What Is the Buttafly? The Constant Behind Back Care, Yoga and Meditation

One of the challenges I’ve faced over the years is explaining exactly what the Buttafly is.

Simply speaking, the Buttafly is a posture and positioning tool designed to support comfort, awareness and self-exploration whilst sitting, resting, breathing and meditating.

People discover it through very different doorways. Some people come to it because they have back pain. Others are looking for ways to improve posture, sit more comfortably or support their spine health. Some discover it through yoga, whilst others are interested in breathing practices or meditation.

It’s unusual perhaps for a single tool to have so many applications and, as a result, it’s presented something of a marketing challenge.

I’ve often found myself wondering which aspect of the work to talk about.

Should I concentrate on the Buttafly as a tool for natural back care and spine health?

Or the Buttafly as a yoga prop?

Or the Buttafly as a meditation seat — its original application?

Sometimes I’ve worried that talking about one application might cause people to overlook the others — to the extent of not talking about anything at all.

But more recently, I’ve come to see things differently.

The Buttafly is the constant

The Buttafly itself is the constant; everything else is an application.

When I first developed the Buttafly, my focus was on helping people become more comfortable in their bodies. Many people first encounter the Buttafly whilst looking for a more comfortable way to sit, whether for yoga, meditation or rehabilitation.

Over time, however, I noticed that people were experiencing much more than physical changes.

They were becoming aware of things they hadn’t previously noticed.

Some became aware of their breathing.

Others noticed differences between the left and right sides of their body.

Some experienced a sense of release.

Others simply became aware of how much effort they were carrying.

The more I observed, the more I realised that awareness sits at the heart of everything I do. The Buttafly is simply one way of developing that awareness.

Awareness is the common thread

For someone struggling with back pain, the Buttafly Technique may provide an opportunity to rest, release tension and discover a more comfortable relationship with their spine.

For someone interested in spine health, the Buttafly can offer feedback that encourages greater awareness of balance, alignment and comfort.

For a yoga practitioner, the Buttafly can provide support, feedback and a way of exploring the breath with greater sensitivity.

For meditation, it can help create a more comfortable seat and encourage a sense of ease whilst sitting.

The common thread running through all of these experiences is awareness.

In many ways, this understanding has brought a sense of clarity to my work.

I no longer feel I have to choose between talking about back care, spine health, yoga or meditation.

They all belong.

They are simply different expressions of the same underlying principle.

Over the years, my own learning has been wonderfully interdisciplinary. I’ve been influenced by yoga, osteopathy, craniosacral work, movement education, meditation, anatomy, breathing practices and many other fields of study.

Books such as The Art of Changing by Glen Park and The Way of Aikido by George Leonard left a lasting impression on me. Although they come from different traditions, both explore themes that continue to resonate deeply: balance, awareness, centre, and the relationship between effort and ease.

When I was working with military recruits, I often recommended The Way of Aikido. On the surface, it’s a book about martial arts. In reality, it is a book about far more than that. It explores what it means to stand in your centre and to respond to life from a place of stability rather than reactivity.

This idea has stayed with me for many years.

As I look back, I can see that much of my work has been an exploration of the same territory.

The Buttafly became my doorway into that exploration: an invitation to slow down, to listen, and to develop a greater awareness of myself.

So, again, what is the Buttafly?

The Buttafly is a posture and positioning tool that can be used for natural back care, spine health, sitting comfort, yoga, breathing practices and meditation.

People may discover it through different doorways, but the underlying purpose remains the same: to develop greater awareness of the body, the breath and ourselves.

The Buttafly is the tool, and natural back care, spine health, yoga and meditation are some of the ways it can be used.

What brings them all together, is the art of awareness.