12 Meditation Tips for When You’re Struggling to Sit Still

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Have you ever sat down for your meditation or breathwork practice only to realize that you just can’t sit still. You’re itchy, you’re twitchy, your legs are all over the place, you’re distracted, and you can’t focus. I know this is something I’ve personally been struggling with lately, so I wanted to share my twelve favorite tips and products to help you sit for your practices when you’re fidgety and just can’t seem to sit still.

Get comfortable! Use whatever props you might need to physically feel comfortable. Personally, I use a meditation cushion set that includes a floor cushion with a seat cushion on top. You might need to use some yoga blocks to support your knees. Use whatever props you have including: pillows, cushions, or bolsters. Just make sure that you feel comfortable. If you feel more comfortable with back support, sitting in a chair may be better for you. Support your body in the way that it needs to be supported.

Give yourself some time to wind down. If we’ve had a really really hectic day know that our minds and our bodies can’t go from a hundred to zero on a dime. Take some intentional time to slow down before trying to step into our meditation practice or our breathwork practice. That could mean listening to some slow and relaxing music to give ourselves a chance to relax and decompress. Try stretching or some gentle movement to just dissipate some of that nervous energy that you have built up within your body from the day.

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You may be having trouble sitting for meditation because you don’t have a good enough anchor for your mind. Meditations where you focus on something in the room with your eyes open can help because you have a physical thing to actually focus on. Candle Gazing Meditation is a form of mindfulness that uses a candle for this mental anchor. It can be used to help focus the mind and relax. The practice involves staring at a lit candle for a period of time, while focusing on the flame and letting thoughts pass through the mind without judgment.

If you’d like the full details on how to do candle gazing meditation, you’re in luck! I wrote an article all about candle gazing meditation and its benefits that I encourage you to read.

Try using mudras. What is a mudra you ask? Mudras are really just hand positions. Get on to google and search mudras. You’ll see a wide variety of hand positions with many different meanings and purposes. Pick whichever one resonates with you. Don’t spend tons of time picking, it’s not the mudra that’s critical for our purpose, it’s the act of holding the position. You could also just do prayer hands by pressing your palms together.

The whole point of trying to use a mudra to help you focus is that putting that physical and mental energy into holding your hands in a particular position will take energy away from your body’s desire to fidget and help keep your mind from wandering.

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Also, make sure that you’re comfortable temperature-wise. I keep a yoga blanket on hand because I tend to run cold. If you’re a person who tends to run hot you might want to have a fan on hand.

If our bodies aren’t comfortable our minds won’t be comfortable so make sure that you do what you need to maintain your comfort.