[Help] Meditation Techniques: Good positions to keep spine straight for beginners?

[Doorman]

I started meditation, and the position I take is usualy just sitting in a little piano bench, but as time pass, I feel uncomfort and back pains.
What are some good positions you guys use for rituals?

 

[HoldAll]

Simply sitting on a cushion on a hard chair without leaning back and touching the backrest. Here is a link to the zazen file, the one in the post no longer works:

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Keeping the spine erect is really important because slumping forward will constrict your breathing. Like I said in the post, you may need to develop the muscles to maintain an upright posture first - I had that problem in the beginning as well and then again when I noticed a slight slump and corrected it not so long ago. So your discomfort is normal and will disappear over time. However, stop as soon as you experience actual pain and avoid overtaxing your body, ten minutes are enough for beginners, I'd say. Some light stretching for the back and shoulders also helps, maybe some purely mental relaxiation exercises as well.

 

[Doorman]

Simply sitting on a cushion on a hard chair without leaning back and touching the backrest. Here is a link to the zazen file, the one in the post no longer works:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Keeping the spine erect is really important because slumping forward will constrict your breathing. Like I said in the post, you may need to develop the muscles to maintain an upright posture first - I had that problem in the beginning as well and then again when I noticed a slight slump and corrected it not so long ago. So your discomfort is normal and will disappear over time. However, stop as soon as you experience actual pain and avoid overtaxing your body, ten minutes are enough for beginners, I'd say. Some light stretching for the back and shoulders also helps, maybe some purely mental relaxiation exercises as well.

Yeah I was siting for 2 hours and was "powering" trough. My body was actuallu feeling tired from it.

 

[sherab]

In addition to what HoldAll said, one thing about sitting for long periods is to learn how to relax and calm the bodies energies. If the posture is set up properly, the bones, structure and gravity do the work rather than the muscles. A piano bench might not give the proper alignments.