Two of the most common questions we get asked is ‘what is a meditation cushion’ and ‘why do I need one?’ If you have recently taken up a meditation practice (or even if you have been meditating a while) chances are you will have been making do with whatever cushion you can find. Sofa cushions, scatter cushions, bed pillows, folded up blankets, yoga mats – often the closest, easiest thing we can find! But unless your cushions are firm and elevate your hips at the right angle (your knees should be below your thighs) the likelihood is that your squishy sofa cushions are having a detrimental impact on your spine and posture while you sit.

Meditation cushions have a common goal; to optimise spinal alignment by tilting your pelvis forward slightly so that your body can rest in a healthy, supported posture whilst you meditate. As such, meditation cushions are firm enough to support you but soft enough to allow you to sit in comfort for longer periods of time. Ideally you want to achieve the natural “S” curve when you sit for meditation. Often talked about in yoga, this posture is characterised by an erect spine that gently curves in at the bottom and out at the top, with the neck straight and the chin slightly tucked in - and meditation cushions are designed to help you achieve this. sit.

By encouraging an upright posture, meditation cushions also naturally promote greater alertness which is an important quality to cultivate in your practice. With the right meditation posture you can relax and breathe more freely too so one little cushion has many benefits!

what shape of

meditation cushion

is right for me?

So you have decided you want to invest in a meditation cushion but you don’t know where to start. We are here to help! With the overwhelming choice of meditation and yoga cushions available on the market it can be hard to know which style/shape/filling to opt for and choosing the right one can seem like an intimidating task - but it doesn’t need to be. A good place to start is to contemplate what cushion height is best for you. You want your thighs to angle downwards from your hips as this makes it easier for you to straighten your back without straining. To help you work this out and make an informed decision we have created a meditation cushion buyer’s guide below.

why our meditation

cushions are unique

When I first looked into buying a meditation cushion a few years ago it soon became apparent that function outweighed aesthetics in the meditation cushion arena. As someone who has long had a passion for design and all things handmade, I hoped to find a meditation cushion that would not only fulfil its primary purpose - keeping me supported whilst I sat - but was also beautiful enough for me to keep out in the corner of my living space like a piece of cherished furniture that inspired me towards my mindfulness practice every day (because let’s face it we all need a bit of inspiration every now and then when it comes to maintaining our practice!)

I wanted it to become a sacred design feature in my home and a reflection of the time, care and attention I gift myself every time I sit. But many of the cushions I found - and indeed ended up buying - lacked this soul and their mass-produced quality seemed at odds with their purpose; to support a deep and profound meditation practice. And that was the tiny crack through which { s a t i } emerged.

At { s a t i } we have embodied the quote ‘create the things you wish existed’ by developing a range of ethical meditation cushions that fuse functionality with design, using 100% botanical dyes to create our colours and traditional block printing methods to produce our bespoke prints. So now you need not compromise on anything when you buy a meditation cushion, you can have it all! Function, beauty, integrity, ethical design and soul. Here are a few things that make our cushions particularly special:

• We don’t use any chemicals to dye our fabrics - they are 100% natural and organic
• We only work with small family businesses, no factories
• We are friends with every single artisan we work with!
• The wooden blocks we print with are individually hand-carved by us
• We hand dye our fabric in small batches
• The rectangle cushion is a unique shape and size that is hard to find elsewhere
• We use spelt husks to fill our round cushions: a lighter, softer choice than the more common buckwheat hull filling