How you can be seated in a
comfortable cross-legged position
This text
describes how you can combine natural positions of your legs, hips and
backbone, small muscular effort and rest to be seated in a beginner’s cross-legged
position.
This is
enough information for you to begin and progress in simple yoga without
personal help from an instructor.
Intend to be the best
person that you can be when you’re practicing yoga. Intend that all of your thoughts and experience
will be positive, beneficial, when you remain seated still
to benefit from the position of your body.
Allow your breathing to
be free and thorough. Your breathing will become as free as it can be in your present physical
condition and will gradually become more thorough. An elastic waistband
or stretch fabric hinders free and thorough breathing and straightening your
backbone when you remain seated still.
Straighten your backbone
as well as you can with a small muscular effort. Straighten your entire spine including the
lower levels and all the vertebrae of your neck. Straightening as well as you
can is sufficient. You need to straighten your backbone, whether spontaneously
without thinking about it, or by thinking about it and then straightening to
maintain a reliably beneficial position while you remain seated still. The
weight or proportions of your body don't interfere with maintaining a
beneficial position.
To be seated in a
beginner’s cross-legged position, support your posterior on a firm cushion or a
low stack of folded cloth and cross your legs as well as you can cross them
comfortably in your present physical condition. Place your knees as
close together and as close to the rug or mat as you can support them firmly
and comfortably. Any fabric pressed in the fold of your knees interferes with
healthful circulation. Your hips should be
elevated higher than your knees when you can. That helps to energize your
position.
Support the ends of your
shins as near as possible to your knees firmly on the upper side of your ankles
and feet that are supported on the rug or mat beneath them. When you cannot support the ends of your
shins as near as possible to your knees on the upper side of your ankles and
feet beneath them support the ends of your shins as near as possible to your
knees on small, firm cushions or small wedges of cotton towels. Supporting the
ends of your shins at your knees firmly supports your knees firmly enough to
experience the integrating potential of your cross-legged position. If the
support beneath your body is not firm it's possible that you won't experience
any benefit.
Stand your backbone
upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs
at your knees downward firmly. This causes the muscles
beneath your thighs and hips and at the sides and back of your body to exert
more effort than they exert ordinarily to support your position upright and
allows the muscles at the front of your body to rest more than they rest
ordinarily when you support your position upright.
To verify that the
upright position of your backbone is beneficial, contract the muscles of your
abdomen to exhale then relax the muscles of your abdomen so the following
inhalation can be effortless. If you
curve
forward too far, or if you don’t curve forward far enough the following
inhalation won’t be effortless. When you become tired your breathing will
become difficult. Then you should rest.
Curve or lean also toward
the side far enough to press the end of your shin as near as possible to your
knee downward firmly on your ankle and foot –between your ankle and heel- of
your opposite leg beneath it. Curving or leaning toward the side far enough
to press your knee downward firmly makes the asymmetrical positions of your
legs in a beginner’s cross-legged position feel like they’re symmetrical. As
your cross-legged position becomes more symmetrical you won’t need to curve
toward one side.
A strong tripod inside your body formed by your legs, hips and backbone based on the supports beneath your posterior and the ends of your shins as near as possible to your knees supports your backbone on three firm bases. Each more developed cross-legged position gathers your ankles together slightly nearer to your hips and abdomen and supports slightly more of your weight beneath the ends of your shins progressively nearer to your knees developing a pyramidal structure of the combined positions, muscular effort and rest of your legs, hips and backbone that supports your backbone progressively more thoroughly.
Align your shoulders, arms, hands and head
with the position of your backbone as well as you can. Expand your ribs upward and outward slightly. Don't lift
your chest too high. That could curve your backbone inward. Lift the outer ends
of your shoulders up a short distance, move them back and let them fall
downward from that place and hold them even one with the other with a small
muscular effort. Don't lean on your arms nor lean back. Those postures cause an
inward curve in your backbone and cause tensions in your abdomen and chest.
Extend your elbows
outward from your sides. Hold your arms and hands in similar positions
with your palms covering your knees. Or rest your hands one on the other, palms
upward, supporting your wrists and hands on your thighs or on the folds of your
clothing or on a cushion or folded cloth in front of your abdomen a small
distance below the level of your navel, the small finger side of both hands
pressed on your abdomen with very small pressure.
Straighten and curve
your neck forward slightly. Lift your head
slightly to relieve any excessive pressure between your head and the vertebrae
supporting it. These actions help to pull back any excessive curve forward and
remove excessive tensions from your neck. Your eyes can be open, relaxed,
looking forward and downward or closed.
It’s sufficient to place
and maintain each part of your position as well as you can. Add each part of the position without
hesitation then maintain that part of your position still. All the parts of the
position are mutually supporting. Don't concentrate on a difficulty of your
physical position any longer than you need to remedy it.
A beneficial cross-legged
position improves gradually to enable a more developed cross-legged position. When you practice
simple yoga for a least a few minutes nearly every day for several months you
will become able to gather your legs and hips into a more developed
cross-legged position supporting first one and then both ankles comfortably on
the shin or thigh of your opposite leg beneath them.
When you have placed
your body in the best position that you can maintain comfortably maintain the
position still. You experience the benefits of simple yoga
when you remain still. Don’t remain still if you feel uncomfortable. When you
become tired rest for a while. When you have sufficient energy you can begin
again.
You can ask a friend to
observe the position of your body while you remain seated still. The friend needs to be confident that you
will maintain the best position that you can. You need to be confident
that the friend will evaluate the important features of your physical position
and will suggest what parts of your position to improve for your position to be
more beneficial as they see it. Another person can perceive only the external
appearance of your position. Another person cannot perceive your energy,
muscular effort or tiring nor if your breathing is free.
The friend can observe
these features of your position in the order that they’re listed here during
the first few minutes of a session of you remaining still:
1 You should be seated on a firm
support. Your hips should be level and elevated higher than your knees when you
can. When you’re seated in a beginner’s cross-legged position the ends of your
shins as near as possible to your knees should be supported on the upper sides
of your ankles and feet that are supported on the rug or mat beneath them. Or
the ends of your shins at your knees should be supported on small, firm
cushions or wedges of towels.
2 Your backbone should be standing
upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press your knees downward firmly.
Someone who’s observing your position cannot know how far you should curve or
lean forward but they can tell if it appears that you’re not leaning forward
far enough or leaning forward too far.
3 When
you’re supporting the ends of your shins as near as possible to your knees on the
upper sides of your ankles and feet, curve or lean also toward the side far
enough to press your shin downward firmly on your ankle and foot –between your
ankle and heel- of your opposite leg beneath it.
4 The outer ends of your shoulders
should be lifted up a little, then moved back, then relaxed and allowed to fall
downward and held even one with the other at that level. Your elbows should be
equally distant from the sides of your body.
5 Your neck should be curved forward
slightly and your head should be lifted slightly.
6 Adjust your position as suggested by
the friend and maintain the improved position still.
Don’t be seated still
because another person suggested it nor to influence another person. Don't rely on help from another person to
maintain a beneficial position of your body because that will distract your
attention from the main concerns of the method and you won't be able to
maintain a beneficial position.
The text that you have read
describes the method. Maintaining the best position that you
can develops understanding, strength and flexibility that improve your
position. Every practice is relaxing and vital.
Methodofsimpleyoga.com © August
20, 2025