A few months ago I had the great honor of co-leading a retreat with my long-time friend and meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg. The retreat group was mixed, ranging from those with advanced yoga asana practices and minor seated practices to strictly meditators who had dabbled in yoga before but did not make it regularly to the mat. Several in the room had long abandoned their meditation cushions in favor of sitting in a chair to avoid the pain that flared up after only 5 minutes of sitting. Worse yet, some reported that they had either sat through the pain or cut their practices short to get out of the discomfort in the past.

Has meditation become an occupational hazard of your spiritual practice much like sitting at a desk or commuting long hours?

Watch the video below to find out if you have been making any of the 5 most common alignment mistakes in your meditation posture! Then learn (through yoga alignment) how to sit in ways that make your seated practice more comfortable and last longer. Please leave a comment at the bottom of the article. We’d love to hear how much more mileage you get on your cushion after watching this!

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New York City transplant Amy Ippoliti travels the globe extensively, helping people bridge the gap between ancient yoga wisdom and modern day life. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter.