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Home > Archive > Yoga > October 2006 > Zafu & Zabuton Set reccomendation please
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Zafu & Zabuton Set reccomendation please
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| Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com 2006-10-11, 4:28 pm |
| Hi,
I do all my meditations cross legged sitting on the floor and I am
thinking of buying a Zafu & Zabuton set. There are plenty of such sets
out there, but I want to get a really good one the first time since the
'cheaper' ones are not all that cheap at all anyway. Since my
financial means are limited, this will be a one time purchase which, I
hope, will last me a long while.
I should probably add here that I am 6'3 for about 235lbs.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions & pointers!
Many thanks,
M
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| omjaroo 2006-10-11, 9:30 pm |
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Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I do all my meditations cross legged sitting on the floor and I am
> thinking of buying a Zafu & Zabuton set. There are plenty of such sets
> out there, but I want to get a really good one the first time since the
> 'cheaper' ones are not all that cheap at all anyway. Since my
> financial means are limited, this will be a one time purchase which, I
> hope, will last me a long while.
>
> I should probably add here that I am 6'3 for about 235lbs.
>
> I would greatly appreciate any suggestions & pointers!
>
> Many thanks,
>
> M
Hi,
I would say the cheapest you can aquire is the best. Splitting hairs
over the level of comfort is at best a distraction :-) At another level
it misses the point completely...
You might try contacting a local "zen" community and sitting with them
a couple of times. You'll learn a whole bunch about sitting, zafus and
zabutons!
Jared
o
^
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| On 2006-10-11 18:36:47 -0700, "omjaroo" <omjaroo@yahoo.com> said:
>
> Hi,
>
> I would say the cheapest you can aquire is the best. Splitting hairs
> over the level of comfort is at best a distraction :-) At another level
> it misses the point completely...
>
> You might try contacting a local "zen" community and sitting with them
> a couple of times. You'll learn a whole bunch about sitting, zafus and
> zabutons!
>
> Jared
> o
I agree. There is a Vedantic temple near my home were I have gone to
meditate on occasion. The have dozens of "official" type meditation
pillows to choose from. I find the official Zafu pillows
uncomfortable. They are quite hard like sitting on a sand bag. I
prefer folded blankets.
--
~Stu
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| Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com 2006-10-13, 8:26 am |
| Hi friends,
I tried blankets and that works great for me in one of my rooms, but
that is not something I want - or can - shlep around. Also - I want to
have a meditation prop which is specifically and only dedicated to
meditation. It may sound silly, be the process of interacting with
dedicated objects help me prepare my concentration.
Also - I have heard from various people that the correct zafu/zabuton
combination can be really helpful (if not, why would it have been used
by so many people including, for example, Yogiraj Alan Finger).
Lastly, the shape of such a pillow/mat combination just makes sense to
me (at last more than a phonebook and a blanket).
Going for the cheapest one might well be a good idea, but it might also
be a bad one. For example, cheap quality pillows will rip and the
contents will begin to spill out, the cover might not be washable, or
the size too small for me. Surely, among experienced yoga
practitioners it must be a common knowledge that company XYZ has good
quality equipment backed with a solid guarantee and customer
service/support whereas company ZYX does not?
How do I find out where to look?
M
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| On 2006-10-13 06:18:27 -0700, Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com said:
> Surely, among experienced yoga
> practitioners it must be a common knowledge that company XYZ has good
> quality equipment backed with a solid guarantee and customer
> service/support whereas company ZYX does no
I have been buying stuff from Hugger Mugger and Yoga Pro for years.
Their products and service are excellent.
http://www.huggermugger.com/wstore/bolsterGuide.jsp
--
~Stu
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| omjaroo@gmail.com 2006-10-13, 9:33 pm |
| Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi friends,
> Surely, among experienced yoga
> practitioners it must be a common knowledge that company XYZ has good
> quality equipment
Hi,
You might think so, but in my experience yogis as a group aren't real
avid "consumers". For instance I will not buy any commercial "sitting"
aid because they are not made to the specifications optimal for
meditating, as per yogananda's instructions. That is, with a real wool
bottom and genuine silk on top. Large enough for me to sit on without
any body parts hanging off. So I created my own. This makes my
meditation cushion a uniquely personal expression of my Love,
creativity and work. My cushion also effectively shields me from subtle
earth currents which can be most distracting.
Of course wool blankets folded with a large piece of silk to cover them
would also be ideal. Low tech, low cost, high esoteric value; seemingly
the very antithesis of what the market seeks to provide.
Jared
o
^
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| Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com 2006-10-14, 8:28 am |
| omjaroo@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Of course wool blankets folded with a large piece of silk to cover them
> would also be ideal. Low tech, low cost, high esoteric value; seemingly
> the very antithesis of what the market seeks to provide.
Alas, when one is as clumsy with hands as myself, the market is the
only real option :-(
Anyway - what about a Zafu vs. a v-shaped cushion? I am thinking that
a correctly placed Zafu should still allow me to place my heels close
to my crotch so the shape might not make a big difference. However,
the v-shaped cushion has a slope which might well help position the
spine better, or so it seems to the newbie I am. Are these v-shaped
cushions used by yogis?
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| omjaroo 2006-10-14, 4:28 pm |
| Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com wrote:
> Alas, when one is as clumsy with hands as myself, the market is the
> only real option :-(
Don't be to keen to hold onto your clumsiness. It will be something you
will lose in direct proportion to the amount of hatha (or other yogas)
you practice.
Hittleman tells us that properly preformed hatha increases steadiness,
poise, balance. He reminds us that we should try our best to make all
of our movements during practice smooth and flowing. And that we are
never to laugh at or criticize ourselves for any reason. Omjaroo would
say, "What functions beautifully must have form that is beautiful. No
matter what I or anyone else thinks or says"
I never said that my meditation pillow would win a contest, but it
works well and it is mine. If I was going to make another today (ten
years later) it would be a great deal more sophisticated and finished.
Such is the nature of progressing in yoga and learning to sew :-)
Yoga puts us in touch with our higher, more subtle natures. This
includes creativity and discernment. Yoga frees us to be more naturally
who and what we are. Expression of any sort becomes easier, more
spontaneous and flowing. Learning skills becomes easier; we become
more efficient and focused. We begin to see what others don't and long
to express our vision in the form of symbols of our own creation. Our
bodies, minds, hands and vision unite as one to celebrate our
existence.
> Anyway - what about a Zafu vs. a v-shaped cushion? I am thinking that
> a correctly placed Zafu should still allow me to place my heels close
> to my crotch so the shape might not make a big difference. However,
> the v-shaped cushion has a slope which might well help position the
> spine better, or so it seems to the newbie I am.
Alas my friend, for all the years I have been doing this I can't answer
this question. Hopefully there will be advice forth coming from others.
In general though I might suggest you try it and see what happens.
After all yoga is a science and as such rightly involves
experimentation, observation and evaluation. Then by all means do let
us know :-)
> Are these v-shaped cushions used by yogis?
I don't know about these cushions. However I do know that Yogis can use
whatever they want, whenever they want, for whatever they want. It's
one of the bennies of having a Father who created the Universe :-)
Jared
o
^
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