Meditation Chairs, Meditation Timers: Tools for Relaxation

Over 23 years ago, I had the great opportunity to study Datta Kriya Yoga, a science of breath and meditation, directly from its creator, Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji from Mysore, India. Having the chance to study with a realized meditation master of this caliber was a rare event, especially since I was living in rural Pennsylvania where meeting an enlightened teacher was next to impossible. So during the week long class, I paid close attention to every word spoken. Day after day, I learned about the importance of meditation, of breathing properly and how it could improve my ability to concentrate, sleep and even improve my health. This was serious business, and not to be taken lightly and by the last day of the class, I was very somber in my meditation practice. And then my new master gave me my first correction which I have never forgotten. On that last day of class, I received one of the most important teachings I’ve ever had regarding meditation. He told me to lighten up. “Anyone,” he told us, “who isn’t enjoying their meditation time will not continue to meditate.” He instructed us that neither should we make meditation practice a time where we sat with an overly serious attitude in a stiff posture that made us uncomfortable, nor should we be intent on breathing too deeply, but that our purpose should be to relax and enjoy ourselves. “If you do that,” he assured us, “you will be able to continue your practice for years to come.” If not, well, who wants to sit and be uncomfortable for 20 minutes every day or for even five minutes. That would be torture and no one is likely to continue meditation if they aren’t enjoying it.

So you’ve decided that you want to make meditation a regular part of your daily life. Maybe you’ve even been lucky enough to find a good meditation teacher You’ve bought lots of books to teach you how to do it, you’ve even gotten several good CDs and DVDs that offer some guided meditations. . And you’ve even used them once or twice; but somehow that plan you made to make meditation an integral part of your life hasn’t worked---yet!

One of the biggest reasons that people don’t continue meditating is, well, because it causes them more stress than less. And, sometimes, honestly, they just can’t get comfortable and sit still. My own meditation guru, Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji, gave me wise advice all those years ago. If you aren’t relaxed and you aren’t finding pleasure or peace during that time, you won’t return to do it again. It’s that simple. So as you begin to plan for your meditation practice, it helps to create an environment that is going to support your comfort and your relaxation. Having two simple support tools—a meditation chair and a meditation timer--can make developing an enjoyable daily practice much easier.

First, having a particular space where you meditate is important. Even if it’s just a little corner in your bedroom, that is fine. I began my meditation practice by moving a living room table so I could have a little space to sit. Gradually, I progressed to having a corner in my bedroom, and then to using a closet in an extra room. Just as you have a designated place in your home to eat and sleep, it helps to have a place for which the purpose is to relax and meditate. We are more likely to do that when our minds and bodies are conditioned to understand that relaxation and peace is what happens there.

Secondly, you need to be comfortable in that space and have a place to sit that is just yours and supports you in comfort. In traditional schools of meditation, practitioners have personal asans--meditation cushions that belong to only them. Not only should your meditation seat or cushion belong only to you, it should be used only for meditation practice and not for anything else. Humans have an electromagnetic energy field which can transmit our emotions and feelings into the space and materials around us. Having a cushion or seat that is made of natural fibers like cotton or wool or bamboo which is used only for meditation helps create an environment of relaxation and makes it easier to begin meditation.

As a Datta Kriya Yoga teacher, I hear all sorts of reasons why people can’t sit cross-legged on the floor to meditate. Complaints range from bad knees, bad hips, and bad backs all the way to being too fat. And in reply to all of those complaints I say, “OK, That doesn’t mean you can’t meditate and do it comfortably.” The only real need for good meditation and breath practices is to have a straight spine and neck posture. That can be achieved sitting in a chair, laying down, or in traditional yoga asanas (postures). It doesn’t matter. What does matter is your comfort. For my own meditation practice, I used a large homemade pillowcase filled with about ½ inch of cotton quilt batting. A friend made it for me and it is all that I needed to sit comfortably until a few years ago when I was in an automobile accident and injured my lower back and hip. Suddenly it became impossible to sit for even a few minutes without pain. My chiropractor insisted that I shouldn’t sit without back support. As a yoga instructor, I argued with him that if I started using back support that my muscles would get weaker. I was wrong and he was right. After several weeks of being determined to sit in my traditional method despite my injury I continued to have pain. When I finally agreed to listen to my doctor and get a meditation chair that would give me back support—at least until my injury healed—I began to get better and to be able to meditate once again on my normal schedule.

Choosing the right meditation seat became an adventure, and I ended up with a Rattan meditation chair which I love. Although it was a bit pricey, (prices for meditation seating range from $40 to $500) it allowed me to sit in my traditional cross-legged posture while giving me that little bit of back support my doctor wanted and it made my meditation space more aesthetically pleasing. And after a few months of use, my injury healed and I was able to once again use my homemade cushion, although I still use the chair for one of my two daily sessions. And sometimes, if I don’t want to sit cross-legged at all, I use a dining room chair that I have set aside for meditation purposes.

Many people choose back-jacks for back support and because they are portable. Personally, I find that I lean too far back in that type of chair, but for many they work well. Others use traditional Buddhist Zabutons and Zafus to help them raise their hips a bit for comfort. These meditation cushions are particularly good if your hips are tight and using them can make it easier to sit comfortably without hip pain. For awhile, I used a meditation bench and I found it to be a good way also to avoid hip and back pain. While buying meditation chairs or meditation pillows can seem a bit expensive at first, they are really an investment in your health since they make meditation much easier and more comfortable, making you more likely to meditate more often and begin to reap the rewards.

The second investment to consider making in your meditation practice is buying a meditation timer. Most of us have very busy mornings and need to be at work by a particular time. Every meditation teacher will tell you however that meditating in the morning is the best time for practice. What to do? For many years, I tried faithfully to practice pranayama (breathing exercises) for at least 20 minutes before I left for work each morning. But honestly, for a long time, all I did was open my eyes every few minutes to check the time so I wasn’t late. Not the best way to engage in a stress relieving health practice at all! And then I bought a timer. My first timer was a simple kitchen timer and I hated it. It clicked each second and drove me crazy and so I quickly threw it away. Right idea, wrong timer. Then I discovered little battery operated timers at the Dollar store which worked well for timing meditation, but not for timing pranayama or mudra practice. And they had an annoying little beep when they reached their climax which I found disturbing. So what to do….I began an online search for meditation timers and discovered that there were several different kinds. Again, the initial investment was a bit steep, (prices range from $26 to about $136) but the rewards were great! I ended up being gifted a bamboo Digital Zen Alarm Clock by Now and Zen that I love because it has an interval timer as well as a countdown timer, which means I can set it to chime with a soothing Tibetan bell sound at settings of my choice. For example, if I am practicing mudras, I can set the timer to ring every 5 minutes so I can change my hand positions. For those who do both walking and sitting meditation, this is a great tool because you can easily time your sessions without ever having to look at a clock. The timer, meditation, invisible clock II by Laughing Buddha does the same thing as my beautiful wood timer, but is less expensive, although it isn’t as attractive.

Having the timer has allowed me to go deeper in my meditations and breathing practices because I don’t have the stress of counting breaths, checking the time, or worrying about doing things at a balanced pace. For those just beginning meditation practice and have trouble sitting still, a timer can be a great training tool. No one says that you “must” sit for 20 minutes or longer each day. In fact, if you can begin by just sitting quietly for five minutes, you can begin to see some benefits. And if five minutes seems impossible, you can use the timer to teach yourself to first sit still for two minutes, and then three and then more…it’s a great tool to gradually learn to sit for longer periods of time. Learning to meditate is as much about learning to relax as it is about learning to go inward and you have to start at your own pace. Some worry that using a timer can interfere or disturb practice or condition users to only a particular timeframe. However, I haven’t found that to be the case. In fact, I have been able to gradually teach myself to sit longer using the timer and if I don’t want to listen to it or use it anymore, I can simply press the off button with little disturbance to my practice.

Meditation and breathing exercises are gifts with great rewards that are for all individuals no matter their age, size or physical capability. But unless you are comfortable and can relax as you practice, those benefits will be elusive. Consider creating a special seat in your home that becomes your peaceful place, where at least for a few timed moments you can let go and begin your inward journey to health and self-discovery. It doesn’t matter that you can’t sit cross-legged at all!