Meditative Poses

There are various meditative postures. I am outlining about five of them here. Select any posture that you are comfortable with & sit in that posture for a few minutes. You can choose to sit on a cushion or a folded blanket if the mat is not very comfortable. 

Once you have chosen the meditative pose that you are most comfortable with, you can use it for practicing all your breathing exercises & for meditation.

1. Sitting on a chair

The most easy seated meditation posture is sitting upright on a chair. Keep your neck in line with your spine. Make sure your lower back is not overly arched. Place your hands on your knees with palms facing up in chin mudra (In chin mudra, the nail of the index finger is placed into the first joint of the thumb creating a circuit that prevents the Prana from dissipating into the environment. The last three fingers face down towards the earth).

2. Sukhasan (easy pose)

 

This is a simple cross legged position. Make sure your head, neck & back are in one straight line.

3. Siddhasan (adept’s pose) or Arda Padmasan (The Half lotus)

Sit & stretch the legs forward. Bend the left knee & place the sole of the left foot against the right thigh. Now, fold the right knee & place the right foot on left thigh or in the fold of left leg (whichever is more comfortable). Sit with back straight & head erect. Place the hands on the knee in chin mudra.

4. Padmasan (The Lotus Pose)

closer view of leg position 

Sit on a folded blanket or a cushion. This is to enable knees to be closer to the floor. Place the right foot on the left thigh. Similarly place the left foot on the right thigh. Sit erect with hands on knees in chin mudra. Attempt the Padmasan with legs reversed (left foot on right thigh).

5. Vajrasan



Front view

Back view

Kneel down with back straight. Keep the knees together. Now, let the big toes touch each other  & the heels be apart. Sit on the space formed between the parted heels. Place palms on the knees.