Feet falling asleep

MagicScottish

Hi all, I'm new to sitting meditation but enjoying the practice very much so far. The thing is though, at about 15 minutes into the sitting I feel my left foot fall asleep. I'm nowhere near able to achieve the lotus pose and I don't have a cushion yet, so I sit in the 'easy' cross-legged pose with the calves crossed. The lack of sensation isn't really distracting, but I'm wondering what I can do to get past it. Does it go away? Would a cushion help? Thanks for any advice!

aMatt

Sitting on a towel or cushion might help, keeping your hips slightly elevated.

Jeffrey

I get this sometimes and sometimes not. I think it has to do with how the nerves are compressed by pressure. So if you can somehow balance the pressure more 'easy' then you get less deadening of the nerve. When it does happen I just ignore it because I know it will not harm me. It does feel strange when you stand up and exercise the leg again and sensation is flooding you.

texashermit

It continues to happen to me sometimes after many years of trying different things. When I do half lotus on an extra large cushion it helps, but my body cannot do full lotus, and my yoga instructor says that it is genetic based on how your hips are angled.

I do know if you are sitting "cross-legged" you are almost certainly going to intensify the pins and needles effect of your legs and feet falling asleep. Instead try Burmese position, which is "both feet down" but shifted out in front of you. If you cannot do quarter or half lotus or Burmese, then try sitting "seiza" aka Japanese kneeling posture. Here is an image for you:
http://www.dharma-rain.org/zazen/zazen-photos/Seiza-side-2-l.jpg

If I have multiple sitting sessions, then I sometimes do one in seiza to minimize the pressure put on the same nerve areas of my legs and feet. Hope that helps!

Linc

I sit in seiza with some folded blankets under my butt to elevate my body and take the pressure off my legs. My legs consistently fell asleep when sitting cross-legged and this is far more comfortable for me.

lightwithin

You could try sitting in the Burmese position, which doesn't have any of your feet under your legs.

I find this is the easiest one for me but even with it's relative comfort, I find that half my left leg falls asleep almost on every session. Yes, I said half, because it's only the part that touches the floor and only two or three of my lil toes and the rest is "awake".

I try to move it slightly if the numbness is really bad, but otherwise I just hang in there until my session's over. Shifting your weight slightly or contracting the muscles a lil might help it go away for a while too, at least until you're done.

DaltheJigsaw

lightwithin wrote: »

You could try sitting in the Burmese position, which doesn't have any of your feet under your legs.

I find this is the easiest one for me but even with it's relative comfort, I find that half my left leg falls asleep almost on every session. Yes, I said half, because it's only the part that touches the floor and only two or three of my lil toes and the rest is "awake".

I try to move it slightly if the numbness is really bad, but otherwise I just hang in there until my session's over. Shifting your weight slightly or contracting the muscles a lil might help it go away for a while too, at least until you're done.

What if you sit on the bed?
I sit on the bed in Burmese position and have no problem.
I sit for 20 min twice a day.

Theswingisyellow

My feet forever fall asleep. Seiza seems to help somewhat for me. I generally don't regard it ( it seems par for the course for me) and deal with the pins and needles after I am done meditating.
With Metta,
Todd

Dazzle

If you have physical problems there's nothing wrong with sitting in a straight-backed chair. The various offline centres I've attended all provide chairs for people who need them.


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BonsaiDoug

I have a friend who swears by his kneeling bench...

karmadorje

Shifting your weight a little to restore the circulation to the leg periodically can help, also the suggestion of sitting upright on a chair is also good. I have used kneeling chairs as well and find them really comfortable. Your feet won't fall asleep using one. Just ignoring it is an option, but just make sure you don't have too much around you can hit your head on if you fall while restoring sensation. :-)

meditationman

I wish I could use a kneeling bench, my knees are shot. It's either a chair or nothing for me. Sitting in "indian style" is also quite painful, but I push through it during Yoga sometimes.