MEDITATION: Posture, how to sit while meditating

Posture is a bit a thing when it comes to meditation. In theory the posture is meant to help flow the mind through your body. It opens and aligns the energy flows in the body optimizing the ability to meditate. Now this is the theory. In practice however the traditional pose can be quite painful for unpracticed bodies. Now although I am not the super spiritual guy and rather a scientific pragmatist, I do believe the traditional posture actually works best… for me.

To be fair I am not going to debate a posture that has been used and studied for thousands of years. I also believe that you should make it easy to start and not be so harsh on yourself. Find something that works for you and experient and fine-tune over tims. So here are a couple of poses that are going to help you start with meditating and will help you progress to the ultimate posture which is the (full) Lotus position if you want to ever got there. Here we go:

Zen posture

From a meditation perspective this is often how it is done in Zen meditation in Japan. It is not wrong but it puts quite some strain on the angles if you are not used to this position. Not necessarily bad, it is an easy posture for many. But if you are not used to this it will not take long before it will start to hurt. This is the way I started doing my first meditation and to be honest this is my preferred way of doing a quick session with limited space. With practice the pain will go away as the pose will stretch your muscle and it is nothing to be afraid of, in Japan everyone sits this way. The stretching will keep you mobile so it is actually a good thing.

Chair meditation posture

This pose can be done with your feet steady on the ground or in a starting Lotus pose as in the picture. It is very easy and comfortable to do. Your back is being supported by the back of the chair. A perfect starting point for beginners as this will help you to be focussed on your meditation and not necessarily on your posture. Also if you are have lower back problems this pose is great for the additional support. Although I would encourage you not to use this as a standard feel free to use it when necessary or if you are starting with meditation. I meditate on the bed in this position if I have lower back issues and it really works great.

Burmese posture (quarter lotus)

I think is important to strive for the meditation results and with centuries of experiences the full lotus pose seems to be the best. Now unless you practice Yoga or any other athletic sports you probably won’t be able to do that straight away and you don’t need to. But if you do want to head towards the lotus pose there are a couple of poses that will help you get there without breaking a leg or straining muscles. This pose is called the burmese posture. It is actually a very loose and natural way of sitting that closely resembles the lotus pose. Tuck your feet together under your legs crossed as in the picture, keep your back and head straight, you’ve got this. Don’t overthink it, it’s okay, just do it.

Half lotus

If the burmese pose feels comfortable try the half lotus pose. It is pretty much the same as the burmese pose but now pull one of your legs over the other. Be careful, don’t overstretch, it is okay if it feels sensitive but stop if you feel hard pain. It is a matter of having your muscles stretched to a point you feel a strain but no pain. It really comes back to practice. Try it for 5 seconds, next time 10 seconds, next time 15 seconds etc. Put your foot on your upper leg, don’t try to force it deep into your groin. Just loosly put it on top of your leg until it feels comfortable, then you can move on to the next pose which is the (full) lotus pose.

(Full) Lotus

Now that the half lotus feels comfortable you can take the next step which is not difficult but can be hard to do. So one foot is already on top of the other leg, now the other foot needs to go on the opposite leg so you have 2 feet on 2 opposite legs as shown in the picture above. PLEASE NOTE that with 2 feet cross on top of your legs this will shorten your muscles even more so really be careful in this stage. It is easy to hurt yourself. Take your time, don’t force anything, get used to this pose slowly if necessary. There is no need to learn this tomorrow. You take the time you need.

Or any posture that makes you happy

Despite that I believe the full lotus posture will eventually be important to fully benefit from your meditation it is also a matter of starting meditation in a way that works best for you right now. And if starting means you use a different pose than by all means do it and gradually try to change your pose to the Lotus position over time. No haste, no pressure, enjoy the the journey and start benefitting from meditation today.