Yin, Mobile Meditator Review

Today's practice was low-key and simple: 45 minutes of Yin with a Sarah Powers DVD. The last time my arm was this sore (after the H1N1 shot), a Hatha practice proved to be too much. Even basic standing poses brought too much tension into my upper back.

Fortunately, I have a period of about 24 hours without any teaching, so I'll truly be able to rest. I don't need to go *anywhere* until tomorrow evening, a rare turn of events. This morning I slept in, clocking 10+ hours of sleep. It can't hurt to be well-rested!

As promised, today I'm reviewing the Mobile Meditator meditation cushion (sometimes called a 'zafu'), a product I've been testing for the past month.

Mobile Meditator arrives folded in this case

A couple months ago, I started looking around for a portable zafu to take to my monthly meditation group. I wasn't planning to replace my buckwheat hull zafu (though I wasn't entirely happy with it), I just wanted something that was easy to carry for my trek across the city. Carrying my heavy buckwheat hull zafu was out of the question and using a smaller support pillow wasn't sufficient; my legs kept falling asleep.

After hours of searching online, I found very little. Most portable zafus are 'made-in-china' beach balls stuffed inside a round zafu cover. They didn't sound very stable (and the reviews were really mixed). The Prapatti cushion (which I'll discuss in a later post) was expensive and though more portable than a traditional zafu, it wasn't suitable for real travel.

(Realistically, I know that I'm a homebody, but I like to think that I could just take off at a moments notice and become a meditating world traveller. Don't laugh! It could happen!)

I stumbled upon the Mobile Meditator quite by accident, but I was delighted to find it. The product was developed by Scott Salzman, a daily meditator and outdoors enthusiast who wanted a zafu he could take with him on wilderness treks. Unlike the beach ball, this cushion is designed for meditation by people who meditate regularly.

It's very well designed. The Mobile Meditator is crescent shaped and constructed out of the same durable material used for those inflatable camping mattresses. It's even 'flocked' like a camping mattress. There are three separate chambers to inflate (and each must be inflated separately). This provides greater stability and also the ability to customize the height of the cushion. When deflated, the zafu folds neatly into a small pouch.

Unfolded and ready to inflate

The website mentions the many daily meditators who have abandoned their more traditional zafus in favour of the Mobile Meditator. I rolled my eyes when I read this, but I have to confess, I've joined their ranks! I've come to prefer my Mobile Meditator and I use it at home as well as 'on the road'. I'm planning to buy a second, 'back-up' Mobile Meditator so I can keep one at home for use in my daily meditation practice, freeing up the other one to take to classes when I teach.

If you're accustomed to the solid feel of buckwheat hulls beneath your tush, sitting on air is an adjustment, but it doesn't take long. I find the air chambers of the Mobile Meditator very comfortable for longer meditation sessions. If I need to, I can adjust the height of the cushion to meet my range of flexibility on a given day.

Inflated and ready to go!

For example, at the moment my left hip is stiff and sore. I've added extra air to the Mobile Meditator to provide more height to ease the pressure on that hip. After my normal range of flexibility returns, I'll be able to release some of the air, creating a smaller cushion with less height.

Like any good meditation cushion, the Mobile Meditator tilts the pelvis slightly forward. The height of the cushion along with this angle makes it possible to maintain a tall spine for long periods of meditation.

It's quick and easy to inflate. The first time I took it to my meditation group, I thought I would feel conspicuous, but it inflates in less than 15 seconds (one big puff of air for each side chambers, two big puffs for the middle one). No one even noticed. One moment, I standing there with a small orange envelope in my hand. The next, I was sitting comfortably on a zafu. People were amazed!

Deflating and refolding it takes a bit longer. I usually do this on the floor, squeezing most of the air out, then 'rolling' the zafu from the crescent tips (and releasing the air in those chambers) to the middle section. Fully deflated, it folds easily and it's tiny! It fits easily into a purse or large coat pocket.

The flocking on the Mobile Meditator is soft and prevents sliding but there's a downside: It picks up lint like nobody's business. If you have a cat, you'll soon have a cat-hair-covered zafu! My miniature schnauzer sheds very little, but I've found her hair on my Mobile Meditator.

I have a bright orange zafu, so it's the dark fuzzies off of my black socks that show up best (If I had a black zafu, I'm sure it would be the white fuzzies from my favourite blanket). Lint rolls work fabulously for clean-up though, and as pernickety as I am, this issue doesn't spoil the product for me. But it's something to be aware of.

I've found that the flocking also gets dirty and can be difficult to clean. Soap and water will do the trick for simple dirt, but more stubborn stains are hard to remove from the flocking. The product doesn't come with any sort of washable cover. The Mobile Meditator is not sturdy enough to accommodate over 200 lbs of weight.

Common sense: Don't jump on your Mobile Meditator. It will pop!

To sum up...

Pros:
- Small and compact for travel
- Very comfortable!
- Infinitely adjustable
- Very affordable (I give Scott huge props for offering this product at such a fair price)

Cons
- Sitting on 'air' requires a period of adjustment
- The flocking attracts lint
- No cover and not easy to clean
- Not suitable for meditators over 200 lbs

All in all? I love it. It meets my needs both as a travel zafu and for everyday use. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Addendum:
Readers of this blog (or anyone else who serendipitously stumbles across this post) are welcome to take advantage of a limited time 20% discount on the Mobile Meditator. Just use this coupon code, TRA20, when making your purchase on the website.

Astanga

I've been sitting at my window seat, reading RSS feeds and eating lunch for the past hour. In that time, the weather has created a constantly shifting panorama outside my window. It has been very sunny and clear, overcast, darkly stormy, windy with torrential rains and then brightly sunny again. Right now, it's gorgeous - bright blue sky, brilliant sunshine and thank goodness, since I walk to my class in about an hour.

I'm having a great day. Since my noon class cancelled, it felt like a holiday. I didn't sleep in, though. In fact, I woke before the alarm clock, which is a kind of victory for me. I was trying to get to that point before the time change hit. On Sunday morning, I found myself waking up an hour *before* the alarm. Argh!

My internal clock seems to have finally received the memo about the end of Daylight Savings Time. The waking-early-without-the-alarm thing was one of my goals when I set out to regularize my sleeping schedule. I'm glad that it's finally bearing fruit. I'm also no longer feeling drowsy in meditation and I'm feeling more wakeful and energetic in my day-to-day life. These are all good things!

One thing I'm learning is that I seem to need more than 8 hours of sleep. I think 8.5 may be the magic number, with an occasional 9 hour night.

After breakfast and a walk, I meditated, then popped Beryl into the DVD player for a fun half Primary. My asana practice took a bit more than an hour. I had a great practice, nothing special but it was nice to do some Astanga mid-week. My hips are really feeling it after the fact, but in a good way.

Recently, it occurred to me that I'm now spending as much, or more time meditating than I am doing asana practice. I never imagined that I would enjoy meditation this much! It's surprising.

I'm absolutely *loving* my Mobile Meditator. Since I first inflated it last week, I haven't used my buckwheat hull zafu at all. Right now, I'm learning to fine-tune the amount of air in the three chambers to create the best alignment for sitting. So far, I'm finding that the best approach is to inflate the zafu with more air than needed, then let a little bit out while I'm sitting on it to adjust the height.

Now that I'm used to air, it feels very stable and solid to me. It creates a good foundation while still being soft enough that my bum doesn't get numb. I'm particularly delighted that I can adjust the height at will - my hips are not the same for day to day, and the MM is infinitely adjustable. A more comprehensive review is coming - I just wanted to offer an update.

The other 'portable' zafu recommended to me was the Prapatti. I contacted the Prapatti people and heard back a couple of weeks later. In order to receive a price quote, they needed very specific information about my measurements - the height of my knees relative to the floor in a seated meditation position. They requested photos which, of course, roused my inner-geek into a state of ecstasy.

I got out my digital camera and shot several photos, including this one:


That was fun! But I haven't heard back from them. I'll keep you all posted!

Hatha

No Astanga today.

My low back is feeling cranky this morning and my mind was very scattered (I woke up on a the 'wrong side of the bed', I guess). After my meditation, I went for a walk and then opted for an easier yoga practice, Lunar Flow #1, 45 minutes with Lisa. This was a good choice, the perfect thing to soothe my back. I'm feeling a bit better.

I've tried the 20 minute and 30 minute versions of this one. This class added a few poses and expanded the 'moon salutations'. The practice started in Savasana and moved into a supine twist. The gentle moon salutations consisted of low lunges, down dog and cobra. Eka Pada Raj Kapotanasana (Pigeon; which I modified into a bound twist), was followed by Ardha Matsyendrasa (Half Lord of the Fishes), followed by lots of forward bends and a shoulderstand sequence at the end.

I have a feeling that the 60 minute version will prove to be a favourite. I'm saving it for a special occasion (like the next time I having a rotten day and need to be pampered with easy yoga).

Pet peeve: The instructor, Lisa, calls Karna Pidasana 'Deaf Man's Pose'. This just sounds WRONG. Politically incorrect, sexist, weird...something. I flinch every time she says it.

For the record, Karna Pidasana is translated as 'squeeze the ears pose' or sometimes, 'ear pressure pose'.

Anyway, there are no Deaf guys in this pose.

So I'm having an odd day. I don't feel like I 'fit' in my body. I had to pause my morning meditation to add air to the Mobile Meditator because I didn't feel like there was enough height to support my low back. Then I changed my mind and released some of the air. I felt like Goldilocks, trying to get it 'just right' (but at least it's adjustable, if I'm going to be all quirky about it).

Then, walking to the subway after my noon class, I felt like I was flopping around in my body, like it didn't belong to me. I spied my reflection in a glass surface and I looked as gangly and awkward as I felt.

No more classes today, thank goodness. Just a guitar lesson and ice hockey. You know, activities that require NO hand-eye co-ordination and body-awareness whatsoever. *eyeroll*

Vinyasa

I'm far less sleepy this morning than yesterday. I was able to settle into my meditation with no problems. The nap yesterday helped and I went to sleep earlier last night.

In my meditation sessions last night and this morning, I used a new zafu, the Mobile Meditator. This is a portable meditation cushion, inflatable and folds into a small pouch, making it easy to transport. It's similar in quality and design to an inflatable camping mattress, the ones with the flocking.

I'm interested in this zafu because I would like to use a cushion at the meditation group, and also when travelling. The product was designed by a meditators and the guy who designed it just gave it the ultimate 'test run' while travelling in India. Reportedly, it passed with flying colours!

First impressions: So far, I like it a lot. The two sits I've had on it were comfortable after a period of adjustment (an inflatable zafu doesn't have the same 'solid' feel of buckwheat hulls, but once I settled in, I felt a certain sense of ease sitting on 'air'). I'll have more to say (and photos! it's orange, my new favourite colour!) after I've had a chance to thoroughly test it out. But, so far, so good. I like it!

Today's yoga practice was Yoga for Runners #1, 45 minutes, with Dawnelle (20 minute class is a freebie for those interested in trying it). Nice flow in this one. No gaps - in fact it felt like a complete class. I enjoy Dawnelle's teaching because she sometimes meanders around and breaks things up a bit, but the flow always concludes in a coherent way. I appreciated the back bending and strengthening sequence in the middle of the practice. The resting poses (mostly Balansana) were well-placed.

In these YogaDownload classes, I'm finding that I prefer to have the instructor bring me into and out of the Savasana (with a nice 'Namaste') at the end. It brings a more authentic feel to the class. The alternative is coming into Savasana with the music fading out until the recording ends. This ending feels too abrupt; there's no closure.

I have a long day ahead of me. I'm teaching four classes and I'll be on public transportation for all of them, since it's *pouring* out. That's okay, though - I can knit on the subway, and read, and sleep. I'm actually looking forward to November and a having a subway pass again. I'm way behind on my reading.