Back pain during meditation can be very distracting and difficult to deal with, especially when you are trying to concentrate. However, the truth is – pain, wherever it arises – is a natural part of meditation.
Back pain during meditation can occur due to sitting posture, previous injury, the length of time spent in meditation or as a result of the awareness-enhancing effects of meditation. The majority of the time, it is a direct effect of your meditation, which actively surfaces old pain and discomfort.
The key here is to change the things we can control and accept the things that we can’t. So let’s start with the one we can do something about – our sitting posture.
What’s the Correct Posture for Meditation?
The correct posture for formal seated meditation is any position that keeps your back and neck relatively straight with sufficient comfort to allow you to sit for longer periods. The hips should be elevated slightly above the knees and tilted slightly forward so the back relaxes in an erect posture.
Let’s go over each of these in turn, starting from the foundation.
Legs
The major difference between the main sitting postures is in how the legs are placed.
You do not have to sit in a full lotus or even half lotus position to be able to meditate properly. There are many other positions that work just as well. Depending on which part of the world you grew up in, the hips and legs will have differing levels of flexibility, so you will have to test what works best for your body.
You can sit in the common, western cross-legged seated position, although this usually leads to one experiencing numbness in one leg due to limited circulation, particularly during longer meditation sits. This can always be alleviated by using bolsters and cushions, although it may not be the best long term solution as these may not always be available to you.
A very popular sitting style is the Burmese position, which involves folding the legs under each other as shown below. The advantage of this position is that not that much hip flexibility is required, while it is a very stable long-term meditation posture.
I would recommend this posture for the vast majority of people. However, experiment and find what works best for you. Your legs should be comfortable, with minimal areas where circulation can be cut off during longer sits.
Hips
For meditation posture, in truth, everything starts here. This is the foundation of your sitting position as your hips and sitting bones bear the most weight. If you get this right, everything else will flow and you’ll minimise your back pain during your sits.
Your hips should be elevated at minimum in line with your knees, and preferably slightly above the knees. You can achieve this by sitting on a cushion that’s high enough for your body type. This helps prevent the pelvis from tilting back and putting unnecessary strain on your back. Aim to have your pelvis tilted slightly forward as this will help the spine start as straight as possible while it balances on the hip joint. If the spine starts erect, it will end in its natural position. This will help set up the neck so it comfortably balances the head.
Back
If your hips are properly aligned, your back should be fairly loose and relaxed, and already feel relatively straight. Allow your spine to come directly upwards out of your hips and the rest of the back will follow. If you are still feeling as though your back is not in an ideal position for meditation, try pulling your navel slightly forward. This will help tilt the hips forward.
Let the back rest naturally in this position, as though each vertebrae were resting one on top of the other. A note here that this does not mean you sit completely straight and erect. This is unnatural and will cause too much tension. You also can’t sit like this for extended periods of time. Find your back’s natural curve. The hands can be placed anywhere where you feel your arms are relaxed – this is usually in the lap, with the elbows close by your sides.
Neck and Head
If you get the hips right, with the back fairly relaxed and loose, the neck should sit in its comfortable, natural, slightly curved position, and the head balancing comfortably on top. The head should sit directly above the shoulders.
As a general rule of thumb, your shoulders should be directly above your hips, with the head directly above your shoulders. If you follow this general rule, you’ll be sitting as firmly as you can.
In these modern times, we unfortunately hold a lot of tension in the neck due to extended periods of sitting in front of a screen. If you need to, it helps to give the neck a bit of a stretch – do a few head rotations clockwise, then again anti-clockwise, to loosen the muscles of the neck. You can also pull the crown of your head directly upwards while tucking your chin for a few seconds to reset the posture of the neck. After this, let the neck relax in its natural position.
How Do I Keep My Back Straight While Meditating?
The key to keeping your back straight during meditation is to ensure that your hips are properly aligned and tilted slightly forward. This will allow your back to sit on top of the pelvis with its natural curve, which shouldn’t actually ever be completely straight.
You may have to also engage in some hip loosening exercises to help with this. Sufficiently loose hips will allow you to get the foundation right, leading to a naturally straight back. Unfortunately, our modern lifestyles, filled with long hours sitting at a computer or a screen, have led to significant decreases in the flexibility of our hips. Below are some of the most effective exercises for loosening the hips for meditation.
1. Hip Flexor stretch – Low lunge
Stretches the psoas and the hip flexors. Tightness here is caused by pro-longed sitting on chairs which can pull on the spine and cause bad posture during meditation in addition to lower back pain.
2. Groin Stretch – Folded Butterfly
Stretches the back, adductors, groin and knees to help with hip rotation and hip stabilisation for seated posture. The forward fold also helps release tension in the neck and shoulders.
3. Hip rotator – Pigeon Pose
Stretches the hip flexors, lateral rotators and glutes to help rotate the femur outwards for a more stable base for seated meditation. Also alleviates lower back pain
How Do I Strengthen My Back For Meditation?
The best way to strengthen your back for meditation is simply to keep sitting for longer periods. Your back strength will build over time as this is an exercise in endurance rather than strength. Aim to extend your meditation by 1-2 minutes each time you sit. It will get easier over time.
This may not be what you want to hear, but it is otherwise difficult to use specific exercises to strengthen your back for sitting in meditation (for lengthy meditation sits). A yoga practice can only do so much to strengthen your back for this specific purpose. You can compare it to different types of weight training exercises. When you lift heavy weights, you are strengthening your muscles for exactly this – to lift heavy things. Strength training will not help you much for endurance exercises such as running, cycling or rowing.
The same principle applies to strengthening your back for meditation. Just repetitively do the thing you want to strengthen – and keep pushing yourself. I didn’t say it was easy, but it’s actually quite simple!
Having said this, a consistent yoga practice can still do wonders for your meditation practice.
- It will release tension in the body, especially the back, and prevent unnecessary pain during meditation.
- Most importantly, it will help with postural alignment, which will certainly help you sit longer with minimal discomfort during meditation.
- The stretches mentioned above help to loosen the hips so they form a firm foundation for your back during longer sits.
How Do I Stop Back Pain When Meditating?
The vast majority of back pain can be minimised through correct postural alignment while meditating. The remainder is usually a natural surfacing of inner tension, which will eventually dissipate if observed with curiosity and acceptance.
Correct postural alignment involves ensuring that the knees are level with, or below, the hips, and that the hips are tilted slightly forward so that the spine protrudes straight up from a comfortable and stable base. As we’ve discussed, if this is taken care of, the rest of the body should follow suite. Using a good quality zafu will also help with this.
If you experience back pain during meditation you should also be aware that this is just a natural part of meditation. When we meditate, we become more aware of our internal processes. Tensions naturally come to the surface and usually manifest as pain somewhere on the body. For you, this may be back pain. For others, it may be intense pain in the knees, or an uncomfortable tightening of the chest.
In the end, you must understand that pain is an obstacle that every meditator must go through, and for the most part is something you cannot control. We all have to learn how to observe the pain objectively and see it for what it really is – an impersonal, constantly changing and temporary experience. In doing this, we prevent ourselves from turning pain into suffering. We accept the things we cannot control.
Does Meditation Help With Back Pain?
Meditation has been shown to reduce back pain by more than 30%, improve physical functioning, and reduce general sensitivity to pain. Numerous studies have shown that meditation changes the brain’s perception of pain to the point of even helping with chronic conditions.
Meditation changes our relationship to our pain by teaching us how to observe pain objectively without adding unnecessary suffering to it. Pain is an inevitable part of life. Suffering is not.
Can I Meditate Lying Down?
While it is preferable to meditate in a sitting posture as it maximises a sense of alertness, you can also meditate lying down if it is too painful to sit. However, it is important that this does not become a habit as it is much easier to fall asleep while lying down.
Back Support For Meditation
Sometimes, due to previous injury or chronic issues, we simply cannot meditate in sitting posture without significant pain. This is too distracting to be able to meditate properly or deeply and can’t be addressed through posture or attitude alone. In this case, we must physically support our body with the appropriate props, such as a floor chair.
I have posted some of my favourite cushion, props and bolsters for meditation here.
Stay aware, equanimous and don’t worry – everything is fine, be happy!