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 inward 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 shin as near as possible to your knee
downward firmly causes the muscles at the other side of your body to exert
effort or stretch balancing the muscular effort and rest of your crossed legs to
be as beneficial and feel as comfortable as if both sides were similar and causes
the position of your backbone to be as beneficial and feel as vital as if you were
standing upright. As the two sides of your cross-legged position become more
similar you won’t need to lean forward so far or toward one side.
A strong tripod is formed inside your body by your legs, hips and backbone supported on three firm bases beneath your posterior and the ends of your shins as near as possible to your knees. 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 might 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.
You experience the benefits of simple yoga
when you remain still. When you have placed your body in the best
position that you can maintain comfortably maintain the position 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. If you appear to be leaning
forward too far you might need to explain that you need to lean forward that
far for the inhalations of your breathing to be effortless.
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. If you appear to be leaning toward
the side too far you might need to explain that you need to lean toward the
side that far for the uneven positions of your crossed legs to feel balanced.
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 © January
7, 2026