bit closer to the knees, palms down while sitting in half lotus. But then I got told briefly by a teacher that I should place my hands/arms in Dhyana Mudra, not the way I had them. Now I have so many doubts regarding posture because after some time I still haven't found a proper way in which I feel comfortable in Dhyana Mudra. My hands keep falling down, I place them on my lap but they keep falling down like towards the "hole" which builds between my legs. What is the purpose of posture? would you recommend me to continue my path with the previous posture I had? Even though it was not Dhyana Mudra I was able to sustain long sessions of meditation without a physical issue and also felt like I was truly going "deeper" into meditation. Or perhaps I should just keep finding my Dhyana Mudra ideal position? to be honest I was trying to avoid the use of more "props" like the scarf you recommend, because I would like to one day be able to just meditate no matter my situation, example for some reason im lost in a forest, I dont have anything with me, to be able to still meditate there as I usually do (as opposed to being unable to do it because I did not had my scarf with me). Is there something you could recommend to me based on all of this doubts :D? Thanks!
Hi, Andres.
I think revolving your meditation practice around "what if some day I have to meditate in a forest with no equipment" isn't particularly helpful. I imagine you don't apply this to other areas in your life, such as eating (only eat raw food with your bare hands) or sleeping (sleep on the floor with no blankets). Life is hard enough. As long as you have the equipment handy, use it in order to create a sustainably comfortable and upright posture. And if you happen not to have a scarf you can improvise. I sometimes tie the arms of a sweater behind my back, and nest my hands on my lap, between the sweater and my belly.
What is currently happening is that the hindrance of doubt is creating a story designed to stop you from meditating. It's good to recognize those stories, see them for what they are, and decide not to buy into them.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Thank you very much! your comment was very helpful to seeing it with a different and more helpful perspective. Regarding the hands, not taking into consideration what I said before about the forest, do you think its ok if I practice with my hands in my thighs? even using equipment, I find it more comfortable to place my hands in my thighs near my knees.
thanks again!
I'm glad what I said was helpful.
As far as having your hands on your thighs goes, you'll just have to see what works. I do recommend trying out dhyana mudra, though. There's something very grounding and integrating about it.
Dhyana Mudra - Can I please ask if women and men both have the right hand on the left? Are women supposed to have the left hand on the right, contrary to men?
It's possible that in some corner of the Buddhist world things are done that way, but if so I've never heard of it, and I think it would be an unhelpful thing — suggesting some fundamental different between men and women that doesn't actually exist.
I personally find this have position very uncomfortable. I have sensory issues and the sensation of my thumb tips touching is like nails down a chalkboard for me. I much prefer just resting my hands on my knees or loosely in my lap or just one hand on top of the other like above but without the fingers touching. Then my obsessive side kicks in and I worry I'm not mediating properly because I'm not doing the proper mudra 🥴