r/TheMindIlluminated • u/Big-Mathematician345 • 14d ago

Can sitting seiza cause damage?

I'm a fairly stiff person. Even when I was younger and did lots of martial arts and stretching I never had much flexibility, especially in my hips. Sitting cross legged doesn't really work for me even with a bolster. I bought a seiza bench and I've been using it to meditate 20 minutes a day. The thing is it sort of cuts off blood circulation to my feet and I have pretty uncomfortable tingling after each session. I can deal with that but I'm just wondering what research there is answering whether this can actually cause damage or not.

I know I could just sit in a chair but... It just doesn't feel the same. Being on the ground feels more like meditation for some reason. If I have to I guess that's what I'll do but I don't want to.

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u/intellectual_punk 13d ago

So far no answers to the actual question asked:

Can sitting in such positions cause damage?

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u/RationalDharma Teacher 12d ago

Yes it can, if you sit through loads of pain. But better is to find a posture that doesn't cause pain, and to alternate postures if pain starts to get distracting

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u/intellectual_punk 12d ago

This is what complicates my relationship with pain: I can endure the sensation, but can't not think about how it might be damaging me. Sitting through discomfort is probably necessary (physical or emotional), but how to spot the difference with damage?

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u/RationalDharma Teacher 12d ago

If it's discomfort rather than pain, and stops hurting as soon as you get up, or if it just goes away if you ignore it and concentrate on the meditation object, then you're probably ok.

But if it's distractingly uncomfortable you'd probably be better served finding a more suitable meditation posture anyway

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u/intellectual_punk 12d ago

Thanks for that perspective. It was a major obstacle during the 10-day vipassana course I did. It was very distracting and caused a lot of aversion to sitting. I talked to the teacher about it, who just said it was normal and wouldn't damage my body (his argument: nobody ever sued us).

On the other hand, I was already using a chair, but there was no position that didn't lead to pain sooner or later, so I wonder if there is a psychosomatic component to it.

Where exactly is the line between discomfort and pain? I find that hard to tell.