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 comfortable
cross-legged position. You can also use the
method to be seated in a beneficial position that’s not cross-legged. The text
begins with a description of a position of being seated upright with both legs
extended forward, not cross-legged.
A rudimentary seated position,
not cross-legged
Support your posterior
on a firm, flat surface with both legs extended forward. Your ankles can be
crossed if that’s comfortable and your knees can be supported by small firm
cushions. Support the palms of your hands on your thighs.
Straighten your backbone
as well as you can with a small muscular effort. To verify that the upright position of your
body is beneficial, curve or lean your body forward far enough so that you can contract the muscles of your abdomen inward to exhale, then relax those
muscles to inhale effortlessly. This manner of breathing is easy to control
when you’re seated still.
You can remain seated
still in this position beneficially as long as the position is comfortable. This balance of effort and rest in the muscles
that support your body allows you to be seated upright easily for a relatively
long time.
How to be seated in a
beginner’s cross-legged position
This chapter is a
complete description of the method of simple yoga. Adaptations of the method
are included for being seated on a chair with your feet supported on the floor
like when you’re standing. 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. Intend that all of
your thoughts and experience will be positive, beneficial, while you’re
practicing yoga.
Allow your breathing to
be free and thorough. When your breathing is free and thorough you can straighten your backbone and hold a beneficial position more
easily. Exerting effort to exhale and inhaling effortlessly can be as free and
thorough as breathing spontaneously. 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 of your
body while you remain seated still. The weight or proportions of your body
don't interfere with maintaining a beneficial position.
Support your posterior
(hips and the ends of your thighs at your hips) and feet, ankles and legs
firmly. Your ankles should be
located directly below your knees when you're seated on a chair, and the bottom
of both feet should be supported on the floor like when you're standing, to
support your legs firmly. If the support
beneath any part of your body is not firm when you remain seated still, it's
possible that you won't experience any benefit.
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. 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. If no cushion or folded cloth is available, or if you prefer, you can
be seated on a firm,
flat surface with no raised support beneath your
posterior, on rug or mat
with no sponge or elastic content. Whether you’re seated on
a raised support, or seated on a flat surface, place your knees as close
together, and as close to the rug or mat, as you can support them firmly and
comfortably.
Support the ends of your
shins at 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 at your knees on the upper side of your ankles and feet beneath them, support the ends of your shins at your knees on small, firm cushions
or small wedges of cotton towels. Supporting the ends of your shins at your knees firmly, supports your legs firmly enough to
maintain a beneficial cross-legged position.
Stand your backbone
upright and curved or leaned forward slightly. When you’re seated in a
beneficial
cross-legged position, and you stand your backbone upright
and curved or leaned forward slightly,
your legs, hips and backbone are combined in mutually supporting positions that
support your body upright more thoroughly than you can support your body upright
ordinarily. When you’re supporting the ends of your shins at
your knees on the upper side of your ankles and feet beneath them, in addition
to curving forward slightly, curve or lean your body toward the side far enough
to press the end of your shin at your knee downward firmly on your foot and
ankle –between your ankle and heel- of your opposite leg beneath it, when
you’re seated in a beginner’s cross-legged position.
Don’t curve or lean your
body forward far. Curving
forward far while you remain seated still is not beneficial. Curving forward
slightly stimulates the muscles at the back of every level of your backbone to
exert effort to support your weight, or to stretch beneficially, and helps to
stand your backbone upright easily for a relatively long time. Exerting
muscular effort at the back of your body, pulls back any excessive inward
curve there might be in your backbone, and transfers
excessive and confused muscular tensions out from your abdomen and chest to become beneficial muscular effort at the back of your body, leaving your
abdomen and chest relatively free from tension.
Align your shoulders,
arms, hands and head with the position of your backbone as well as you can. Expand your ribs (thorax) 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, 2 or 3 inches 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. Balance your head to relieve any pressure from 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 the position still. All of the parts
of the position are mutually supporting. Don't concentrate on a difficulty of your physical position. That focus
of your attention interferes with the natural remedy of simple yoga.
You can verify that the
upright position of your body is beneficial by adjusting the angle that you
curve or lean your body forward to allow the inhalation of your breathing to be
effortless.
While you're standing your backbone upright and curved
or leaned forward slightly, contract the muscles of your abdomen inward to
exhale. When you relax the muscles of your abdomen, the following inhalation of
your breathing can be effortless. If you're not straightening your
backbone as well as you can, or if your body is not curved forward enough -or
curved forward too far- your inhalations won’t be effortless. When you become
tired your breathing will become difficult. Then you should rest.
A beneficial
cross-legged position improves gradually to enable a more developed position. Curving or leaning your body forward slightly to
support more of your weight on the ends of your shins at your knees, stabilizes
the positions of your crossed legs so that they remain comfortable, and causes
the ends of your shins at your ankles to rotate minutely, the upper side
forward, lower side backward, and your knees press downward toward the rug or
mat beneath them while you’re seated still. If you practice simple yoga for a
while nearly every day, supporting the ends of your shins at your knees firmly
on the upper sides of your ankles and feet beneath them, in several months you might be
able to gather your legs and hips into a more developed cross-legged position, supporting one ankle comfortably on the
ankle and foot of your opposite leg beneath it.
When you have placed
your body in the best position that you can maintain comfortably, maintain that
position of your body still. You experience the benefits of
simple yoga while you remain still. Don’t remain still if you
feel uncomfortable. Move freely to improve an uncomfortable part of your
position. When you become tired, rest 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're maintaining the best
position of your body 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 you can 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, tiring or rest, nor how you decide that your position is
beneficial.
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 seated still:
1 You should be seated on a firm support. Your hips should be level and
should be elevated higher than your knees, when you can. When you’re seated on
a chair, your ankles should be located directly below your knees, and your feet
should be supported on the floor like when you’re standing. When you’re seated
in a beginner’s cross-legged position, the ends of your shins at your knees,
should be supported on the upper sides of your ankles and feet that are
supported on the rug beneath them. Or supported on small, firm cushions or
wedges of towels.
2 Your backbone should be standing upright and curved or leaned forward
slightly, to support more of your weight on the ends of your shins at your
knees. Someone who’s observing your position cannot know how far you should
curve your body forward. But they can tell you if it appears that you’re not
curving your body forward far enough, or curving forward too far.
3 Additionally, when you’re supporting your
shins on the upper sides of your ankles and feet beneath them, your body should
be curved or leaned toward the side far enough to press the end of your shin at
your knee 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 head should be upright and your neck should be curved forward 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 inner concerns,
energy won't move freely in your body and you won't be able to maintain a
beneficial position.
The text that you have
read describes the method. Maintaining the best position of your body that you can develops
understanding, strength and flexibility that can improve your position. Every
practice is relaxing and vital.
methodofsimpleyoga.com © March13,
2024