The 9 Best Meditation Cushions
Updated by · How we research
Nine zafus, cushion sets, kneeling benches and a floor chair compared on fill, height, covers and support. The Leewadee Kapok Set leads for a complete setup. When users buy our independently chosen editorial selections, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
Your hips should sit a little higher than your knees, with you perched on the front edge of the seat so your pelvis tips forward. Buckwheat lets you tune that height, and kapok stays lighter and springier. This guide is for new and daily sitters alike, and if crossing your legs hurts, a kneeling bench or floor chair comes next.
Editor's Notes
October 23, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Editors:
Most people who land here want a zafu and a zabuton together, so a full kapok pair that rolls up for storage, the Leewadee Kapok Set, now leads. Six of the old picks are gone because they're no longer available: the Samadhi Cushions Gomdem Set, Alexia Zen Chair, Simplysitting Handcrafted Bench, Brentwood Home Crystal Cove, Mobile Meditator Inflatable and My Zen Home Dhyana. Samadhi still sells its gomdens itself, so it moved to Special Honors.
Four picks stay. The Bean Products Oval XL Set is now made with hemp covers. The bench we used to list as a Meditation Designs model is the Waterglider Acacia Bench, and the Still Sitting Nomad and Friends of Meditation XL Chair still cover travel and back support. New are the Waterglider Zafu, the renoo Organic Set, the Mindful & Modern Velvet Zafu and the Retrospec Sedona crescent.
For evidence, we leaned on one cushion reviewer that buys what it rates, posture guides from Calm and Dharma Crafts, owner reports on firmness, size and seams, and the federal recall database, which lists nothing for any of these brands' cushions.
Earlier notes
March 11, 2020, by Will Rhoda:
During this round of updates, we removed the Trevida Organic Zafu due to availability issues, as well as the Bean Products Zafu – noting that it was already included in our rankings as part of the Bean Products Cushion Set. We also eliminated the YogaAccessories Round Zafu – because we simply had too many zafus, and the Gaiam Zabuton – noting that by nature zabutons aren’t especially useful without a sitting cushion to crown them, as in the case of the Bean Products Cushion Set and Samadhi Cushions Gomdem Set. Lastly, in order to make room for new additions, we removed the Waterglider International Zafu Crescent, feeling that the Mobile Meditator Inflatable already presented a serviceable crescent-zafu option.
Our new set of rankings are comprised of 50% new offerings, including the Samadhi Cushions Gomdem Set, a bulky, rectangular, foam cushion sat atop of a cotton-stuffed zabuton, a style popularized by Shambhala International’s founding teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in the sixties; the Alexia Zen Chair, a pricey option with an ergonomic design that lends itself well to long, crossed-legged samatha sessions; and the Still Sitting Nomad, a portable option designed by Norwegian architect Asmund Skar that works well for kneeling practices.
Different people like different styles of meditation cushion. If you’re studying a specific lineage or with an instructor that endorses certain kinds of practice, then the decision might already be made for you. Or, if you’re just a meditation-curious newbie who read some interesting things about mindfulness lately, it might be on you to personally decide what you find the most comfortable. Typically, it takes significant time spent on any given cushion to decide whether or not you like it, so settling on the perfect cushion for you personally is a journey that can take some time. While we unfortunately won’t be able to walk through that journey with you, we have provided a brief list of some of the cushions out there, to give you a bit of a starting point if you need one.
Zabuton: This is the rectangular (or, sometimes square) cushion that sits below your sitting cushion. They vary in size, but are usually somewhere in the neighborhood of a square meter. They’re especially nice for when you’re practicing on hard floors that don’t offer much relief for your ankles, feet and shins, but even in carpeted rooms they can be quite helpful – as they help establish a physical container for your practice space. They can be purchased separately, or in a set like the Bean Products Cushion Set and Samadhi Cushions Gomdem Set.
Zafu: Chances are, this is the cushion that comes to mind when you first think of meditation cushions. Zafu’s are round, low to the ground, and typically filled with buckwheat. Though they can be used for kneeling postures, you tend to think of half-lotus (loosely crossed legs) and full-lotus (pretzeled crossed legs) sitting positions when you think of zafus like the Brentwood Home Crystal Cove.
Crescent Zafu: This option’s quite similar to a zafu, only instead of round they’re crescent shaped, like a heavily shaded moon or a butter croissant. Though they offer you less space to spread out your hind parts, some cross-legged practitioners prefer crescent zafus because they allow you to position your ankles closer to your pelvis, which tends to help facilitate good upright posture. While these cushions are also traditionally filled with buckwheat, the Mobile Meditator Inflatable is a blow-up option that nomadic meditators will appreciate.
Gomdem: These shoe-box-sized cushions typically have a core comprised of a dense foam brick. Like Zafu’s they’re great for cross-legged practice, but they tend to be a bit taller, which can make a difference for larger users, as well as people who don’t bend so well. I have a lot of personal experience sitting on the Samadhi Cushions Gomdem Set, and can’t say enough good things about it. I highly recommend this option for experienced and beginner meditators alike.
Meditation Bench: While semantic purists will likely question whether offerings like these truly qualify as meditation cushions, in practice they share a unified purpose, and it's tough to have a conversation about one without discussing the other. Models like the Meditation Designs Bench are great for users who prefer to practice kneeling in the seize position, and the Simplysitting Handcrafted Bench and Still Sitting Nomad are two alternative options also well worth considering, as both benches boast beautiful and portable designs.
Special Honors
Samadhi Cushions Gomden Readers still search for the gomden, sometimes spelled gomdem, which led this list for years. It's a firm, rectangular foam-core seat from the Tibetan tradition that sits higher and steadier than a zafu, a good fit for half lotus or tight hips. Samadhi Cushions sells its gomdens and matching mats directly, in several heights and colors. samadhicushions.com
Getting The Height Right
A standard round zafu is about 16 inches across and 5 or 6 inches tall.
The one test that matters is height. Your hips should sit a little above your knees, and you sit on the front edge of the zafu, not the middle, so your pelvis tips forward and your spine can stack up without effort. Dharma Crafts puts it at the front third of the cushion, and Calm advises a taller zafu for tight hips and a shorter one for flexible sitters.
A standard round zafu is about 16 inches across and 5 or 6 inches tall. Buckwheat zafus let you tune that: unzip the inner pocket and scoop hulls out to go lower, or add them back. If a cushion is still too low, a folded blanket on top is the cheap fix. A zabuton, the flat mat underneath, doesn't lift you at all. Its job is to keep your knees and ankles off a hard floor, which is why a set makes sense if you sit on wood or tile.
Buckwheat, Kapok Or Foam
Buckwheat hulls are the usual fill. They're firm, they shift to fit your shape, and you can change the height. The trade-offs are weight, a faint rustle when you move, and washing: the hulls have to come out, or stay in an inner liner, before the cover goes in the machine. Psych Central notes buckwheat runs about twice as heavy as kapok.
Kapok is a fluffy fiber from the seed pods of the kapok tree. It's lighter and springier, starts out surprisingly hard, and packs down over weeks of use. You can't adjust it, and most kapok cushions are spot clean or hand wash only. Foam, used in chairs and gomdens, gives the same support every time but doesn't mold to you.
For covers, cotton breathes, hemp canvas wears hardest, and velvet looks best in a living room. If you want proof that the materials are organic or free of harmful substances, Calm suggests looking for the Global Organic Textile Standard or OEKO-TEX labels. A claim that names a certificate is worth more than a vague eco promise.
When To Kneel Or Use A Chair
Cross-legged sitting isn't for every body. If your knees, hips or lower back complain after a few minutes, raising the cushion is the first fix. If that fails, kneel. A seiza bench takes the twist out of the knees and tilts the pelvis forward on its own. Benches with rounded legs let you rock to find your angle, and folding ones pack for retreats.
If your back tires no matter how you sit, a floor chair with a backrest holds you upright, and there's no rule against it. Calm's guide says switching between a cushion and a chair is fine. A gomden, a firm, rectangular foam block from the Tibetan tradition, sits between the two: higher and steadier than a zafu, without a backrest.
Be wary of health promises. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reviews research on meditation itself, not on what you sit on, and Psych Central points out that studies of the cushions are lacking. Persistent pain is a reason to see a doctor or physical therapist, not to buy a pricier seat.
How we researched this
We compared 22 meditation seats, including every pick from the old list, across zafus, zafu and zabuton sets, crescents, kneeling benches and floor chairs. We read the makers' fill, cover and care details, two posture guides and two published roundups, analyzed owner feedback on firmness, size and seam durability, and checked every brand against the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall database.
Sources (11)
- Calm: how to choose a meditation cushion
- Dharma Crafts: choosing your first meditation cushion
- Psych Central: best meditation pillows
- Meditate Mate: best meditation cushions
- NCCIH: meditation and mindfulness, effectiveness and safety
- Global Organic Textile Standard
- Waterglider International
- Bean Products
- renoo
- Samadhi Cushions: gomdens
- CPSC SaferProducts recall search
Frequently asked questions
What is a meditation pillow?
Usually a zafu: a round, pleated cushion filled with buckwheat hulls or kapok that lifts your hips so you can sit cross-legged with a straight back. It's often paired with a zabuton, a flat mat that pads your knees and ankles.
Is a cushion or a bench better for back pain?
Try raising the cushion first, then a kneeling bench, which tilts the pelvis forward on its own. If your back still tires, a floor chair with a backrest is a reasonable choice. Persistent pain is worth a talk with a doctor or physical therapist.
Buckwheat or kapok: which fill is better?
Buckwheat is firm, adjustable and heavy, and the hulls must come out before washing. Kapok is lighter and springier, starts hard and packs down with use, but you can't adjust it and it's mostly hand wash only.
Do I need a zabuton?
Only if you sit on a hard floor. A zabuton doesn't raise you, but it keeps your knees and ankles from pressing into wood or tile. On thick carpet, a zafu alone often works.
How high should a meditation cushion be?
High enough that your hips sit slightly above your knees when you're on the front edge. Tight hips need a taller seat. Most zafus are about 5 or 6 inches tall, and buckwheat ones can be adjusted.
What is a gomden?
A firm, rectangular foam-core seat from the Tibetan tradition, sometimes spelled gomdem. It sits higher and steadier than a zafu. Samadhi Cushions sells them directly.
