How to Sit for Meditation from May All Be Happy on Vimeo. We also have a Youtube Meditation and Yoga Channel.

Sitting Comfortably

You may have seen various meditation postures, poses like full lotus, which looks very uncomfortable. And if you’re not very flexible this can be a problem. Throw out everything you’ve seen or heard. The first thing to consider is finding a meditation posture that is comfortable and allows you to sit for an extended period of meditation without becoming distracted by the discomfort of sitting. So this may mean doing one of the formal meditatation postures I discuss in the video, but it may also mean using one of the alternatives I discuss a little later in this article.

Remember, it’s all about your experience–so find the most comfortable position to sit for meditation, and use that. And don’t be afraid to share your discoveries with us in a comment below.

Using a Meditation Cushion

There are lots of reason to use a meditation cushion when sitting for meditation. The most important is comfort. There’s nothing worse than having your feet fall asleep during meditation. Using a meditation cushion will raise your hips up, let your knees drop down, and improve the blood flow to your feet when used properly. I show two kinds of cushions in the video above: a rectangular cushion and a butterfly cushion. While both are good, I enjoy the butterfly cushion. But I recommend trying different kinds of cushions out and seeing which is best for your body based on your own experience.

Sitting on a Wool Blanket

From my own experience, sitting on a wool meditation blanket harnesses the power of your meditation, accumulating the meditation energy over time, and assisting your ability to enter meditation easily. This is a well-known legend in Yogic meditation circles, and I highly recommend getting one. While you may purchase such meditation blankets, my wife crocheted mine for a fraction of the cost.

Meditation Postures

The meditation postures I discuss in the video are easy pose, siddhasana, half lotus, and full lotus.The video does a good job of demonstrating each of these, so take a look at it.

Alternatives to Sitting for Meditation

There are a many alternatives to sitting for meditation. You may consider sitting in a comfortable chair or even a lazy-boy recliner. Another alternative is to lay down on the floor or even in bed. Just make sure you don’t fall asleep.

And whatever position you choose for meditation, make ample use of pillows and blankets to support your body’s comfort in meditation.

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Another important benefit of meditation he describes is faith. Newburg is quoted as saying: “faith is equivalent with hope, optimism and the belief that a positive future awaits us. Faith can also be defined as the ability to trust our beliefs, even when we have no proof that such beliefs are accurate or true.”

Read the full article here

A meditation timer allows you to keep yourself focused on your meditation, and not on how much time is passed or whether or not you’re going to be late for work.

Free Meditation Timers

Use one of these free meditation timers to help you keep track of time. Just click once to activate the button next to the amount of time you wish to meditate and click the play button.

Purchase Your Meditation Timer

If you’d like a physical meditation timer for your meditation space, take a look at these the Zen Alarm Clock.

It features a countdown timer that’s great for meditation practice. The chime it makes is a lot less disturbing than say, an egg timer. The chime starts very softly and works its way up to a louder chime until you turn it off.

Below are seven essential practices for cultivating sacredness in your enviroment.

1. Set an Intention – Manifest your intention by setting aside a particular space for meditation. Whether its an entire room, or the corner of a room, you must have a space that is dedicated solely to your practice of meditation. That area should only be used for the purpose of meditating. Special Note:If you are using a small portion of a room, you may find it helpful to block off that area with a folding screen when you are not meditating.

2. Remove Clutter – Remove all clutter from the space you are cultivating. Anything that is not a part of your meditation practice should be stored somewhere else.

3. Bow to Your Heart – When you enter the room, bow your head and place your right hand on your heart. Take a deep breath in and inwardly offer your gratitude to this space for its support in your meditation.

4. Bow in the Four Directions – If kneeling is not a hardship, kneel on the floor and bow your head so it touches the floor. If you must remain standing, keep your hand on your heart and bow your head gently. As you bow, acknowledge that God is in this direction. Bow in the four directions and to the Earth and to the Sky. Each time you bow, do so with the recognition that God is here.

5. Bow to Your Meditation Seat – Let your head come to rest on your meditation seat, either the chair or cushion, or if you have an asana, bow your head to gently touch that. As you bow to your meditation seat, do so with the inner awareness, God is here too.

6. Bow Inwardly – After you have bowed in the four directions, to the Earth, the Sky, and your meditation seat, sit on your meditation chair or cushion and take a comfortable seated posture. Gently bow your head and offer your gratitude inwardly, into the space of your heart in the center of your chest. Do this with the awareness that God is here too.

7. Practice Restraint – When you are finished meditating, do not allow yourself or others to talk excessively in the sacred space you have cultivated. Neither should you allow degrading thoughts or actions to weaken the energy of the space. Be aware of your intention to create this sacred space and be mindful of your speech while in that space, as well as your thoughts and especially your actions. Special Note: If you are using a portion of the room, try to section that part of the room off, usually with a folding screen in order to preserve the integrity of the space, even though the rest of the room may be used for other purposes.

Creating sacred space requires time and devotion. As you practice the methods I’ve shared with you, you will discover that creating sacred space is not just an outward practice, but an inner one as well. In this way, creating sacred space leads us into a deeper experience of love by opening new pathways into the heart. Please contact me with questions or comments.

So you can see, the items that are used to establish a meditation altar can be quite varied. Creating your own meditation altar is quite easy. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.

7 Tips for Creating Your Meditation Altar

1. Your meditation altar can be set up in any room. If you are creating a meditation space, I suggest establishing it there. Otherwise, choose a place where you would like to be reminded about your good intentions and goals. Many people establsh an altar near their front door, as a blessing for those who enter the house.2. Use an existing piece of furniture, like a short bookcase, a filing cabinet, or a small table. Or purchse something nice that is either free standing or you can attach to the wall.

3. Use a nice, colorful cloth to drape over the piece of furniture you’ve chosen for your altar.

4. Place items that are meaningful to you on your altar–items that represent your intentions and goals for meditation. These might include:

a. Candles b. Incense c. Pictures d. Sacred texts e. Personal objects f. Decorative objects

5. Once you’ve established your altar, invoke the blessings of saints and sages of your tradition. Ask that they instill power into your altar for the highest purpose and support of your personal growth.

6. Practice ritual at your altar. This might be pausing in front of your altar when you pass it, and allowing your thoughts to turn toward meditation, God or a positive intention you’ve set for yourself. Or you might wave a candle, burn incense, or any other ritual you feel comfortable with.

7. Clean and dust your meditation altar often.

Is Creating a Meditation Space something we do on the outside…or is it something that takes place within us?

Think about it while you look over this guide.



This is a picture of my meditation space. It includes a blanket beneath my meditation cushion, my meditation cushion, a wool asana over the cushion, my meditation shawl, a plant to bring positive energy into the room (and naturally purify the air), and my meditation altar (not shown).

Below are some suggestions to help you create your own meditation space.

Practical Steps to Creating a Meditation Space

• First, there is no right or wrong way to create a meditation space. The key is: experiment. If it works for you, continue it. If it detracts from your meditation, change it.• Establish a space that’s separate from other activities. Use your meditation space exclusively for meditation. If this is not possible, close off the portion of the room you use for your meditation with a room divider or free standing screen like those seen below.

• Be a minimalist – a cluttered meditation space is a sign of a cluttered mind. Try to eliminate anything that’s distracting, especially clutter.

• Maintain silence. Try not to speak too much in your meditation room. You may be tempted to blow this off, but I’ve found that maintaining silence has a powerful effect on your meditations.

• Your Meditation Space is Sacred. If some place like a church or cathedral can be holy, your meditation space can too. Invoke blessings for your new meditation space. Create a ritual out of this. I did this by chanting the Guru Gita, an anxient Indian text, with the intention of blessing my new meditation space. Then I asked for blessings from all the saints and sages of my tradition to instill the space with their beneficent energy, to support my meditation practice and help me to experience the Truth.

• Create a meditation altar. An altar is a focal point for all your relics and objects that invoke a sense of longing for God and an experience of the truth. For more on this, see my Guide to Creating a Meditation Altar.

This story illustrates how meditation and contemplation work to manifest spiritual healing…

I was talking with my friend S. recently. A week previously, we had discussed some concerns she had about some health issues she was experiencing. She confided in me, “I know I should meditate, I’ve just gotten away from it.”

I shared a few things with her, and told her to go practice. A week later, she’s sharing her experience with me, and it just blows me away! Not only has she been practicing the techniques, but her experience is far beyond what I imagined was possible in such a short time. Sharing her experience with me expanded my understanding of the limitless possibilities of spiritual healing and created a profound opening in my heart. So I asked her if I could share it with you, so you can have a tangible experience of how this stuff really works. She agreed.

S. had come into the realization that she was more aggresive and defensive than she wanted to be. She really wanted to change, but didn’t know quite how to do it. So she spent a week meditating, with this issue in the back of her mind. What were the connections? How could she soften her personality, so she could experience more joy?As she meditated, no insights came to her. But one night, she dreamt of many of the children who had bullied her as a young child–threatening to strangle her or stab her with a knife. You might imagine how traumatic those types of experiences would be for a child. These memories came back to her, and of course, she couldn’t sleep. So she arose in the middle of the night and began journaling about her experience, writing down all her thoughts, memories and emotions. When she got to the end of her journaling, something clicked inside. She suddenly understood the connections between her defensiveness and agression and her current life challenges.

Her father had always told her to let those kids do what they wanted and don’t fight back. This could have been powerful advice, but it wasn’t. The children continued to torment her until she stood up for herself and fought back. She had learned at an early age what was necessary for her survival–defensiveness and aggression are powerful allies!

Of course, now she recognized that the response from her childhood, while helpful when she was a child, was not helpful as an adult. In fact, it was creating some negative patterns and stifling the joy of her relationships.

But now, she recognized the connection, and she was able to simply let go of her defensiveness. The next day, she confided that she had the most wonderful day with her husband. “I was able to let go of my defensiveness,” she said. “And things that ordinarily would have triggered me, I just laughed off.” In fact, that light humor helped her feel joyful again, like when she was first married. What a beautiful thing to experience! But it doesn’t stop there…

She also made the connection between her defensiveness and her addiction to cigarettes. “The cigarettes were a way to deny my humanity,” she told me with tears in her eyes. “I just suddenly realized that I am a part of humanity. It sounds simple, but the moment I realized that I am worthy of being a human being, cigarettes lost their power.” So she was able to give them up.

It’s important to recognize that it wasn’t just one meditation that manifested spiritual healing. In fact, the meditation was just a catalyst. Through her own readiness for change and her ability to contemplate the issues and open to the grace of understanding, S. was able to move through some challenging issues. This is the power of meditation and contemplation, and everyone has access to it.If you’ve already begun meditating, I hope this story empowers you to continue. If you haven’t started yet, I hope it encourages you to start your practice today. May you experience spiritual healing in your life. May your practice of meditation open you to the experience of the divine healing power within you.

“For God is Love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him,” 1 John 4:16

Christian Meditation has several practices that help to still the mind. All are centered on developing a deep love for God and connecting with God through His son Jesus Christ.

As Pope John Paul II said:

“Christ is the supreme Teacher, the revealer and the one revealed. It is not just a question of learning what he taught but of “learning him.” From the divine standpoint, the Spirit is the interior teacher who leads us to the full truth of Christ,” (see Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13).

The clarity of this statement reveals the deep understanding that Pope John Paul II held of Christ and his deep connection to the Spirit. How does an ordinary person access this same type of understanding? How does one develop a relationship with the ‘interior teacher?’

As Pope John Paul II noted, there is a demand in this age for meditation. Yet many Christians are limited in their knowledge of the Christian contemplative tradition. Yet that tradition exists for those who seek it. Outlined below are some primary examples of Christian meditation practices to develop your relationship with God.

Study of the Scripture

The study of scripture is an indispensable method for Christian Meditation. The Bible mentions meditation and meditate 20 times. Joshua 1:8 says:”Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

The Bible, as the Word of God, should be read and meditated upon daily. Begin your practice by dedicating yourself to reading the Bible daily. Even if it’s just 10 minutes, devote yourself to reading God’s word every day.

After you have dedicated yourself to reading the Bible daily, take some of that time where you were reading, and dedicate it to meditating on the scriptures. To do this, read a passage of the bible. Then close your eyes, and focus on the verse or verses you just read. Continue to repeat the verses to yourself from memory and allow those words to permeate your entire being. Imagine the words going into you, and filling you. By meditating in this way, you will retain the Word of God within you. Many pious followers of Christ have reported that they have experienced profound and mystical revelations after meditating on the scriptures in this way.

Thomas Keating wrote an excellent article called Prayful Reading of the Bible which I encourage you to read. You may also want to read a sermon by Preacher Charles Spurgeon about Meditating on the Scriptures which I also feel is worthwhile.

Christian Meditation using the Rosary

Praying the rosary is an excellent way to lift the burdens of the mind. By wrapping your mind in the repetition of the rosary, you surrender life’s burdens to Christ. In the words of Pope John Paul II:”To pray the rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and his Mother. It is natural to bring to this encounter with the sacred humanity of the Redeemer all the problems, anxieties, labors and endeavors which go to make up our lives. “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you,” (Ps 55:23).

To begin this practice, purchase a rosary. Having a physical rosary will help root you in this practice.

For step-by-step instructions on how to recite the rosary, click here. If you’d like illustrated instructions, please click here. As you recite the rosary, meditate on the significant events of Christ’s life. For a full explanation of each of the mysteries of the rosary, click on these links: The Joyful Mysteries, The Sorrowful Mysteries, The Glorious Mysteries, Luminous Mysteries.

Pope John Paul II wrote an inspirational message about meditating on the Rosary in his Apostolic Letter on the Rosary. By allowing your mind and spirit to become suffused in the life and teachings of Christ, you open yourself to a greater experience of God’s presence in your life and God’s love within your heart. May this Christian Meditation practice support you in your life.

Contemplative Prayer

While meditating on the Word of God and meditating on the life of Christ through the repetition of the Rosary are powerful forms of Christian Meditation, they are also very active methods of prayer. Contemplative prayer, also called centering prayer, on the otherhand, is non-active.Contemplative prayer emphasizes a personal relationship with God. By remaining receptive to receiving God’s grace, one opens to the experience of God’s presence and God’s love.

To practice Christian Meditation in the form of contemplative prayer, start by sitting comfortably. Refrain from verbal or mental repetition of prayer, and focus on preparing yourself inwardly to receive God’s presence and guidance within you. Use a sacred word as a symbol of your intention to consent to God’s action and presence within. Introduce the sacred word within yourself. If your mind wanders, return your attention to the sacred word. Rest in silence for a few minutes before you end your meditation session.

This contemplative prayer is drawn from the practices of the Christian contemplative tradition, namely, the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. Three Trappist monks, Fr. William Meninger, Fr. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating at the Trappist Abbey, St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts are attributed with distilling this method of contemplative prayer into a simple and easy to follow method.

They recommend two, 20-minute contemplative prayer sessions daily. And if you’re wondering what sacred word to use, you may choose your own, or use Lord, Jesus, Christ, Abba, Father, Mother, Peace, Love, or any other word that you feel represents your consent to God’s action and presence within.

For more detailed information on this form of Christian Meditation, click here.

I hope you receive many great and wonderful experiences of God within through your continual efforts with these Christian Meditation practices, and through God’s benevolent grace.

I am honored if you would like to share your experiences or insights by contacting me. May the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. May you be supported in your efforts of Christian Meditation.

Ultimately, the great meditation masters tell us that there is nothing to be attained–we are already perfect, we just have to realize that Truth. However, until we become firmly established in that Truth, meditation is necessary. By creating a meditation practice, you’re setting a powerful intention that sustains and supports your practice. There is power in ritual, and this should not be ignored. Use this guide to create your personal practice which will strengthen your spiritual practices and deepen your meditation.

Simple Tips for Creating Your Meditation Practice

1. Choose a time that you consistently practice your meditation. Many people espouse that the early morning is the best time to do this. But the best time for you is simply whatever time works the best. Try to set it up so you’re not likely to be interrupted during this time. Shut off your phones and close yourself away from the world, even if it’s just for 5 minutes.

2. Choose a quiet space. It’s difficult enough to concentrate; removing all the other distractions, like noises, is an essential element when you’re first building your practice. Eventually, you’ll be able include disturbance like lawn mowers and barking dogs into your practice. But for starters, keep it simple, keep it quiet.

3. Be consistent in your practice. I like this one, because I was never good at it. For instance, I was great at cramming for tests. I’d be up the night before, studying for hours–and I’d ace the test. Unfortunately, meditation isn’t like that. You’ll receive little or no benefit from meditating once a week for a long stretch of time. You’re better off practicing just 5 minutes every day, rather than trying to do a cram session. It just doesn’t work.

4. Whatever happens when you sit to meditate is meditation. This one gets a lot of people, because they have a preconceived notion of what meditation is and isn’t. However, my teacher has always taught that whatever happens when you sit with the intention to meditate, is meditation. So whether or not you perceive something beneficial happening or not, trust that you are making progress. Some of my greatest revelations have come immediately following a period of time when I ‘thought’ nothing was happening. Then suddenly, the skies part and you’re hit with a profound realization or ecstatic experience.

5. Be aware of resistance. The times you don’t want to meditate are the most important times to meditate. With this in mind, notice when you are resistant to meditation, and make a real effort to go and just sit. You don’t have to worry about how well you do. You might just sit feeling resistant, or angry or irritated. That’s really okay. Just the fact that you sat for meditation strengthens your commitment and helps you create a consistent meditation practice.

6. Invoke the Saints and Sages of Your Tradition. Many great and powerful Knowers of the Truth have come before us. Their love and compassion for us can still be felt today. Great beings have shared their teachings and those teachings are alive in the many great religions of the world. Invoke the support of your spiritual teachers, and the saints and men and women of God in your tradition. Their support can be a beacon of light in both good times and bad.

7. Establish a meditation room or area. Having a sacred space where meditation is the only thing you do can really help in creating a meditation practice. The energy of your meditation remains in your meditation room or area, undisturbed, and makes it easier to go into meditation each time you enter that sacred space. My meditation teacher has a room where he meditated and the room is left very dark and no one is allowed to speak. Even though he is no longer in his body, when people enter the room, they find it very easy to fall into a deep state of meditation.

For more information on creating a meditation space, click here.

8. Create a meditation altar. Don’t confuse this with idol worship. I’m sure if you have kids, or know someone with kids, and you’ve been in their room, you’ve seen pictures hanging on the wall of Michael Jordan or Britney Spears. Those pictures aren’t idols, they just represent an ideal. In the same way, you can create a meditation altar that contains symbols of your devotion to God and your practice of meditation. You might place a picture of a holy person, a candle, the Bible, the Qur’an, a rosary, the Shiva lingam, or any other object that has spiritual value to you on your altar, to remind you of what it is you value, and what it is you are aspiring toward.

For more information on creating a meditation altar, click here.

9. Wear special meditation clothing or accessories. Practitioners of Chi Kung believe that wearing the same clothing for each session, without washing the clothing, is very important. Other meditators swear that sitting on a sheep’s wool asana is beneficial. I have a special meditation shawl that I wrap myself in when I meditate and a rudraksha mala I wear on certain occasions. All of these things can provide a powerful focus for you to easily go into meditation. My personal belief is that these symbols have as much power as we lend to them. So if you find it easier to meditate if you’re wearing the same clothes every time, why not do it? Regardless of whether it’s really building up the meditation energy in those clothes or not, it really doesn’t matter. If it helps, do it.

10. Get comfortable. If you can’t sit in full lotus for more than 10 seconds without your legs cramping, then don’t do it. I known a meditation teacher who confessed that sitting cross-legged on the floor really messes with her knees, so she invested in a Lazy Boy recliner and meditates in it…complete with several fluffy cushions and a nice padded headrest. Hey, whatever works to help you in creating a meditation practice, right? The point is, if you’re going to be meditating for more than a few minutes, you might as well be comfy…so invest in a meditation cushion or chair. Or just get yourself a Lazy Boy recliner.

I hope this gives you some very clear and specific tips for creating a meditation practice.I’d love to hear from you and about what’s helped you in creating your meditation practice.  Contact me.