A meditation cushion can help with posture, body alignment, and comfort while you sink into meditation.
What Are the Benefits of A Meditation Cushion?
None of us are flat or perfectly curved. When we sit or stand, most of us have stress on certain areas that cause discomfort ranging from slight to extreme. This can happen in the legs, hips, spine, shoulders, or head.
This sort of misalignment-leading-to-discomfort can break one’s meditative state and bring awareness of their pain. A meditation cushion is designed to provide you with something comfortable to sit on while you meditate. In this, a meditation cushion also helps with improving posture while you meditate and supports your body in the best manner anything can.
A Cushion To Help You Meditate in Different Positions
Meditating isn’t just done in traditional full-lotus. There are meditation postures, i.e. half-lotus, kneeling, chair-sitting, lying, and others. Some of these can be difficult to get into. If you have chronic pain or something preventing mobility, it can be frustrating these sorts of limitations.
A meditation cushion is here to help you get into these postures. It can help take stress off and add to the flexibility of ankles, knees, and hips.
We haven’t even discussed the impact it has on your spine yet, either! The spine’s a sensitive region. As we meditate in a sitting position, the spine should be tall and long. The lower back naturally should curve in, the upper back curves out in a gentle way, and the head is relaxed, straight, and supported. This is what achieves the greatest comfort, reducing stress on the spine top-to-bottom.
What’s the Right Meditation Cushion For Me?
There are several types of meditation pillows, varying in shapes, sizes, and colours, and also manufactured of different materials. You ultimately have to choose a meditation cushion that feels right to you.
With any meditation pillow, you want something that’s firm but not uncomfortably so. When we align the body, comfort comes naturally and with that, one can meditate endlessly seemingly without disturbance.
Something else you have to consider is height, size, and weight of the individual. The taller or heavier someone is, the higher the lift will be. The more cushion you have, the more support. Inexperienced people or those who struggle to get further into meditation may find more advantages with a heavier cushion.
If you are someone with a high amount of flexibility and are an average size, a more average-sized meditation pillow is preferred. For these type of people, it’s less about support and more about cushioning the knees, ankles, and parts of the body that need a little extra comfort.
All this aside, if your meditation cushion is new and/or you are just starting meditating, it is beneficial to focus on the body for a short time. Judge a cushion to determine if you notice areas of your body that need additional support. Adjust positions. Try different postures.