The Ultimate Relaxation Through Sitting: Find Freedom with ZAF

Have you ever noticed that you forgot to breathe while lost in thought or deeply focused on something? In today's world, where new environments and information keep flooding in one after another, there's never enough time once you start pursuing everything that catches your curiosity.

Amid the daily grind of work, housework, and raising children. You tell yourself you'll go somewhere relaxing on the weekend. But in the end, you probably don't even have time to truly relax.

In an age like this, some people practice zazen (seated meditation), believing that how you breathe matters for both physical and mental health.

It helps you relax. It brings calm. It balances body and mind. It can even ease emotional instability during menopause. For all these reasons, zazen is popular around the world—sitting with good posture supports the pelvis. One cushion that has been incorporated into daily life for this purpose is called ZAF.

ZAF is here to help you begin "doing nothing" for just five minutes.

Push your navel forward, lengthen your spine, and settle firmly onto the ZAF. Simply doing this, and taking time to breathe slowly, is said to calm the mind and strengthen the spirit.

Originally, it was used by monks sitting cross-legged for meals and similar occasions. For that reason, sitting on the floor to eat is also thought to help align the internal organs and improve digestion.

★Who is ZAF good for?

・People who feel like they're always busy

・People prone to anxiety

・People who feel they have a lot of stress

・People who want to improve their concentration

・People whose work requires ideas and creativity

・People who want to be mindful of their posture in everyday life

・People in positions of responsibility, such as management

Your first meditation.

Imagine releasing your mind into some vast, empty space.

You may want to drift away, and it may not go smoothly, but even without doing it perfectly, it's enough to just relax there for five minutes and breathe slowly and deeply.

Even amid busy days, try to carve out just five minutes.

Simply sitting on the cushion won't tire you out.

It's worth trying. According to people who have used ZAF for a long time, even one or two minutes is fine.

The trick is to try incorporating a little sitting time into your daily routine. If doing it every day from the start feels like too high a hurdle, just keep it nearby so you can use it whenever you feel like it. With its charming appearance, ZAF blends naturally into interiors, and having it in the room becomes a comforting, reassuring presence in itself.

Once you start sitting mindfully, you'll notice changes in your posture too. In the morning, it gives you a pleasant start to the day; at night, it helps you sleep well. (During busy moments in the middle of the day, it can be hard to sit calmly, so mornings or before bed are recommended.)

Sitting with a stable posture makes breathing easier, and spending time quietly allows you to relax. It's said to be good to count to 10 with each breath.

Before zazen, loosen up your body with light stretching, then sit on the cushion in a cross-legged position.

The Buddha pose known as kekkafuza, in which both feet are raised, is difficult, so raising just one foot is more than enough.

The idea is to sit with your pelvis upright, as if pushing your navel forward. Rest your hips on the front half of the cushion and form a triangle with both knees to distribute your weight. Place both hands on your knees and gently rock your upper body left and right to find your natural, well-balanced center axis. Stabilizing this posture makes calm breathing easier. Relax your shoulders, breathe slowly through your nose, and let the breath circulate through your whole body.

Guiding your spine into a natural S-curve reduces strain on your lower back and creates a good zazen posture. Continue breathing deeply, imagining your head balanced neatly atop your spine. If you have stiffness in your shoulders or neck, tilting your head back as if gazing up at a starry sky opens up your chest and improves your posture as well.

As you close your eyes and continue breathing slowly, various thoughts will drift through your mind—but there's no need to force yourself to become empty. Simply stay lightly aware of your bodily sensations and breathing. Starting with about five minutes is plenty.

When you're finished, reshape the cushion. Since anything you handle becomes, in a sense, an extension of your own body, do this slowly and with care. It's customary, after zazen, to knead the cushion back into shape.

Zazen, now widely embraced as a form of mindfulness, is used in a variety of situations, and comes in three variations to match. There are types for everyday use at home, as well as versions you can bring along to the sauna, sports activities, outdoor excursions, and travel. Sizes and materials are divided according to the scene in which they'll be used.

◆COVER...For everyday use at home, the basic type is the top recommendation. Many people find that COVER offers the best fit when sitting. Inside, it uses "kapok cotton." Thanks to the natural insect-repellent properties of this material, it was favored in old temples, where insects often came and went, and it's made using traditional materials and methods, making it close to the original form of the zafu cushion.

◆SPORTS・・・Made to be carried with you, for yoga, the gym, or outdoor use. Light and compact, and washable—these are the defining features of SPORTS. You can enjoy it out in nature too, like when chairing on a mountaintop or at a campsite.

Top: SAUNA, bottom: SPORTS

◆SAUNA・・・Designed with an inner filling that can withstand sauna heat, and sized to fit easily into a bag. Sitting in the sauna becomes far more comfortable, and you can also use it as a pillow to lie down—doubling the enjoyment for a truly wonderful experience.

The best way to start with a zabu is to simply keep it in your daily life as an interior piece or cushion, and try sitting on it whenever the mood strikes. Here, we share a record of the first five days for someone using it for the first time.

Day 1

Like when a new transfer student arrives, I found myself curious about its presence—watching it, sitting on it, gazing at it. I tried out a few poses without really thinking about it. It has the sturdy, cushiony feel of something you could use as a pillow or a regular cushion.

Seeking a moment to relax, I sat on it in the morning, and again before bed, closing my eyes quietly.

Listening to the faint sounds of birds and the world outside, I noticed how active my mind still was, even as I tried to become empty. Still, on this first day, I thought this kind of time was rather nice.

Day 2

After waking up and finishing my morning routine, I sat down for a while.

Was this cross-legged position really right...? I tried to hold a meditative awareness.

I noticed my breathing wasn't very deep, so I made an effort to slow it down.

At night, after my bath, I put a few drops of aroma oil in a diffuser pot and sat for five minutes.

(While thinking that incense might actually suit this better than aroma oil...)

I could hear the sound of rain and wondered if tomorrow would be sunny. With such thoughts drifting through my mind, I still hadn't reached a state of emptiness, but even just five minutes made for a calm and pleasant time.

Day 3

I'd heard that once you sit down on the ZAF, the trick is to wiggle your hips a bit to find a comfortable position, so I gave it a try.

The best posture is like a camera tripod, with your body supported at three points—both knees and your hips. I also started sitting cross-legged with one leg raised.

As for posture, rather than forcing my back straight, I simply opened up my chest to counter the way my shoulders tend to round forward from looking at my phone or computer. I realized just how hunched my back had become.

By the third day, I'd grown used to sitting, and I felt there was now a real [moment of calm] in the practice.

Day 4

Whether at the start or the end of the day, I felt that just five minutes was enough to make things better.

Day 5

I tried sitting on the ZAF first thing in the morning. The quiet of the early morning, when no one else seems to be awake yet, feels wonderful. Taking five minutes to sit on the ZAF and close my eyes during that time gave me a sense of the still, silent space around me—as if my whole body, in every direction, were letting go and settling into it.

Sitting with my spine straight before falling asleep at night, I found that thoughts of regret or unnecessary worry about the day's events simply didn't arise.

Now that I've reached an age where I pay more attention to my body, and my awareness of facing myself has grown, I found myself thinking that a life with ZAF in it is a good one. That was how the fifth day went.

"Everyone's Questions" Q&A

Q. Can it be used as a regular cushion (a zabuton, a back support, or a cushion for seiza)?

You can even lie down on it. You can sit crouched on it, or use it as a cushion on a zabuton or when sitting directly on the floor in a Japanese-style room. When working at a desk on a computer, you can also tuck it between your stomach and the desk, or place it behind your back—it works as a supportive cushion to help correct the posture that tends to slump during computer work. When sitting on the floor, it can be used just like an ordinary cushion. It also has a strong decorative appeal, so a ZAF sitting in a room looks charming all on its own.

Q. How cushioned is it?

COVER is packed quite firmly, so it's harder than a cotton cushion, but thanks to the cotton filling, it has just the right amount of pleasant give. Even so, compared to a cotton zabuton, it holds its shape remarkably well without flattening. In temples, they're used for as long as ten years.

Q. What type would you recommend for someone with weak knees or a bad back?

For those with weak knees, sitting cross-legged may be difficult, so it's hard for us to recommend it in that case.

Q. What age is it suitable for? Can the whole family use it together?

We often hear of children using it in place of a floor chair, so once a child is old enough to sit still for a while, the whole family should be able to enjoy it together.

Q. I'd like to give this as a gift—does it come with instructions?

It comes with instructions on how to sit, care for, and use it. With practical touches like a date and name tag, pleats designed to faithfully recreate the look of a real zabu, and packaging suitable for gift-giving, we think it makes a wonderful present. It's also popular among customers from overseas.

Q. Can it be washed whole in a washing machine?

SPORTS and SAUNA can be washed all the way through, including the inner filling. COVER can only have its cover washed. (It's fine to wash in a machine using a laundry net, but do not put it in a dryer.)