Does anyone sit in a chair?
Does anyone sit in a chair?
I've been sitting in a chair because of knee pain in the cross legged postures. But after a while I get pain in my tailbone because all my weight is on my butt, unlike seiza and cross legged postures where your weight is distributed evenly.
Does anybody know how to avoid this?
Does anybody know how to avoid this?
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I knew someone who had a hard foam rubber padding in form of a wedge. She put it on the chair to sit on it. The effect was that the back has to come into a straight posture naturally.
Some part of the weight is distributed to the thighs and the feet. Her wedge was about 10 cm high ont the big side. It was higher than the ones on these fotos:
http://www.benefind.de/image.php?q=Sitzkeil" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Some part of the weight is distributed to the thighs and the feet. Her wedge was about 10 cm high ont the big side. It was higher than the ones on these fotos:
http://www.benefind.de/image.php?q=Sitzkeil" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
Have you tried sitting on an exercise ball? Sized correctly, you will almost be in a seated position avoiding pressure on your knees. You will also be "forced" to sit in an upright and balanced posture. Finally, the ball is going to have the proper give to minimize pressure on your tail bone. It will also have the added benefit of improving your core strength.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
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Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I sit in a chair. I don't see why it should be a problem. I often have a pillow behind my back however in addition.
"Keep The Gods Out Of It. Swear On Your Heads. Which I Will Take If You Break Your Vow."- Geralt of Rivia
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
Great idea here.Queequeg wrote:Have you tried sitting on an exercise ball? Sized correctly, you will almost be in a seated position avoiding pressure on your knees. You will also be "forced" to sit in an upright and balanced posture. Finally, the ball is going to have the proper give to minimize pressure on your tail bone. It will also have the added benefit of improving your core strength.
Improved core strength will also affect the angle of your pelvis, which may help with the discomfort you experience with your tailbone. And it won't hurt to strengthen your glutes as well.
However, if by "sit" you mean "meditate," then it might present some problems. Part of the point of meditation is stillness. You want to build a stable frame from the ground up. Exercise ball sitting can be a bit wobbly, unless you have very good balance and form. Perhaps brief periods on a cushion or in a chair, with longer periods on the ball?
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I sit in chair. Do you sit at tip of chair? There should be some videos on the tube--maybe one has idea for healthier distribution of weight or some tips.
EDIT I do know of someone who is a serious meditator and I believe has used a chair for some time if I'm correct. See if I can pass your question along.
EDIT I do know of someone who is a serious meditator and I believe has used a chair for some time if I'm correct. See if I can pass your question along.
I should be meditating.
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
Okay here is the response. If you try this post your results for us all. I'm gonna try it also.
"suggest two things.
1. Get a piece of 2x4 and put it under the rear legs of the chair. This will raise the back by about 1.5 inches. The slightly tilted seat makes sitting in a chair much easier on the back and distributes the weight more evenly.
2. Put a thin cushion, dense foam preferably, on the chair. The cushion should be .5 to 1" thick, just enough to take out the hardness of the seat."
"suggest two things.
1. Get a piece of 2x4 and put it under the rear legs of the chair. This will raise the back by about 1.5 inches. The slightly tilted seat makes sitting in a chair much easier on the back and distributes the weight more evenly.
2. Put a thin cushion, dense foam preferably, on the chair. The cushion should be .5 to 1" thick, just enough to take out the hardness of the seat."
I should be meditating.
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
Thanks I'll try that
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I meditate on my sofa. Feels great.
Look at the unfathomable spinelessness of man: all the means he's been given to stay alert he uses, in the end, to ornament his sleep. – Rene Daumal
the modern mind has become so limited and single-visioned that it has lost touch with normal perception - John Michell
the modern mind has become so limited and single-visioned that it has lost touch with normal perception - John Michell
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I have two things to say here:
1. Don't use a Swiss ball unless you are only going for a few minutes. Prolonged exposure (use) may lead to all sorts of issues.
2. Have you (mddrill) tried a kneeling stool?
1. Don't use a Swiss ball unless you are only going for a few minutes. Prolonged exposure (use) may lead to all sorts of issues.
2. Have you (mddrill) tried a kneeling stool?
“Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.”
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
It doesn't matter how you sit. You can meditate anyway you like. it's helpful to be in a position where the body can relax, that's about it.
Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I've been sitting in a chair for about two weeks and I find it extraordinarily challenging, after many years on the floor. It requires completely different muscles to stabilize the body, which can feel distracting and unnatural.
For the time being, I've begun performing our sutra service while seated on a drummer's throne (it swivels). This may sound and look ridiculous, but it works for me given the constraints we have to work with. It's much more workable, at least for me, than a chair.
At home I've been on the sofa like Paul, or using a meditation belt to support myself.
I'm bringing all this up just to suggest that even if your body has limitations, your practice need not be limited.
For the time being, I've begun performing our sutra service while seated on a drummer's throne (it swivels). This may sound and look ridiculous, but it works for me given the constraints we have to work with. It's much more workable, at least for me, than a chair.
At home I've been on the sofa like Paul, or using a meditation belt to support myself.
I'm bringing all this up just to suggest that even if your body has limitations, your practice need not be limited.
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
Try shoving a small zaisu chair into a large beanbag. Good lower back support, and the beanbag as opposed to legs allows for subtle adjustments as needed to alleviate knee stress, hip stress, etc.
- "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.
"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.
- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I've got knee problems so I sit in a chair. I use this thing called a Tilt Seat. Kinda gimmicky and overpriced, but it actually works and that's what matters. It's basically a stool with its seat tilted slightly forward. It makes a huge difference in my experience: less buttocks pain, easier to keep the back straight, able to sit longer, and feels more natural.
You could make one yourself if you're good at that kind of thing.
You could make one yourself if you're good at that kind of thing.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
would you happen to know the angle of the seat? i would be very interested in making my own.Mkoll wrote:I've got knee problems so I sit in a chair. I use this thing called a Tilt Seat. Kinda gimmicky and overpriced, but it actually works and that's what matters. It's basically a stool with its seat tilted slightly forward. It makes a huge difference in my experience: less buttocks pain, easier to keep the back straight, able to sit longer, and feels more natural.
You could make one yourself if you're good at that kind of thing.
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
I don't and I don't know how to do so. If you can tell me how, I will. I'm guessing I'd set the bottom edge of a protractor on the seat and estimate the angle that is parallel to the floor?Nick r wrote:would you happen to know the angle of the seat? i would be very interested in making my own.Mkoll wrote:I've got knee problems so I sit in a chair. I use this thing called a Tilt Seat. Kinda gimmicky and overpriced, but it actually works and that's what matters. It's basically a stool with its seat tilted slightly forward. It makes a huge difference in my experience: less buttocks pain, easier to keep the back straight, able to sit longer, and feels more natural.
You could make one yourself if you're good at that kind of thing.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
yeah. something like that. Don't go too out of your way for lil ol' me. maybe if you measured from the floor to the top of the rear of the seat and measured from the floor the top of the front of the seat?Mkoll wrote:I don't and I don't know how to do so. If you can tell me how, I will. I'm guessing I'd set the bottom edge of a protractor on the seat and estimate the angle that is parallel to the floor?Nick r wrote:would you happen to know the angle of the seat? i would be very interested in making my own.Mkoll wrote:I've got knee problems so I sit in a chair. I use this thing called a Tilt Seat. Kinda gimmicky and overpriced, but it actually works and that's what matters. It's basically a stool with its seat tilted slightly forward. It makes a huge difference in my experience: less buttocks pain, easier to keep the back straight, able to sit longer, and feels more natural.
You could make one yourself if you're good at that kind of thing.
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
Nah, I'm glad to help. That'd be pretty cool if you made one. I'll let you know the measurements later. Just make at least one more post in this thread because I use the "view new posts" function and it will remind me.Nick r wrote:yeah. something like that. Don't go too out of your way for lil ol' me. maybe if you measured from the floor to the top of the rear of the seat and measured from the floor the top of the front of the seat?
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
Hey, I got around to it.
Using the protractor and estimating, it looks like a 5 degree angle. But that might be my partiality for round numbers so I measured the dimensions too.
The dimensions are:
19.5" high from the bottom of the legs to the top edge in front.
21" from the bottom of the legs to the top edge in back.
10" between the very front edge and the very back edge.
That means the slope = rise/run = 1.5/10 = 0.15. Using this slope to angle calculator here, I get an angle of 8.53 degrees. I think I did that right...
I hope that helps but at this point, the surest bet would be to email the manufacturers and ask them directly!
Using the protractor and estimating, it looks like a 5 degree angle. But that might be my partiality for round numbers so I measured the dimensions too.
The dimensions are:
19.5" high from the bottom of the legs to the top edge in front.
21" from the bottom of the legs to the top edge in back.
10" between the very front edge and the very back edge.
That means the slope = rise/run = 1.5/10 = 0.15. Using this slope to angle calculator here, I get an angle of 8.53 degrees. I think I did that right...
I hope that helps but at this point, the surest bet would be to email the manufacturers and ask them directly!
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Re: Does anyone sit in a chair?
One of the most important things in meditation is being able to fully relax your mind and body. For me, this is not as easy when sitting cross legged because I have scoliosis. What happens when I become fully relaxed is I actually fall over to the side due to my spine's curve. So sitting in a chair, or lying down, is the only way I can have the best meditation. The best progress I made in meditation was when I was lying down.
Some people believe that there is some magic in crossing your legs and sitting unsupported, but the proof is in the pudding. Go with what works for you, not what books say.
Some people believe that there is some magic in crossing your legs and sitting unsupported, but the proof is in the pudding. Go with what works for you, not what books say.