For many people, starting off meditation in the standard lotus position is uncomfortable and distracting. Rather than relaxing into a deep meditation you may be focused on muscle soreness in your legs and hips or your inability to comfortably maintain your posture.

When you’re hard on yourself about practicing meditation properly you’re more likely to give up on the practice all together rather than easing yourself into it. If you’re wondering can you meditate lying down realize that there’s no wrong way to meditate. It’s 100% okay to meditate lying down.

Benefits Of Meditating Lying Down

The benefits may not seem obvious at first, but there are quite a few of them. These are the benefits that come specifically for this position along with the standard benefits that come with practicing meditation.

It’s Easier

Meditating in bed is one of the best ways to ease into meditation for those who suffer from physical discomfort from sitting in the same position too long as well as newcomers. The position is naturally relaxing which helps a meditation practitioner to focus on their thoughts and breathing pattern instead of being distracted by physical discomfort.

It Can Help With Insomnia

If your goal is to fall asleep then meditating in bed is a great option. Unless you’re one of the lucky few of us who has the wondrous ability to fall asleep fast as soon as you lie down, it’s also one of the best ways to battle insomnia if you have a problematic and disruptive sleeping pattern. This can be especially helpful if you need to wake up early in the morning but feel too hyperactive to go to sleep.

There’s Less Muscle Tension

While hardcore defenders of the ‘padmasana’ or lotus posture will try to tell you otherwise, if you honestly compare ‘padmasana’ with ‘savasana’, you’ll find that your muscles are less tense.

Tips for Meditating Lying Down

Assuming you are familiar with the basic meditation knowledge and techniques, here are some quick and easy tips.

Align Your Body

There a few postures you’ll want to test out, the most common being ‘savasana’ or the corpse pose. In the corpse pose, position your body in a straight line so that your spine is straight, your hips are square and your arms are comfortably at your sides. As you slowly find the ability to ease into deep meditations you can transition into different postures and the same will be true for your spine and hips and this practice will help.

For example, if you transition into seated meditation alignment of the hips and spine are still ever-important but you’ll also want to make sure your feet are touching the group is aligned in a straight manner and touch the ground while meditating.

Choose a Good Time

The best time to meditate is right after you wake up and before thoughts of the day begin flooding in. It’s also the time that you’re least likely to fall asleep considering you got a restful night’s sleep. On the other hand, if you want to leverage meditation to fall asleep faster, then meditating at bedtime can help you drift right into a restful slumber.

Over time you’ll learn to close your eyes and focus your thoughts without dozing off. This is the main reason old school meditation practitioners of the western and Buddhist style meditation, in general, don’t prefer meditating in this way. If you fall asleep easily, it could potentially be a difficult habit to overcome, but unless you’re okay with discomfort for some length of time before getting used to a sitting posture, this is still the better option for you.

Focus on Your Breathing

The main reason posture isn’t a major issue in meditation as many make it seem to be is because focusing on your breath is the most crucial to the process. You can even meditate while standing straight as long as you follow the proper breathing methods and relax your body accordingly.

Find the Right Surface

If your bed is too plush and comfy, sleep will always get the better of you. This is why it may be a good idea to lay on the floor or yoga mat.