Technique
Meditation posture
The least glamorous page on this site and probably the most useful. Most "I can't meditate" turns out to be "my leg hurt and I blamed my mind".
The one rule
Your hips must be higher than your knees. That's it. Every other instruction is a refinement of that relationship.
Here's why it matters mechanically. When your knees sit above your hips — which is what happens if you cross your legs on a flat floor without a cushion — your pelvis is pulled backwards. A backward-tilted pelvis flattens the lumbar curve. A flat lower back means the whole spine has to be held up by muscle instead of stacked by structure. Twenty minutes of that is genuinely painful for anybody, and no amount of concentration fixes it.
Raise the hips two or three inches and the pelvis tips slightly forward. The lumbar curve returns. The spine stacks. Sitting stops being work.
Four ways to sit, all of them fine
| Position | What you need | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Chair — the most underrated | Front third of the seat, both feet flat, no leaning back. A folded towel under the sit bones if the seat slopes backwards. | Sinking into the backrest. Once you lean, the spine collapses. |
| Cushion, cross-legged | A firm zafu or two folded blankets, 12–18 cm high. Knees should reach the floor or be supported. | A soft cushion that compresses to nothing. Floating knees pull on the hips. |
| Kneeling bench (seiza) | A sloped bench, 17–20 cm. Excellent for tight hips. | Ankle pressure — a folded blanket under the shins solves it. |
| Lying down | Knees bent or a bolster underneath. Legitimate for body scan and for anyone in pain. | Sleep. That's fine for a bedtime practice, less useful at 7am. |
The rest, from the ground up
- Feet or knees: firmly supported, nothing hanging.
- Pelvis: tipped very slightly forward. If you're unsure, rock gently front to back and stop in the middle of the range.
- Hands: resting on the thighs or in the lap. If your arms hang, your shoulders pull forward — put a cushion under your hands.
- Shoulders: lift once, roll back, drop. Don't hold them there.
- Chin: a fraction down. The head weighs about five kilos; every centimetre forward multiplies what your neck carries.
- Eyes: closed, or half-open resting on the floor a metre ahead. If closing them makes you sleepy or uneasy, open them — it's allowed.
Pain: what to do
- Sharp, or pins and needles — move now. This is a nerve or blood supply issue and there is nothing noble about sitting through it.
- Dull ache that builds — usually a height problem. Raise the seat 2 cm and try again tomorrow.
- Restlessness that isn't pain — that one you can sit with. It's the practice.
Moving mid-session is not failure. Notice the urge, wait three breaths, then move deliberately and carry on.
Related
- The meditation garden — seat height outdoors, and what to sit on.
- Walking meditation — if sitting simply doesn't suit your body today.
- Learn to meditate — the free 5-day course.