This is episode 2 in my discussion of physical discomfort in seated meditation. In the last episode, I talked about why the seated, motionless posture is valuable even though it can be uncomfortable. Then I discussed how any discomfort we feel has both a physical and psychological aspect, and we should avoid thinking mind and body are separate. In this episode I discuss doing seated meditation with a minimum of discomfort, including tips on spinal position and different kinds of meditation equipment. I try to call attention to specific practices that lead to discomfort or pain, and what the alternatives are. Because it’s rare to be able to meditate entirely without pain, I then talk about when to tolerate pain, and when to adjust your meditation posture instead. Finally, I’ll share some options for you if seated meditation is not possible.
Read/listen to Pain in Meditation Part 1
Quicklinks to Article Content:
Proper Posture
Disclaimer About Injuries
Poor Spinal Posture Due to Lack of Flexibility in Hips or Legs
Back, Shoulder, or Neck Pain Due to Slouching or Tension
Legs Falling Asleep
Knee Pain
Other Kinds of Leg Pain
Shoulder and Upper Back Pain Related to Arm Position
Staying Still/Dealing with Discomfort
When the Pain in Meditation Gets to Be Too Much
Conclusion
Proper Posture
The best way to avoid pain during seated meditation is to sit with proper posture. Of course, that’s not necessarily easy if you didn’t grow up sitting on the floor. Rather than repeat the instructions for the various seated meditation postures, I refer you to my podcast Episode 3 – Zazen (Seated Meditation) Part 1: What Zazen Is and How to Do It. There, I cover spinal position, how to put your legs if you’re seated on cushion, kneeling bench, or chair, and what to do with your arms, hands, eyes, and mouth. The episode page on the Zen Studies Podcast website includes pictures.
I recommend listening to Episode 3, and checking out the web page, before listening to this episode, unless you’re very familiar with the instructions. Sometimes you may notice something in the posture recommendations that you’ve forgotten, or that strike you in a new way, and this may help alleviate some of your discomfort in meditation. Frankly, all of us benefit from hearing the instructions over and over; if you visit Zen temples or monasteries in Japan, often the first thing they’ll do is take you into the Zendo and teach you how to sit, as if you’ve never done it before. There’s something sweet and useful about that.
From here on out I’m going to assume you’re familiar with what I shared in Episode 3, and I’ll just talk about the physical challenges people typically face when doing seated meditation. As in the last episode, I’ll use the terms “seated meditation” and “zazen” interchangeably; “zazen” is specifically seated Zen meditation, but what I discuss is relevant to any kind of seated meditation.
Disclaimer About Injuries
One disclaimer before I begin: If you are living with the results of past injuries or current health conditions, consider your own circumstances before following any of my instructions. I give them assuming you are more or less physically fit and healthy – that you aren’t living with a physical disability or extreme pain. Of course, you might be! If you are, chances are good you’ve learned what works for you and what doesn’t. There is no reason to risk exacerbating pain, further injuring yourself, or enduring extreme discomfort in order to maintain some particular meditation posture. I’ll be discussing alternatives for you at the end of this episode. Generally speaking, if you have any serious back, hip, knee, or ankle issues, you should plan on sitting in a chair, or at the most a kneeling (seiza) bench, rather than cross-legged on the floor.
Poor Spinal Posture Due to Lack of Flexibility in Hips or Legs
As I mention in Episode 3, the most important aspect of seated meditation is sitting so your spine is extended and upright, but not rigid. I’ll say more about this in a bit, but first I want to make the point that your spinal posture is closely related to the position of your legs while you’re sitting. The problem here is that many of us lack enough flexibility in our hips and legs – at least at first – to sit properly on a meditation cushion on the floor. It’s very common for people to come to my Zendo for the first time and sit down on a cushion, determined to meditate the proper way, but they find themselves terribly uncomfortable as their knees stick up in the air.
In order to maintain proper spinal posture without a lot of muscular effort, our pelvis needs to be in a neutral position – and that’s a position where our knees are at least somewhat lower than the bottom of our hip bones. You can find your own neutral pelvis position if, while sitting, you rotate the pelvis backwards and forwards in smaller and smaller movements. A neutral position is right in between the place of slouching slightly (the lower back is pushed out, the upper back is slightly rounded), and the place of hypertextension (the lower back is actively pushed forward and the back muscles are tensed). If you sit down cross-legged and your knees pop up in the air because of your lack of flexibility, your pelvis will want to slip into the slouching position. In order to stay sitting upright, you’re going to have to use a lot of muscular effort, which will tire you out and make you restless and uncomfortable.
Ideally, if you’re seated on the floor, your butt should be elevated on a cushion, and your knees should be resting on the floor. This position allows you to maintain proper spinal posture with very little effort. (I’ll talk about leg positions shortly.) If even one knee is an inch or so off the floor, other parts of you will need to do more work in order to maintain your upright spine.
What can you do if your knees don’t touch the floor in a cross-legged meditation posture? One thing you shouldn’t do is push your knees down! Your knees are very delicate and only bend in one plane (you shouldn’t twist them or bend them to the side). What you can do instead is put something under any knee that doesn’t reach the floor, like a folded towel or a small support cushion (do this on both sides if you need to). This will let your leg, hip, and spine relax more, and the allow the leg to support your overall posture. Over time, you may find that your hips and legs loosen up and you’ll be able to use less and less cushioning, or dispense with the cushions altogether.
Sitting on the floor on a cushion is nice posture for many reasons, so you may want to patiently work up to it by using support cushions. One of the other things you can try is sitting on different kinds of meditation cushions (if you’re lucky enough to have access to them). The height of your cushion makes a big difference here; you may need more height so your hips end up higher relative to your knees, or you may surprise yourself and find that a lower cushion makes things easier. Note that sitting on a cushion specifically made for meditating is extremely valuable; they tend to be much firmer than the various kinds of pillows and cushions you have around the house, and you’ll have to stack up quite a few blankets to reach the same loft they offer. But if you only have blankets, try those, sitting right on the edge or the corner of a small pile.
If your lack of hip and leg flexibility makes it very difficult to sit cross-legged (if your knees end up more than a few inches off the floor), it’s probably best to try a kneeling bench or a chair (I describe how to sit like this in Episode 3). It’s more important to have proper spinal posture than it is to sit cross-legged on the floor.
Back, Shoulder, or Neck Pain Due to Slouching or Tension
Before I move on to more about leg positions, I want to continue for a moment with our discussion of the spine.
Much of the discomfort in zazen is due either to slouching or to slight hyperextension of the back and associated muscle tension. For the most part, people aren’t aware of the problems with their spinal posture because the problems are usually fairly slight – but if you sit with a slight slouch or hyperextension for 20 or 30 minutes straight, you’re going to feel it! Less-than-ideal spinal posture can result in back pain (lower, middle, upper, there’s no limit), shoulder pain, and neck pain. Such pain can range anywhere from extreme to a minor level of discomfort that just makes you want to fidget.
To help address pain, it’s useful to bring mindfulness to your spinal posture. Rather than constantly making little adjustments to alleviate discomfort, stay still and bring your awareness to the entire posture of your upper body. Ideally, you allow the body to tell you what an upright and balanced posture feels like, instead of holding some kind of idea about it and then forcing your body to do that.
Start by taking a deep breath, letting air fill your lungs and fully expand your chest and back. Let your spine feel long, extended, and energized. Then slowly let the air out of your lungs without shrinking your posture. Do this several times, and whenever you recognize you’re either slouching or hyperextending your back. Try adding a progressive relaxation of your back muscles as you exhale. Ideally, you are not using your outer back muscles to maintain your posture during seated meditation! Instead, you can be held upright using your core muscles, which are perfectly capable of doing this for an extended time without getting tired or strained. Note that you should also not hold yourself upright by tensing your outer abdominal muscles, which usually causes tension in the lower back as well. Think of your strength and stability as coming from the spine itself.
Upper back and shoulder pain can be particularly annoying during seated meditation. I’ll talk more about the position of your arms in a bit, but slouching or spinal hyperextension can contribute to this kind of discomfort. Correct slouching by working on your overall spinal posture in ways already described. Slight hyperextension, on the other hand, can mean you’re putting tension in your shoulders in order to push them back slightly, and/or tension in your upper back to pull your shoulder blades together. This tension can cause pain even if it’s very slight. It helps to take a deep breath as described above and try to relax the shoulders as you exhale. Try to let them hang naturally. If it seems like they are too far forward – like you’re slouching slightly – make the correction to your spinal posture using your core muscles, not your shoulder muscles.
Sometimes neck pain is due to either slouching or hyperextension of the neck, which is, of course, part of your spine. For most of us, the tendency is to let the neck shrink down, which means our chin juts out a little. While this may feel relaxed, after a prolonged period it’s liable to cause discomfort. Ideally the neck feels like an extension of the spine, which you can imagine is suspended from the ceiling from a spot on the top of your head. Your chin ends up tucked somewhat. At the same time, you don’t want to make this position rigid or extreme; it should feel natural as opposed to willful, which is when you hyperextend the neck using your muscles.
Legs Falling Asleep
In Episode 3 I describe in detail the various positions you can use for your legs, whether you are sitting on the floor, on a kneeling bench, or in a chair. Here I’ll focus on physical challenges that arise with your legs in meditation.
I’ve already talked about how to work on increasing your leg and hip flexibility by using support cushions and experimenting with the height of your cushion. Another issue people often encounter is having their legs fall asleep while doing seated meditation on the floor. Whether you’re sitting on a cushion or a kneeling bench, the advice for this is the same. First, make sure you’re wearing loose fitting clothing. Jeans are generally a bad idea, unless maybe you’re sitting in a chair. Even if the jeans aren’t too tight, the thick material can bunch up behind you knees and cut of blood flow.
Second, make sure you’re sitting far enough forward on the cushion or bench. Your “sit” bones – the two boney projections on the bottom of your pelvis, on which you sit – should be toward the very front edge of whatever you’re sitting on. When this is the case, there won’t be anything pressing hard against the back of your upper thighs. When there is something pressing against the back of your upper thighs, it can press on nerves or restrict blood flow to your legs and cause them to fall asleep. An amazing option you might want to consider is sitting an air zafu, or cushion. You can order these online from Great Vow Zen Monastery/Zen Works, and they consist of a partially-inflated, rugged rubber ball inside a nice fabric shell. You can reach in and adjust the amount of air inside so the cushion ends up just the right height for you, and while an air zafu takes some getting used to, it can be like sitting on a cloud.
There may be other reasons your legs fall asleep, and if you’ve already tried sitting further forward on your cushion or bench, you may simply need to experiment with slight changes in your meditation position, such as sitting on a higher or lower bench, or positioning your legs differently in the cross-legged position. You might also just want to give it some time if you’ve just begun doing seated meditation, as the body can get used to it and the problem may just go away. Be careful when getting up from meditation, though – stretch out your legs and take your time, or you may stand up and fall over.
Knee Pain
Pain in your knees while sitting in meditation is cause for concern, unless it is fairly minor and always goes away as soon as you stand up. Knees are very delicate, and unlike some parts of our body, it’s easy to force them into positions that aren’t good for them. Here’s a good way to take care of your knees if you want to sit in a cross-legged position on the floor: Remember your knees bend in a plane. Imagine two boards strapped to the sides of your leg, forcing the knee to bend perfectly straight, in a plane, as opposed to it twisting to either side. After you’ve sat down to meditate, first bend your knees in such a manner, and then move your legs into the cross-legged position, one at a time, by rotating the position of the entire leg at the hip. Avoid putting your knees on the floor first and then grabbing your feet and twisting your legs into position. If you can’t assume the cross-legged posture that you’re aiming for while treating your knees gently, your limitation is with hip flexibility, not with your knees. Work up to the posture you want by using support cushions as I described earlier.
Pain in your knees if you’re sitting on a kneeling bench is trickier, because sitting like this inevitably puts pressure on your knees. You might try sitting with your knees further apart, or use a bench of a different height, or straddle a firm meditation cushion instead of using a bench. Also make sure you’re sitting on a nice soft surface of some kind – a thick meditation mat, such as those sold online, or several layers of blankets.
Other Kinds of Leg Pain
Other kinds of leg discomfort are probably relatively rare when you’re sitting on a kneeling bench or chair, but what about the cross-legged posture? In the last episode I talked about why doing seated meditation is valuable even though it often causes discomfort, and it’s worth experimenting with the classic cross-legged posture even if it’s challenging at first. This posture engages the whole body in an active way, and energetically it feels integrated because of the way the limbs are folded toward the center of the body, and the hands essentially end up touching the feet. The cross-legged posture can help you stay alert and give you a sense of groundedness. If you want to build up to it, experiment at home. Sit for a little longer than feels comfortable, then move to a bench or chair, and gradually build up tolerance. That said, sitting with an upright spine and not moving is far more important that sitting cross-legged, so feel free to simply use a kneeling bench or chair instead.
Okay – if you are going to try sitting cross-legged, what are some tips for doing so with a minimum of discomfort? Definitely refer to my Episode 3 and try out the different ways to position your legs. Avoid the default “cross-legged” posture most westerners assume when told to sit that way, with one foot tucked under a thigh, and the other tucked under a calf. If anyone other than a child sits like this for an extended period, the foot tucked under a calf will fall asleep from the pressure. This position also doesn’t tilt your pelvis far enough forward to let you sit upright without considerable muscular effort. (I have a picture of this don’t-do-it position in Episode 3).
As far as assuming the Burmese, quarter, or half lotus positions (see Episode 3), it’s extremely rare for someone new to seated meditation to have the flexibility to take these postures perfectly right off the bat without discomfort. Experiment with them. Generally speaking, Burmese is easiest to start with, but not necessarily. It really depends on your body. I actually find quarter lotus more comfortable, because Burmese stresses my hips and back a little. Don’t worry too much about hip or general leg muscle discomfort as you experiment (unless you have an injury!), as these parts of your body can gain flexibility with time. Do worry about knee and ankle pain, as these joints can be easily strained and there’s no value in doing so. Be generous with support cushions – folded up towels, or little pillows, which can be inserted under knees or wedged under ankles to let you relax into the seated position with a minimum of pain. You may end up needing these less over time as your body gets used to the cross-legged position.
The height and type of cushion you are sitting on cross-legged makes a big difference in terms of how your leg position feels. The cushion is there to give you some loft relative to your legs, which makes it easier to hold a neutral pelvic position and thereby a nice, upright but relaxed spinal posture. Depending on your size and the length of your legs, you may only need a couple inches of loft, or you may like 6 inches, or anything in between. If you have access to a meditation hall with lots of cushions, try different ones out. At home, try adding layers under your cushion, or taking some of the stuffing out of it. Cushions filled with buckwheat hulls are fairly adjustable as-is, and if they’re too hard for you to sit on directly you can get a piece of foam to put on top. As I mentioned earlier, an air zafu is completely adjustable in terms of height.
Shoulder and Upper Back Pain Related to Arm Position
Sometimes pain in the shoulders and upper back is caused by the position of your arms. As described in Episode 3, the classic hand position is the cosmic mudra, in which the hands are held together in your lap. If you can sit cross-legged and are flexible, your wrists rest on your thighs and the hands might even be able to rest on your feet. Especially if you’re sitting on a kneeling bench, though, there may not be much for your cosmic mudra to rest on. This will require muscles in your upper arms, shoulders, or upper back to help hold your hands up and this may lead to discomfort.
One solution to shoulder and upper back pain caused by your arm position is – once again – to use support cushions. You can place something on your lap on which to rest your hands, which will allow your arms and shoulders to relax. You may also try becoming conscious of tension in your shoulders and upper back, deliberately tensing up even further, and then gently relaxing any unnecessary tension. Ideally the strength of your posture comes from your core muscles, which keep your spine upright, and the shoulders hang naturally.
Although the cosmic mudra is nice for a number of reasons, you can also vary the position of your hands in order to alleviate shoulder and upper back pain. Try your hands gently clasped in your lap, palms down, or place the hands on your thighs or knees, palms up or down. Ideally the position of your hands should be deliberate as opposed to casual or careless, in order to keep the whole body engaged in seated meditation.
Staying Still/Dealing with Discomfort
When adjusting your seated meditation posture to alleviate discomfort, remember what I talked about in the last episode: Some discomfort is inevitable – not just in meditation, but in life in general. The practice is to get comfortable enough to stay completely still. Ideally, we don’t move unless we really need to. We don’t itch our nose, or stop to take a drink from our water bottle, or stretch, etc.
Remember the guideline of the stoplight when deciding when to adjust your posture. Green is little or no discomfort. No problem. Yellow is moderate discomfort that goes away when you get up from meditation, and it’s best just to sit through this. The kinds of adjustments to posture I’ve been discussing so far are, for the most part, things you do between meditation periods, not during them. They’re about a longer-term approach to making your meditation more comfortable, as opposed to recommendations to fidget during sitting, or get distracted thinking about the other ways you could sit more comfortably. At some point we just need to settle in and stop fighting discomfort.
That said, the stoplight can go to red, which is more severe pain, and particularly pain which lasts after you get up from meditation. The red zone should be avoided and requires you to try some of the options I’ve mentioned so far. If none of the options work for you – if you still experience lots of pain during seated meditation – definitely sit in a chair instead. I describe different chair postures in Episode 3.
Here’s a very important reminder: We each do our own practice. We’re not looking around the meditation hall at others, thinking, “Oh look, she’s fidgeting,” or “Did you notice he sits in a chair?” Ideally, we don’t compare ourselves to others or dwell on our inadequacy. At the same time, it’s good to challenge ourselves, push our edges a little, and face some of our fears about our physical safety and well-being. It can be very empowering to do so and still be okay.
When the Pain in Meditation Gets to Be Too Much
What about when/if physical pain in seated meditation gets to be too much? You’ll be happy to know there are actually four classical meditation postures: Sitting, standing, walking, and lying down. If you meditate in-person with others your options for using these other postures will usually be limited, but you’re encouraged to try them at home.
The first alternative to sitting is standing meditation. This can get uncomfortable too, for other kinds of reasons! But it’s a good option – remain at your meditation spot, feet shoulder-width apart. Tuck your hips a little so your spine ends up in the proper position. Clasp your hands gently in front of you (the classic position is to hold them over your abdomen), or, if necessary, let the arms hang down at your sides in a lively way (ideally with a little space between your arms and your body). At my Zen center, this is an acceptable position to take during meditation periods when we sit together in the Zendo; you can stand up at any time, although ideally you then remain standing for the rest of the meditation period to avoid disturbing others with lots of up and down movements.
Walking meditation is another great option. In Zen we call this kinhin, which is a very slow style of walking meditation where we take a very small step with each exhalation. We move our feet only about a half-a-foot-length with each step. In the Zendo we do kinhin between periods of seated meditation. At home, it’s good to choose two points and do your walking meditation in between them, to minimize distractions and decisions. This kind of meditation allows you keep the body moving and alleviates many kinds of discomfort, while also keeping things very simple and quiet. I enjoy making kinhin a non-stop movement timed with my breathing: As I inhale, I start shifting my weight off my back foot and on to my front foot; only at the point where breathing pauses between inhalation and exhalation do I slowly lift the back foot and set it down very slowly in front; I exhale into the earth as I shift my weight gradually on to the front foot, and then the whole cycle starts again.
If your pain is extreme and it’s difficult even to sit in a chair or do standing or walking meditation, there is the lying down posture. Of course, lying down makes it much more challenging to stay alert and awake. However, if this is your only option, you can learn to do this very effectively. It helps to take a very deliberate posture. The classical reclining posture – you’ll see statues and paintings of the Buddha in this posture, which he took as he was dying – is lying on your right side with your arm tucked under your head. Your left leg is on top of your right, and your left arm is on top of your body. Of course, this classical posture may not be comfortable for you, depending on the cause of your pain. You can adapt it, using a pillow, or bending your legs, or placing your left hand on the floor. If you need to lay on your back, the challenge of staying alert will be greater, but it can help, again, to take a position that is formal and deliberate. One neat thing to try is placing something like a meditation cushion on your chest, and then pressing your hands very gently on each side of it. Anything you can do that requires some mindfulness and physical engagement can help you stay alert.
Conclusion
For most people, it is possible to learn to do seated meditation in a way that avoids undue amounts of pain. Some discomfort is expected and learning to sit through it is a very valuable practice. If you find yourself unable to do seated meditation because of pain, illness – or other issues, such as past trauma – try not to conclude that the Dharma is out of reach for you. Standing, walking, and reclining meditation are also possible. In addition, there are other kinds of meditative activities you can incorporate into your life. One of these is a formal Japanese Buddhist tradition of tracing the sutras, where you place very thin paper over Buddhist texts written in kanji (Japanese and Chinese characters) and focus on the simple activity of tracing the words. You are invited to use your creativity and find ways to tap into the value and joy of meditation however you are able.
