Question: “How long do you meditate? I have this problem that my foot falls asleep or my back starts to hurt.”
It depends on the day. On average, about 2 or so hours daily. One hour early morning and another hour before or after dinner. I’m not sure why, but only sometimes my foot falls asleep. I think it really depends if I put myself in areally good position or something. But more often than not, everyone’s foot will fall asleep. You just have to fight through it, because the tingling sensation is only there for a few minutes or less and it’ll go away.
Also, if you sit on a cushion or two, that also helps. Meditation isn’t restrictive to only the floor, so feel free to sit on the couch, bed or on the roof. Meditation isn’t about taming the body, it’s about taming the mind. So it’s important to be as comfortable as possible, because the mind is what you need to worry about, not sleepy feet.
Back pain, in my experience, is due to one or the combination of two things. 1) bad posture, and/or 2) bad concentration. Posture is important in sitting meditation. The best way to get a “correct,” straight back is to lift your arms over your head and stretch upwards as much as you can and slowly bring your hands down into your lap. That’s how straight your back should be for meditation.
Bad concentration is also a colporate in back pain. Our back is like clay. If you mold clay into a shape it’ll stay like that until an external force presses on it and changes its shape. Likewise, if we strengthen our backs, it’ll stay upright until an external force, our thoughts and distractions, forces is to slouch. So if we maintain good concentration, our backs will stay upright will little to no pain. But it’s also helpful to stretch before and after meditation. I find that helps a little.
Smile and be well!