cushions for asana
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I have purchased a seat cushion recommended by someone on a thread here, but it's pretty firm and I'm thinking could be the cause of this: I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining the "easy pose"
mainly due to pins and needles after about 15 or 20 minutes. I get them mainly in my legs, and if I "fight them" my lower body goes a bit numb, which is disturbing because I'm guessing it can cause nerve damage. 
I'm not sure if my problems are something from the cushion or maybe I'm just not built "right" for sitting cross-legged? I'm guessing this physical problem isn't something you just ignore completely and it goes away.
While I'm at it, I often feel dizzy or somehow "twisted" when meditating for a bit. I am not sure if this is a related issue or maybe I just need to breathe more.
I'd appreciate any insights here, many thanks.
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My take:
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The dizziness, in my experience, has been from a combination of "trying too hard" and from breathing improperly. The "twisty" feeling is something I've experienced when I've gotten "lost" in the meditational experience, i.e. lost focus.
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The pins-and-needles, on the other hand, I'm not too sure about. I personally shy away from positions involving sitting cross-legged for that reason. Maybe try a different position? The God Position in particular shouldn't cause any problems of that nature, or at least not that I can think of - perhaps that would suit you better?
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I would make sure you are sitting correctly(with the pins and needles). Make sure your legs while crossed are not too strenuous. I cant say much more about the posture because im not sure what "easy pose" is. Are you doing Burmese? or Full-Lotus? Indian style? About the pillow. I use 3 pillows, one big one with two couch pillows on top, makes for perfect hieght with my weight, and I sit close to the edge of the pillows, just right, so your on the pillow nicley but not going to slide off, so that your butt and knees can create a stable tripod to erect your spine in a sturdy position.
I agree with Ash on the Dizziness. But I dont know if I would put twisty under loss of focus, unless your trying to meditate one one thing, but in the back of the mind you want to go deeper, hence causing the twisty. The twisty to me feals more like spiraling, as if my astral body in actually going in circles. But that to me has been a more of a mark entering a deeper state, not realy the state itself, on nothingness really. You can probly experiment with the twisty feeling in its own meditation. But your best bet is too ignore any impulses during meditation if you get any, just stay relaxed and completely focused.
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Thanks for the comments. Easy pose is just sitting cross legged or "indian style." The pins and needles/numbness is definitely a problem for me but I refuse to believe it's simply my body's mechanics. I'm going to try other cushions. I do like the God posture but I have lower back pain which is noticeable in it (probably means my posture is off...) but I also dislike feeling like I could fall to the ground if I lost control. I read a yoga book that mentioned that "danger" even though I don't *really *believe it.
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93
Dizziness and pins and needles sounds like a circulation problem to me. Stretch out before and after. Do Hatha yoga as it is a preliminary to meditation so I've heard. Take an aspirin 20 minutes before. Experiment.
Back problems from bad posture? Pretend that your head is pushing upwards or hung from a hook and the rest of your body dangles from.
You could also try meditating laying down on the ground.93 93/93
Jason -
I've had similar problems trying to meditate for +30min. In I've been thinking of going to a local yoga studio to learn more of hatha yoga to stretch the body and get it ready for meditation. My biggest problem seems to be pins and needles and my legs falling asleep, which as above stated, is probably circulation.
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@Escarabaj said
"I do like the God posture but I have lower back pain which is noticeable in it (probably means my posture is off...) but I also dislike feeling like I could fall to the ground if I lost control."
I had the lower back pain with the God asana, which I solved by the unglamorous but effective solution of putting a folded up blanket on the chair and sitting on that. In other words, it wasn't so much that my posture was off as that my chair was the wrong size. (One of these days, I'll make a grand tour of furniture shops and try to find a better chair.)
Following a tip from Franz Bardon, I found draping a towel over my legs helped me keep my legs together. Wearing a robe has the same effect.
I doubt you would fall over unless you fell asleep, in which case you'd probably wake up and straighten yourself up before you hit the floor.
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I figured I'd post this for the benefit of other members... A hatha yoga class can help out big time with lower back pain during meditation. As for pins and needles and legs falling asleep, just elevate your butt when you're sitting in a cross-legged asana.
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pins and needles is pretty common, and to be expected in any posture, especially cramped ones such as the dragon or full lotus.
the body does learn to adjust however and in time you will find you can sit for longer periods before pins and needles set in.
My asana of choice is the Dragon, it used to give me no end of trouble, but in a relatively short time it went from an agonising 10 minutes when I could stand it, to an average 30 minutes practice, after which I simply run out of mental energy for the practice, although I feel that If I mustered up the will I could probably carry on longer.