work_in_progress Posted October 27, 2009 Hey guys, I was hoping if anyone had any tips for me. My right leg goes numb about 20 min into meditation and it forces me to cut my practice short. I would love to go longer and deeper into meditation but this is a problem that is obviously slowing me down. I sit in a half-lotus position and sit on the carpeted floor of my room. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gendao Posted October 27, 2009 (edited) Hey guys, I was hoping if anyone had any tips for me. My right leg goes numb about 20 min into meditation and it forces me to cut my practice short. I would love to go longer and deeper into meditation but this is a problem that is obviously slowing me down. I sit in a half-lotus position and sit on the carpeted floor of my room. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you!Do this stretch here... There is also a booklet just on how to achieve full lotus, but I haven't read it... Edited October 27, 2009 by vortex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C T Posted October 27, 2009 Hey guys, I was hoping if anyone had any tips for me. My right leg goes numb about 20 min into meditation and it forces me to cut my practice short. I would love to go longer and deeper into meditation but this is a problem that is obviously slowing me down. I sit in a half-lotus position and sit on the carpeted floor of my room. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you! Greetings WIP, Â I see there is no mention of any cushion in use. It might be helpful to sit on one for a start. Â Some stretching before you begin actual sitting could go some distance in helping you to prolong the duration, if that is your aim. Depending on your practice, i would suggest not being too caught up with the length of time you are able to sit. Â You could try sitting with activity, like reading a book, or watching a movie etc. and see if the distraction could help to lengthen the time. If it can, then there are other areas you may want to look into. Â Sometimes this can happen to seasoned *sitters* too, so go with the flow. Any attempt to overdo may stem your practice and energy. Â Hope this helps. Â Have fun! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zhuo Ming-Dao Posted October 27, 2009 (edited) First, make sure that you are not resting your upper leg on your lower ankle. The lower leg should have the foot resting against the upper thigh, not below it. This will cut off circulation pretty quickly. Â Other than that, you just need to power through it and ignore the asleep sensation. A half hour or even a full hour with your leg asleep will not actually hurt anything. If you are not feeling sharp, shooting pains, then just turn your attention back on your breath (or whatever your focus is). Â Eventually, things will become more flexible, meridians will clear, and your legs will just stop falling asleep. It took my legs about seven months of daily zazen (with them falling asleep every day at about the 20 minute mark) before they just stopped falling asleep altogether for me. But if you start squirming at this point, you will miss out on a great experience to build will power and to strengthen your chances at achieving access concentration. Just stay still and breath through it. Â The sensation that your legs are like dead wood is a common one for everyone on this path, even if you are naturally flexible. Â Edit: Good point CowTao, I missed the lack of reference to a zafu. Edited October 27, 2009 by Zhuo Ming-Dao Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
work_in_progress Posted October 27, 2009 Thank you all so much for your insights and input. I def will apply some things you all have reccomended Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
