Sitting meditation isn’t for you.
There. I said it.
Now, before you start losing your inner peace by getting angry with me, let me be absolutely clear: I don’t hate sitting meditation.
Actually, it’s because I have so much respect for this art that I can’t keep my big mouth shut any longer.
These days, sitting meditation is very popular. It’s not uncommon to see health-related websites casually recommend that you should practice sitting meditation for 30-60 minutes a day.
And this is madness. Here’s why.
1. You Don’t Have A Teacher
You need a teacher — one that is alive, one that you see regularly, and one who knows your name.
There is no substitute. Books and videos can teach you ABOUT sitting meditation, but they cannot teach you the art of meditation.
I’m constantly amazed at how little respect some people have for the art of meditation in general. Of course, they say they respect it, but their actions speak differently. Many people treat it like some sort of beauty tip that they learned out of a magazine.
Learning face-to-face is important for all energy arts, including qigong, tai chi, and yoga — but it’s especially important with sitting meditation. The heart-to-heart transmission, the teacher’s guidance, the hands-on correction — these things are absolutely crucial in sitting meditation.
If you are serious about learning the art of sitting meditation, then go find a teacher.
2. You’re Too Weak
When the Great Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Zen, arrived at the Shaolin Monastery in 527 AD, he found that the monks were too weak — mentally, physically, and emotionally — for the intensity of sitting meditation.
So he taught them exercises like Lifting the Sky and the 18 Luohan Hands to get them stronger. It worked like a charm. Those monks became some of the best meditators in history.
Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” – Buddha
If you’re sick, if you’re in pain, if you are weak — then you probably aren’t ready for sitting meditation.
People are often surprised by this because sitting meditation looks so easy. This shows a shallow understanding of sitting meditation.
If you don’t associate the word “intensity” with “sitting meditation”, then you don’t really know what sitting meditation is.
I follow Bodhidharma’s approach. To cultivate a healthy mind, you must also cultivate a healthy body (and vice versa). Spiritual cultivation is a noble goal, and one that I myself am committed to. But I don’t just cultivate the spirit and neglect my body. That wasn’t what Bodhidharma taught. If you want to cultivate the spirit, then you must also cultivate the body.
3. It’s Too Advanced
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You sit down to meditate, close your eyes, and soon you are able to enjoy the bliss of a clear and tranquil mind.
For 1.7 seconds.
Then the internal dialogue starts. It probably goes something like this:
“Ahh. Tranquility…I should meditate more often…so many things I should do…wait, did I forget to pay that bill? I wonder if they’ll charge me a late fee…ugh, I hate that…How much do I spend on late fees every year?…How many starving children could I feed with that money?…I’m hungry…”
Before you know it, 10 minutes have gone by. Maybe you clear your mind and once again enjoy 1.7 seconds of tranquility, but then maybe you become aware of an itch on your nose. Then the itch becomes the center of your universe.
You wonder if it’s more Zen to scratch the itch, or suffer through it. You take note to Google that later.
This goes on for 20 minutes, and people call it meditation. It’s not.
Sitting meditation is an advanced technique. Jumping straight to sitting meditation is like jumping straight to a triathlon. If you haven’t exercised in years (or ever), then maybe you shouldn’t start with the most difficult endurance exercise on the planet? And if you have no experience with meditation, then maybe you shouldn’t start with the most difficult and advanced form on the planet?
4. It’s Too Still
When you hear the word “meditation,” do you automatically think about a person sitting cross-legged on the floor?
Did you know that sitting meditation is just one of many forms of meditation? And did you know that moving meditation, like Lifting The Sky, is much, much better for beginners?
When you meditate in motion, the physical movement helps to anchor you against the tumultuous waves of thought. In the Chinese tradition, they call this “using one thought to dispel a thousand thoughts”. In the case of an exercise like Lifting the Sky, the “one thought” is the exercise itself, which incorporates both flowing movements and gentle breathing.
Instead of wrestling with thoughts, the mind clears itself effortlessly. Thoughts still creep in, but it’s easy to let them go as you continue enjoying Lifting the Sky.
If you compare the two methods — Lifting the Sky vs. Sitting Meditation — one of them is the clear winner for beginners. With Lifting the Sky, students are able to spend the majority of the session meditating. Meanwhile, with sitting meditation, students spend most of the session thinking. In other words, one student is meditating for most of the time, with minor interruptions of thinking, while the other student is thinking most of the time, with minor interruptions of meditation. Big difference.
Add the tremendous health benefits of practicing Lifting the Sky to the equation, and the answer is clear. Lifting the Sky is a better choice.
5. It’s Hurting You
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who have hurt themselves with sitting meditation. If you think I’m joking, if you think that something like sitting meditation couldn’t possibly cause harm — then why are you practicing it in the first place?
If it’s not powerful, then why bother?
It’s a powerful technique — the most powerful technique I know.
To put this in perspective, the most basic techniques that I teach are capable of reversing pain and illness that even the world’s best hospitals sometimes can’t reverse. If the basic techniques are this powerful, then what are the advanced ones like?
Powerful techniques must be done correctly. And you must be well prepared before trying them. Most people haven’t done enough prep work to practice sitting meditation
If you still have pain, if you have any type of illness, if you take any kind of medication — then you are still dealing with energy blockages. To prepare for sitting meditation, you need to clear those blockages. Qigong and Tai Chi are excellent ways to do this. Acupuncture is another excellent choice.
If you skip the preparatory phase and go straight to advanced techniques like sitting meditation, then you’re likely to hurt yourself. Your back pain will gradually get worse and worse, or you’ll find that you are getting more and more angry. These are warning signs that you need to practicing the preparatory exercises instead of sitting meditation.
Meditators can be incredibly stubborn. They insist that sitting meditation is good for them in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Some even argue that pain is a natural part of meditation. To me, this is madness.
Over the years, I’ve managed to convince many meditators to take a break from sitting meditation and focus on moving meditation. In every single case, the student was amazed at how quickly their problems disappeared. And once their problems disappeared, they were able to practice sitting meditation on a much deeper level.
6. You’re In Pain
Did you know that you should be 90% pain free before attempting sitting meditation? If you are not 90% pain free, then you will likely aggravate your pain with sitting meditation rather than relieve it. Meanwhile, Qigong is an effective way to get yourself out of pain.
What about using sitting meditation to heal the pain?
That’s like using a knife to hunt deer. In theory, it can work, but it requires a ton of skill. And of course, if you are skillful enough to kill a deer with a knife, then you can do it much more efficiently with a crossbow or a gun.
Sitting meditation is not designed to heal pain. Qigong is. Use the right tool for the job. Then, once you’re pain free, you can use sitting meditation for its intended purpose of spiritual cultivation.
7. You’re Not Getting Results
After meditating daily for years, many people are no happier or healthier than before. In fact, many of them are worse! For some reason, they continue to meditate despite the fact that they aren’t getting any results.
Sitting meditation is powerful, so it should bring powerful results, right? The results should be obvious not just to you, but everyone around you.
Look at the results that Qigong students get. Is that what you’ve experienced? Is that what your classmates are doing? Would you like to experience results like that?
Be honest with yourself. Are you tracking your progress? Are you getting results? If not, then change something. The sooner you change, the sooner you can start getting the results that you deserve.
Solutions
Unless you have a teacher, my best advice is for you to stop practicing sitting meditation. By “have a teacher”, I mean that you have a living, breathing teacher who you see in the flesh at least once a year (and preferably more often).
If your so-called “teacher” doesn’t know your name, if you can’t get hands-on instruction from him or her, then you don’t have a teacher. Sorry.
If you don’t have a teacher, then I recommend that you replace sitting meditation with the best Qigong exercise in the world: Lifting the Sky. You can learn it here for free. Try this for 30 days, and see what happens. I think that, even after only 30 days, you’ll see a big difference.
You can also experiment with standing zen. Use my free audio lesson as a guide. Do that every day for 30 days, and I’m confident that you’ll get better results than you were getting with sitting meditation.
But if you really want to get results, then you must find a good teacher. Is there a book by a meditation master that really resonates with you? Then what are you waiting for? Go get instruction from that person! That’s what I did. After reading my teacher’s books, I flew halfway around the world to go learn from him. You can do it too!
Drop me a comment below if you have questions. Or if you haven’t already gotten your free stuff, then make sure to grab them here. From the heart, Sifu Anthony
Before I came to Shaolin Wahnam, I was very interested in learning sitting meditation, and even books written by monks (!) nowadays state that you can learn sitting meditation from their books. Leaving aside the mind aspect of meditation, some of these books recommended downright frightening methods of increasing hip flexibility to assume the lotus position. Yikes…
Any chance of a meditation class in our future?
Barbara, I currently offer 13 meditation classes per week. Or did you mean sitting meditation? 😉
Yes, we will do some sitting meditation in the new year.
Ah ha, that’s the question I was going to ask. 🙂
Sifu, I don’t want to learn sitting meditation. I sit 8 hours a day at my desk and long for moving meditation at the end of the day. If I’m in class the day you teach it, can I do something else?
BJ
I hear you, BJ! And yes, don’t worry. I won’t make you sit. 🙂
I totally agree. Sitting meditation is one of the hardest things to do. Poor posture, constant interrupting thoughts, lack of focus can actually make one feel irritated and painful.
Just curious what meditation is to you Anthony? If your sitting and watching/learning about the waves of your mind, even if thoughts are coming and going how isnt that meditation?
Hi “funboy”. Meditation, to me, is any practice that purifies or clears the mind. I’m not sure if I understand the rest of your comment, but I think you’re referring to styles of meditation like MBSR that focus on observing thoughts or even discomfort in the body. In that case, if the practitioner is successfully making the mind clearer, then they are successfully meditating. But if they are not successfully clearing the mind, then they might benefit from a different form of meditation, especially moving meditation.
Did I answer your question? Also, I prefer having conversations with real people, so a real name would be great!
I agree that if you have muscular imbalances, poor posture etc. then sitting in one place for a long time may generally not be the best thing for your problems.
However, the student teacher dynamic is a very zen based tradition not all meditation traditions require this. Everyone I have met that practices regular sitting meditation reports benefits from it. There is also a huge volume of scientific literature showing the benefits of sitting meditation in novices and masters.
I don’t know how you could claim that sitting meditation is detrimental to people. Everyone would benefit from 10 minutes of meditation a day.
You may be right in saying that sitting is not the best form to start with, but any form of meditation has great benefits.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for the input. In your comment, you said:
“I don’t know how you could claim that sitting meditation is detrimental to people. Everyone would benefit from 10 minutes of meditation a day.”
My claim is based on my experience teaching thousands of students, and interacting with thousands more. It’s true that lots of people benefit from sitting meditation, but it’s absolutely not true that everyone will benefit from it. I’ve seen dozens and dozens of cases where sitting meditation was actually harmful. Here’s an excerpt from an email I received this week. I receive emails like this all the time.
“I’ve tried sitting meditation before but, it was really uncomfortable. Honestly, it made my anxiety worse. But when I learned Lifting The Sky from you, it was totally different. Maybe because of the movement or the breathing, I don’t know, but it was very meditative and afterward I felt better than ever!”
If sitting meditation works for you and your friends, great! But that’s not a very big data set to draw your conclusions from. It’s not wise to make sweeping conclusions based on such limited experience.
Zenfully yours,
Sifu Anthony
I see a great value in your teachings, but I see them as relaxation techniques. I believe that they are very powerful to healing physically and emotionally many people as you say. But I think you shouldn’t confuse people by calling it Zen, this is very different from what most Zen masters teach. Some Zen masters say that if you practice to feel better then you should better try some drugs because this isn’t the purpose of practicing Zen, feeling better it’s more like a side effect.
Hi Mariusz. Thanks for the kind words.
Regarding the word “Zen”, it means “meditation”. It can also refer to a particular school of Buddhism. I use the term “Flowing Zen” because it accurately describes what we do, which is a form of flowing meditation.
You might also be interested to know that our lineage traces back to the founder of Zen, Bodhidharma. You can read more about this here:
http://flowingzen.com/1555/the-man-who-made-shaolin/
No one can tech you who you are, masters are not zen.
Hi “the stick”. I assume that you meant “teach”. And I agree. Ultimately, we are all responsible for realizing the true nature of existence.
But having a good teacher certainly helps.
My son has been practicing Zen meditation for the past 6 months including staying in a Japanese monastery for 2 months.After returning home his mental health quickly deteriorated. He now has been diagnosed with psychosis by different mental health professionals. He sometimes does not believe that he has mental health issues, other times he does. His behaviour is unusual. Sometimes he is hyped up, other times the opposite. He constantly loses things and his short term memory is shot. He also now practices strange behaviour, in public spaces and lacks motivation and direction.
He stubbornly believes that the sitting meditation is beneficial to his mental health. I believe that it is compounding problems that may have been there before he started the meditation. His mental health has declined markedly since he started sitting meditation. I believe that the intensity of the meditation has sent him over the edge. Any discussion with him that perhaps the Zen meditation is causing more problems for him than solving. is seen as a personal sleight. I believe that his daily practice of meditation for 2 hours continues to add fuel to the fire.
How does one convince someone with psychosis, compounded by practicing sitting meditation, that what they are doing is doing more harm than good to their personal health? What is it about zen meditation that can compound these mental health problems? What advice would you give him, particularly in relation to continuing to practice sitting meditation, whilst his mental problems also continue?
Hi James. I’m really sorry to hear about your son. I may be wrong, but it sounds like your son probably had a pre-existing mental health issue that is being exacerbated by Zen-style sitting meditation.
I wish that I could say that this is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing, but it’s not.
Zen-style sitting meditation is both intense, and also advanced. That’s because it was designed to catapult the practitioner to enlightenment in 1 lifetime, as opposed to other methods that take a more leisurely approach.
It is not the fault of Zen sitting meditation that is causing his problem. Rather, the problem is that your son is choosing a technique that is too advanced for him. The irony is that another style of Zen meditation — i.e. Qigong — would likely clear the issue rather than exacerbate it.
I’m speaking as someone who has suffered from his own mental health issues. In fact, I started doing sitting Zen meditation before learning Qigong. It had the same effect on me as it did on your son.
You might show your son this post. You may also tell him that he is free to contact me.
thanks for the advice. much appreciated.
Sir, I agree with you, i started meditation 10 days ago. Within one week i felt very well but after that now i am feeling physically, emotionally and mentally week. I am feeling that i am emotionless and does not understand anything. i am feeling like dumb. so, i have stopped doing meditation, and i will follow your advice that meditation cannot be merely learned by seeing videos. Two years ago i was suffering from depression, but with efforts i made my self emotionally strong. But when i started doing yoga i felt the same problems. I think these divine things are interrelated and we should not do yoga and meditation without any teacher.
I want to know from you then these spiritual leaders tell us to do meditation and yoga, why they do not tell us about these important things.
I like the article, especially what it says about your teacher knowing your name. However, animated advertising (“click here for details”) is something I really dislike – makes me want to leave your website behind. Something about respect and choice since we’re wired to pay attention to things that move.
Hi Robin. Thanks. I’m not sure what you mean by “animated advertising”. Do you mean the hello bar at the top advertising my next 101 workshop at my studio?
Nice, Sifu! Thank you so much!!
For years I’ve tried sitting, but even 5 minutes as too long..I was getting restless by even thinking of it… And of course all pains in body were screaming out….But even Taichi was not helpful when I had a restless mind and the environment was not calm ( there was an all out strike in the city)…
Qi Gong taught me how to sit clearing each part of the body with deep breaths.. Now I follow my instinct : Qi gong before sitting , or even no sitting. But I find when I am truly relaxed I can sit for about 40 minutes in which I go from blank mind, to deep breathing, to some stretching, and back to blank mind… This way I melt the pain, and calm the mind considerably 🙂
So, great thanks!
I’m so glad to hear it, Vera!
Speak for yourself. Not others. Sitting meditation is my medication. Works for me.
Thank You.
Hi David. I’m glad that you found something that works for you.
I am speaking for myself. Sitting meditation didn’t work for me.
I’m also speaking for my students — thousands of them — who have told me the same thing.
Hello Sifu Anthony :), Do we know *why* seated meditation is so powerful/intense vis-à-vis standing meditation, for example (i.e., what is the mechanism)? I have heard that a sitting posture facilitates 1) focused awareness, and 2) straight-spine alignment. However, it seems to me these features are as readily obtained standing, or even lying down. As well, if sitting cross-legged, isn’t circulation — and thus Qi-flow — impeded?
I also wonder if you have heard this before: The book *Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, the Science of Power* says, “Sitting meditation is considered an essential practice for realizing the gong of ling [the agile movement of a coordinated mind and body].” A seeming paradox — quiescent seated meditation as sine qua non for Taiji form!
Many thanks 🙂 ~Lara
Hi Laralyn. Sitting crosslegged, or kneeling in the Japanese seiza posture, doesn’t impeded qi flow; it focuses it like a lens. That’s why it’s so advanced.
As for sitting meditation being required for taijiquan, I’d like to see that statement in context. Some taijiquan masters practiced sitting meditation, but many did not, or at least didn’t mention it.
There’s definitely no need for taijiquan beginners or even intermediate students to practice sitting meditation. If you enjoy it, and if it doesn’t cause other problems, then definitely do your sitting meditation. But it’s not for everyone. 🙂
Hi Sifu,
Thank you for this post. The counsel you offer seems very sound. It leaves me wondering, though. I’ve been practicing meditation for a few years now with a therapist–though my practice is probably more in line with the sort of “magazine tip” you mention, it’s been hugely helpful in many ways, not just mentally and emotionally but physically as well, as it’s given me an awareness of my physicality that I had ignored and neglected for so long. I’m thinking of looking for a teacher to work with in person. I haven’t had the resources, and so have mostly used free, online guided meditations and read lots of books.
I’m sorry because I’m sure you address this question every day (in fact I saw your blog post on “Can qigong heal x-rare-condition?” My question (today) regards one warning you give in particular, under section 5. I understand what you’re saying about the need for both physical and mental preparation. What puzzles me a bit is a statement in section five:
“If you still have pain, if you have any type of illness, if you take any kind of medication — then you are still dealing with energy blockages.”
I’m a type-1, insulin-dependent diabetic since age 15, though any number of chronic diseases/illnesses might produce the same question. When I read the above statement, it seems to suggest that as long as I’m taking my insulin I can’t–and perhaps shouldn’t?–consider sitting meditation as a practice to develop toward. I don’t need to tell you how quickly, without insulin, blood and body chemistry can become life-threateningly toxic. For me, it can happen in a matter of hours.
Perhaps I’m missing the larger point, which is that qigong and Chinese medicinal practices can help to clear the energy blockages which are (presumably) behind my illness in the first place. Is the path to healing for someone with a condition like mine require a shift in belief so profound that (theoretically) I’d no longer need insulin, and could then consider approaching sitting meditation?
I know that, as someone without a teacher (beyond my psychologist who is helping me to develop my meditation/mindfulness practice), I’m putting the cart before the horse, and definitely I shouldn’t “worry” about it. I’m just sincerely curious. Thank you very much for your websites and teaching. I am very grateful!
Hi Justin. I think you misunderstood my point. Just because you have energy blockages (most of us do) doesn’t mean you can’t practice sitting meditation. You can.
But for people with severe blockages, dynamic qigong is a much safer and also more productive choice. For you, because of the Type 1 diabetes, I think qigong would make a wonderful addition to your tool box. In fact, I think it should be one of your main practices! Try it for a year and you’ll see!
I think i might stop my sitting meditation…and concentrate on moving meditation more.
Does it have the same benifits..brainwise. ie theta waves and calming.
Sitting meditation seems to be causing me conflict mentally. Think of this not that..i keep thinking of that…arggh.. etc
What do you think.
I been using the headspace app.
Quiescent sitting meditation confers benefits that other forms of meditation do not, including moving meditation. However, many people miss these benefits anyway and would do better with standing and/or moving meditation.
This article may be helpful: https://flowingzen.com/17793/what-if-you-could-meditate-without-all-that-sitting-around/
I have been sitting regularly for 20-30 minutes a day for the last 6 months to a year with good results. However I recently attended a beginners 3 day retreat and left the end of the second day due to my extreme discomfort sitting for what ended up being hours at a time, listening to instructions combined with formal sessions of zazen, with only short or infrequent breaks or kinhin (kinhin actually made sitting pain worse). It was intensely hot and I was sweating profusely the entire time. dehydration and lack of meaningful sleep and unsanitary conditions began to cause extreme muscle pain and cramping, rashes. I was told to be with the pain….. how could I not be, i wondered. The breaks were infrequent enough that I could not replace the sweat i was expelling and carrying a water bottle into the zendo was not allowed even during talks. To make matters worse the water cooler was often empty and without water bottle (cups were supplied by the cooler away from the bathrooms) I could not get enough from the bathroom faucets by drinking from them, if I could even get into the bathrooms. This all began to feel like some kind of zen torture. With little time for bodily upkeep (no shower, no time for oral hygiene, barely time to expel excrement). I know my body well and I knew I had to get out of there and take care of myself, as they had no intrest in this other than my zazen. I couldn’t help notice that the teachers all resembled skin skeletons bowing to a plump buddha….
Is this normal? Why the crazy long combined sitting times at a beginners retreat with little or no breaks? Why the obvious asceticism involved (skin skeletons, saying that body pain is the path) , despite them rejecting asceticism? It seemed to me that this is a zen cult speaking from both sides of their mouths and more concerned with “buddhism” (if there is such a thing), tradition and lineage than emptiness and the present moment for all sentient beings ( only sentient beings willing to do as they do, without question).
I’m sorry you had such a bad experience. The teacher who insisted that you “to be with the pain” was being irresponsible. He should have known better. You did the right thing by leaving.
I hope you won’t write off all meditation teachers or schools as a result. There are definitely better teachers out there. In the meantime, I think qigong would be a great fit for you.
I think I will try Qigong out, as my main practice. I definitely enjoy it more and I dont feel so forced into it. I still have a bit of a bad taste left in my mouth around the western zen culture but I’ve decided to continue with my shorter sitting periods, as they have been beneficial in moderation.
I cant exclude that I may have been a victim of poor logistical planning on the monasteries part as well and I plan of giving them some constructive feedback about my stay so that others wont have the same experience.