If you’ve recently started meditating, you’re in for some excellent health benefits. Meditation works wonders on the mind and body. It especially works for those frequently experiencing stress and burnout. Meditation has become pretty prevalent in recent times due to its healing techniques.
However, it isn’t the easiest thing to do as you’ll need to focus. You’ll have to sit in different positions to ensure you’re doing it rightly. You might need a meditation bench, especially if you’re a beginner and find it difficult to kneel for a long time.
What is a meditation bench, you ask? Let’s find out and later get into how to use it.
What Is a Meditation Bench?
A meditation bench is a useful tool for those who find it difficult to kneel for a long time. Many people can’t get their body postures straight, distracting them. This effectively ruins their meditation session. Hence, such people will benefit from something as practical as a meditation bench. Meditation benches have grown quite common amongst beginners.
The bench is small and portable with two short legs. When you’re about to start your session, you need to first kneel with your legs bending backward. After that, slowly place the bench behind you and sit on it. You need to ensure your ankles are flat and the bench sits right above them. You can keep adjusting the bench according to your comfort. Once you’ve settled, you can successfully start meditating.
Choosing the Right Meditation Bench
If you want your meditation to succeed, you’ll have to choose the right meditation bench. If the bench is too high, you’ll automatically have to exert more force on your knees to balance the pressure. Contrastingly, if the bench is too short, your ankles might endure way more pressure than they should. So, please note to try a meditation bench before you purchase one. Failure to do so might lead your meditation to go awry.
One way to experience the same effect a meditation bench allows is to gather up a stack of books and pile them above each other. When you sit on a pile of books, they’ll provide your hips and back with the support you need while you kneel. However, the drawback to using a pile of books is they can lose balance and fall anytime. So, it’s better to stick to a meditation bench.
How to Use a Meditation Bench?
If you’ve never used a meditation bench before, please know that using it will bring your session many benefits. It’s the perfect way to put all your focus into your meditation and not worry about your body posture. If you wish to meditate for longer, placing a meditation bench will be useful. But precisely how do you use one? That’s a fair question if you’ve never used one before.
Let’s not waste any more time and get into it.
Step 1: Place a Cushion Under Your Knees
First, when you sit in a kneeling position, your knees will automatically be under pressure. Since you don’t want your knees to go bad during your first meditation, it’s better to place a soft object under them. This can include a fluffy pillow or a cushion. When your knees simply touch the ground, it might get uncomfortable for you, especially if you plan to meditate for longer.
Step 2: Ensure to Keep Your Ankles Flat
The next step is to ensure your ankles are placed in a flat position. Ideally, your ankles should be straight and flat when bending them backward. Remember: the soles of your feet should point upward. This is possible if you have flexible ankles and don’t find it troublesome. However, if you struggle with flexibility, you can always place an object under your ankles for them to point in the upward direction.
Step 3: Straighten Your Back
If you want your meditation session to succeed, you’ll have to ensure your back is in a straight position. A meditation bench helps you have a straight back. However, you’ll still have to pay attention to it. Please ensure you’re not slouching backward or forward, and your spine isn’t curved too much. Imagine how a thin stick would be placed (in a straight line) and do the same with your back.
Step 4: Relax and Stay Calm
Yes, it’s necessary to have the perfect posture while you meditate (that’s what the meditation bench is for). However, if you obsess about it, you’re going to ruin your focus. Focus is an essential aspect of meditating, and if you lack focus, you won’t get anywhere with your meditation. So, please relax all your muscles and try not to have any stress in your mind and body when you’re about to meditate.
Step 5: Make Adjustments If Needed
If you’ve bought a meditation bench for the first time, it’ll take some time to get used to it. That’s all right; you can take all the time you need to get familiar with it. But please don’t rule it out simply because you find it challenging to use it. Once you get familiar with it, you’ll realize the bench offers numerous benefits to your meditation. You can make any adjustments during your meditation if you feel like it. Do whatever it takes to have an excellent and healthy meditation session.
Our Final Thoughts
Meditation may be common, but it isn’t easy to clear your mind and focus, especially if you’re not used to meditating much. So, if you want to ensure you can focus more, you need to invest in a meditation bench right away. A meditation bench will help you maintain the right body posture throughout your session, eventually increasing your focus levels.
When you frequently use a meditation bench, you’ll become more familiar with the right body posture. The bench is specifically made to help you straighten your back while you stay in a kneeling position. As long as you manage to buy the right meditation bench that suits you, you’ll be able to have an excellent meditation session.
