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Whether you have been curious to try meditation for a while or have been meditating for some time and looking to deepen your at-home practice, there has never been a better time than now. Meditation is a powerful tool for mental self-care. During this time, when we’re asked to exercise social distancing, to shelter in place and work from home, it is vital that we take proper care of our emotional well-being. To be good to others, we need to keep our own sanity first and that’s where meditation practice, breathing exercises and other practices that require deep introspection and staying still for prolonged periods of time can be very helpful.
Meditation is not about sitting on a cushion and chanting. Although what you sit on is important, it can make or break your sitting experience - we’re going to dive more into that in just a moment. Meditation is about improving the performance of the mind. Just as we go to the gym to train our bodies and improve our physical fitness, meditation exercises our brains to make them sharper, more focused and more resilient during stressful times. My favorite perk from meditation: it brings peace of mind, even in the middle of the storm.
A good meditation practice starts with good props. Luckily, meditating at home does not require investing into expensive tools. All you need is yourself, a quiet room and a comfortable floor pillow or zafu to sit on. We put together this guide to finding the best meditation pillow to help compare the styles and features, and choose the one that’s right for your meditation practice.
OUR REVIEW PROCESS
We tested the most popular meditation cushions on the market to help find the right one for your practice.
30 Models considered
40+ Hours of in-person testing
48+ Hours of research
625+ Reviews analyzed
5 Experts consulted
Our reviews are not sponsored by brands or manufacturers. We do our own research and purchase every product we review with our own funds. We put each model to a real life sitting test for at least an hour. Our 60-minute meditation tests help evaluate products for meditators of various sizes, shapes and experience levels. We use it to determine in our first-hand experience whether a varied set of meditators would be able to sit comfortably and have sufficient support for back, hips and knees through the entire sitting period. We use the Zen Score to measure the overall quality of meditation we had with each model between 1 and 10, with 10 being the highest. Below are the top 5 of our favorites, enjoy!
Gaiam Crescent Meditation Cushion
This heart-shaped meditation cushion feels softer, silkier, and more conforming to the body’s shape compared to more traditional buckwheat meditation pillows that we tested. The cover is made of an ultra-soft microfiber with a zipper hidden behind the carrying handle at the back. This cushion is filled with kapok or cotton batting (50% cotton 50% polyester according to the product label). It is a better alternative to denser buckwheat or bean husk filling if you tend to experience tailbone or hip pain while sitting as it helps to take the pressure off those sensitive areas.
ZEN SCORE: 9
PROs:
- Great meditation pillow for both beginners and experienced sitters
- Soft yet supporting, comfortable for sitting for extended periods of time
- Peace-of-mind facilitator
- Provides support to the pelvic region by raising it and reduces lower back pain
- Promotes proper spine alignment to prevent slouching while meditating
- Lightweight
CONs:
- Can only be spot cleaned
Waterglider Organic Cotton Round Meditation Pillow
What we loved about the Waterglider Zafu Meditation Pillow is that it did not give us any numbness and allowed us to meditate for a whole hour without switching legs or moving much at all. While our minds were racing, our bodies felt supported and grounded on the buckwheat-filled cushion. The stitching and cotton material are high quality and will last for a long time. The buckwheat hulls are grown in the USA and come directly from the farm.
ZEN SCORE: 8
PROs:
- Great choice for longer meditations, 30 minutes or more at a time
- Made from natural and certified organic materials
- Great for posture, helps sit straight
- Easy to adjust the filling to make it comfortable
- Budget-friendly winner, best bang for the buck
CONs:
- May feel overly firm until broken in
Mindful Modern Crescent Meditation Cushion
We picked this meditation cushion for its clean and modern design with minimalistic vibe to it. Just having this zafu around the house made us feel more tranquil.
The construction is durable yet more lightweight compared to other cushions. The cover is made of white cotton with the mandala-style brand logo on top of the cushion, which adds a nice touch. It’s filled with natural buckwheat hulls inside the inner case with a zipper so you can easily remove or add more fill depending on how firm and tall you prefer your meditation cushion to be.
During the hour-long meditation test, this cushion felt fairly comfortable and easy on our joints. The crescent shape helps keep your hips above your knees when meditating to stimulate blood flow and gently open the hip flexors in a way that round zafu pillows cannot offer. We could use a bit more support for lower back to help maintain the upright spine position. The best part is the chic design compliments any modern home decor.
ZEN SCORE: 8
PROs:
- Beautiful, modern aesthetic creates instant zen in any room
- All-natural and adjustable buckwheat filling
- Crescent shape allows to bring feet closer when sitting cross-legged
- Convenient handle for carrying
CONs:
- Not everyone likes the firmness of buckwheat hull filling
Seat Of Your Soul Half Moon Meditation Cushion
The Seat of your Soul meditation cushion is filled with USA-grown buckwheat hulls that are bigger and uncrushed for better airflow. We found that this cushion has just the right amount of stiffness while also maintaining its shape without squishing flat during meditation. We were able to sit comfortably and maintain a proper alignment in the spine with ease for about 30 minutes. Good quality of the construction and sturdy, durable fabric make sure you will use this cushion for a long time on your meditative journey. It’s built for everyday use and offers good fit around the buttocks for support and comfort.
The crescent shape works great for meditators looking for more room for the legs and hips. It is the perfect shape to get your legs in closer to your body while supporting the spine and hips. This meditation cushion did not seem to be stuffed as tight as some other ones we tested, which made it easier to shape and mold it to fit our preferred sitting pose.
ZEN SCORE: 7
PROs:
- Ergonomic design aligns your spine and eases strain
- Crescent shape allows to bring feet closer when sitting cross-legged
- Washable, organic cotton cover
CONs:
- The black cotton fabric attracts and holds onto lint easily
Zen Score: 7
Seat Of Your Soul Meditation Cushion
Great for meditators looking for more room for the legs and hips.
Cosmic Wedge Meditation Cushion
We chose the Cosmic meditation cushion because of the slanted shape with a built-in slope and side extensions, which claim to improve spine alignment, reduce back discomfort and prevent numbness in the legs. This is especially helpful when you sit in meditation for longer periods of time, 30 minutes or more. How this works: the slanted design naturally tilts lower back (pelvis) forward to restore the spine’s natural S-shaped curve. It’s also easier to sit on a wedge-shaped cushion as you won’t be using your back muscles as much to maintain upright posture during meditation. This cushion comes in two options: filled with kapok (softer, cotton-like fiber) or buckwheat hulls (firmer). We tried the one with buckwheat hulls and felt this particular design might work better with kapok filling as it’s not as dense. We were able to sit still for about 28 minutes until our legs fell asleep, which is still pretty good for daily meditations.
ZEN SCORE: 7
PROs:
- Wedge design featuring downward slant encourages pelvis to tilt forward to restore the spine’s natural curve
- Hip Hugger: Side extensions help support upper thighs and prevent numbness in the legs
- Makes a great zen-style decor item with a minimal and tranquil ambiance
- Great for meditations that last under 30 minutes
CONs:
- Provides moderate lift, we would have liked it slightly higher
- Cushion weight is on the heavier side
- May feel overly firm until broken in
Zen Score: 7
Cosmic Slanted Meditation Cushion
Unique wedge design tilts lower back forward so body can naturally come into alignment.
In conclusion, one of the things we learned from our 10+ years of experimenting with meditation and yoga props (purchased as well as self made), having a comfortable seat with the right kind of support in all the right places makes all the difference in the practice of sitting meditation. Whichever meditation cushion you choose, remember that consistent practice makes perfect. Choose great products that will support and deepen your meditation, practice regularly - even 10 minute a day will help bring positive change - and soon you will start reaping the benefits of meditation. Calm, Confident, Powerful. Happy Meditating!