Make time to take care of your back and prepare your body for deep and joyful meditation.

Strengthen Your Back for Sitting Meditation

I've included photos with a child and me doing the strengthening poses, enjoy!

Strengthening keeps me fit to sit up straighter for a longer period of time, even though I'm getting up there in years ...

What is your experience with sitting, for say longer than 5 minutes, in meditation?

I make sure I am sitting with proper back support, namely with pillows behind my back if needed. I can't sit too long without proper back support from a chair, couch, or the headboard of the bed, in which case I put lots of pillows behind my back. I have issues with lower back pain so it helps to get the pressure off.

Debbie, thanks for sharing - that should encourage others to use pillows as needed!

Susan

This is a good article, Susan, for anyone who needs to strengthen their lower back. I have trouble with my lower back at times and find that good posture helps a lot.

I will try your exercise for added benefits. Thank you for sharing this.

Phyllis, thanks for sharing your experience - I think a lot of us have lower back problems ...

Susan

I think so, Susan. Not only do we get lower back pain from injuries, accidents, or just muscle strain from doing too much, but also the lower back is a place where many people hold their stress and tension.

Hopefully these poses will loosen the area for a more comfortable session.

The best exercise for strengthening the back is the Bird Dog Exercise (kneeling two point stance) and any type of rowing whether with dumbbells, bands, cable machines, or suspension trainer.

Pelvic stability is definitely a component of a strong back but it's the postural muscles that need strengthening for long periods of sitting and the bird dog is the most effective and least dangerous.

A great laying exercise for a strong back would be the Prone Cobra. It takes about 2 weeks of doing this 2-3 times a week to see a major difference with my 60-80 year old clients who have virtually no back strength and the great thing is you don't even have to raise as high as the girl in the video. It's probably the most effective postural exercise ever

I have never been able to sit straight for prolonged periods of time, regardless of how much I have worked on my back...just isn't happening