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. 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 you prefer you can be seated
on a firm, flat surface with no raised support beneath your posterior on a rug
or mat with no sponge or elastic content. Whether you’re seated with your hips
elevated on a firm cushion or seated on a flat surface place your knees as
close together and as close to the rug or mat as you can support your shins as
near as possible to your knees firmly and comfortably.
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 at your knees on small, firm
cushions or small wedges of cotton towels. Supporting the ends of your shins as
near as possible to your knees firmly supports your legs firmly enough to
maintain a beneficial cross-legged position. If the support beneath any part of
your body is not firm when you remain seated still to benefit from the position
of your body 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. 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’re supporting your shins on your ankles and feet, in
addition to standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward
sufficiently, you need to curve or lean 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.
Don’t curve or lean
forward far. Curving forward far while you remain seated still
is not beneficial. Exerting muscular effort at the sides and back of your body
pulls back any excessive inward curve there might be in your backbone and
transfers excessive and confused muscular tensions from the front of your body
to become beneficial muscular effort at the back of your body leaving your
abdomen and chest relatively free from tension. When you’re seated in a
beneficial cross-legged position and standing your backbone upright and curved
or leaned forward sufficiently your legs, hips and backbone are combined in
mutually supporting positions that support your position upright more
thoroughly than you can support your position upright ordinarily
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 the 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.
You can verify that the
upright position of your backbone is beneficial by adjusting the angle that you
curve or lean forward to allow the inhalation of your breathing to be
effortless. When you're standing your backbone upright
and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at
your knees downward, contract the muscles of your abdomen inward to exhale.
When you relax those muscles the following inhalation can be
effortless. If you're not straightening your backbone as well as you can
or not curving forward far enough or curving forward too far the following
inhalation 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 cross-legged position. Curving or leaning
forward far enough so that the muscles beneath your thighs and hips and at the
sides and back of your body exert effort and the ends of your thighs at your
knees press downward stabilizes the combined positions of your legs, hips and
backbone and causes the ends of your shins at your ankles to rotate minutely,
the upper side forward, lower side backward, while you’re seated still. 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.
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. Even a moment of remaining seated still in an integrated
position of your body is beneficial. 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
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 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 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 seated 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 the ends of your
thighs at your knees downward. 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 you need to curve or lean additionally
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 inner concerns 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 © October 14, 2024