If this information is about meditation cushions and seating brands, why are the first few paragraphs about proper posture and equipment options? Simple: When it comes to meditation, the way you sit and relax is going to have more impact on your meditation practice than even the best meditation cushion out there.
While we talk about various options and provide an unbiased best meditation cushion review later in the information below, we want to emphasize the importance of the steps you take to care for your health and well-being first. This means correcting your sitting practice, aligning your spine, taking the pressure off your ankles, knees, or thighs, and choosing the right equipment so you don't get exhausted and drained by the end of your meditating session.
Why Sit Properly for Meditation?
Proper sitting posture can do as much toward achieving a truly peaceful mood as all the postures related to yoga and other workouts combined. It will help you meditate deeply while reducing the discomfort caused due to constant sitting, standing, walking, or doing chores on a busy day. Depending on where you heard, there are different rules about what time of the day works best for meditation - morning, noon, or night. And most of all, where you meditate and how you mediate are equally important as sitting in a lotus position and focusing on your breath.
How to Sit Properly for Meditation?
The next step to meditating peacefully, and painlessly, is to evaluate the placement situation. Will you be sitting directly on a floor? Or on a comfortable couch in the living room? Wood floors are notorious to strain the spine and injure the hip. As a result, what you will be looking forward to is a day filled with body pain, not peace.
The solution is a meditation cushion that will not just support your spine, but reduce the pain, make the torso align more naturally, and help you rest without you having to constantly think about foot cramps and backaches. With the best meditation seat, perfectly-angled meditation backrest seat, or the best inflatable meditation cushion, you won't pull your back or damage your spine. Sitting on a cushion lets deepen the breathing, reduce blood pressure and revitalize the whole body - the very reason why you are meditating in the first place.
How to Use a Meditation Cushion - Proper Sitting Techniques
- Sitting in the Center
While sitting on a cushion, just make sure that you sit in the center so you are not in a tilted forward position or tilted too far back. If your pelvis is tilted, you will fail to achieve a proper alignment of the spine. Here, you need to be concerned about whether your body can sustain the long meditation session without feeling pain. By rocking your body a little while being seated on a round or crescent meditation cushion, you will get a sense of where the right position is located. - Crossing the Legs While Sitting Down
There are plenty of meditation postures that you need to get accustomed to for a pain-free meditating session. For instance, there are many ways to fold your legs, with half-lotus, kneeling, and full-lotus among them. If you have difficulty in performing any of these postures, using a chair to meditate and laying down flat are the best alternatives.
Since it's possible that there is no one choice that can handle all types of body aches, any one of the choices can be more beneficial than the rest. It's all about which posture is more supportive in space and time. If lying down will make you fall asleep, sitting on a meditation cushion with back support will be a good fit. If the ankles are bothering you, using a stool for support will help you to a great extent. - Aligning the Spine
Aligning your spine is just as important. After you have determined the center of your chair or cushion, it's time to balance your body with your spine elongated and rising up. - Relaxing the Shoulders
It's likely that your shoulders are tensed and hunched close to the ears. Relaxing your shoulders will go a long way in relaxing the whole body and activating the heart. - Resting the Hands
The best way to rest your hands while meditating is to bring your palms close to each other and touching in a prayer position. Another way to relax is to rest the hands face-up on your lap. Any hand pose that you learned from yoga can be just as effective as the above hand-resting methods. - Relaxing the Jaw
It's necessary not to bite your teeth or lock your jaw while you are meditating. Instead, let the lips be parted slightly, and jaws relaxed or dropped to a certain extent. This will help you calm your mind and relax more.
Accessories for Meditation
With that being said, we cannot stress enough how important and valuable choosing the right sitting accessories are in creating an atmosphere that is perfect for meditating. With the right equipment comes the benefit of comfort and support. The items outlined below, which is followed by the best meditation cushion review list that also contains details on how to use a meditation cushion, may be sufficient to maintain this desirable atmosphere.
Meditation Cushions and Pillows
Meditation cushions and pillows, also known as zafus, are round, low to the ground, and well-suited for those who prefer to sit cross-legged in the lotus position. These cushions come stuffed with organic materials, such as reedmace seed heads and buckwheat hulls. The materials inside are intended to give the cushions a firm texture to support the spine and pelvis during meditation. Then there are cotton and other material fillings that are soft to touch and feel but less resilient than the former varieties.
Meditation cushions, or zafus, come in all shapes and sizes as well. You can go for the best meditation seat, meditation backrest seat, or opt for the best inflatable meditation cushion. Look for the right fit during purchase, based on your height and body type. A larger cushion would work well if you are taller or need support for your knees and hips.
Meditation Chair
Meditation chairs, just like the cushions, come in handy during meditation and can be a powerful addition to your collection of meditating equipment. There are various types of chairs that help attain a good posture and some of them come with back support and low height to make folding your legs easier and convenient. Depending on your preference, you can choose chairs that are on the ground or off the ground. A meditation chair can just be your thing if cushions and zafus don't work well. However, pay attention to the chair you purchase, by making sure that it fits your height as most chairs are made for people who are no more than 6 feet tall.
Meditation Stool
People with mobility issues can make use of meditation stools to kneel down or get support for their legs and hip. Since the stools stand high off the ground, it is easier to get the spine aligned by tucking the legs underneath or staying with legs elevated above the ground. Meditation stools are also useful for prenatal workouts. They are light-weight, easy to carry around, and come in various colors as well. There are a wide variety of stools available, one of them with v shaped meditation cushion and another one with a crescent meditation cushion and meditation cushion with back support.
Best Meditation Cushion - what are the options?
Best Meditation Cushion #1 - Bean Products Zafu and Zabuton Meditation Cushion
This zafu and zabuton meditation cushion has received huge popularity in the meditation prop industry, not only because it offers more value to your money, but also because it is flexible, durable, and colorful. The zafu-zabuton pair is available in more than 25 colors such as burgundy, green, blue, black, hemp cranberry, Lhassa gold, aqua, periwinkle, and natural. It is also sold in different shapes like oval, round, and square. The product filler is a buckwheat hull and the outer cover is made of sturdy organic cotton.
The Bean Products zafu cushion provides the best support and height for the proper alignment of your hips and spine. The cushion is designed to cover almost all postures to enhance mindfulness and bring in the various benefits the meditation has to offer. This is everything you need for a comfortable sitting position while you are focused on meditation to make your day easier and life better.
Best Meditation Cushion #2 - Sittin Pretty Still Meditation Cushion
Now you can get the most out of a meditation session with the right cushion from Sittin Pretty Still. This particular product is not just comfortable to sit but designed with ergonomy and durability in mind. The five-petal design cushion helps lift you a little more than 5 inches off the ground and gives the most space you need to place your legs and find your inner Zen.
The cushion itself is made of vibrant colors and patterns with durable fabric and strong seams in place. The cushion filler is organic buckwheat, lavender, and rice hulls. The entire design helps you tilt your pelvis to the right angle so you don't feel pressure on your spine or hip. Using this cushion lets you achieve a good posture for meditating and focus on the practice in its entirety.
Best Meditation Cushion #3 - Yoga Outlet Chattra Zafu Cushion
If you are on the lookout for a generously sized tall meditation cushion, Chattra Zafu Cushion from Yoga Outlet is the right choice for you. It provides leg and knee support while showcasing handcrafted creativity and strength. This pillow can also be doubled as a decorative pillow for your couch or added to your ethnic collection.
The Chattra Zafu features a square shape pure cotton fabric, liner zip closure, cover zip closure, handle at sides, tassel and mirror patterns, crafted design, and full line. Being custom-made using hand-block printing techniques, its usage goes beyond meditation, such as shoulder stand and for use with yoga postures.
Best Meditation Pillow/Cushion #4 - Crystal Cove Meditation Cushion
If you want an unquestionably traditional-looking and soft-colored cushion with built-in comfort and durability, Crystal Cove is the way to go. This meditation cushion is the best zafu cushion and most flexible of all cushions out there because it can be easily modified to change the height according to your needs by altering the amount of filling it contains. The mediation cushion is designed to make a huge impact on the knees and ankles by relieving pressure due to constant sitting or tiredness.
Like most other meditation cushions mentioned above, the Crystal Cover cushion has an exterior cover and inner liner that contains the filling, so changing the filling or altering its quantity is a matter of a few seconds. It is also 100 percent vegan-certified and processed in a facility that maintains strict protocols when it comes to using manufacturing equipment, tools, and techniques to separate animal products from plant-based ones.
Hope this helps and happy meditation cushion hunting!
