The
benefits of being seated on 3 bases of support (11)
1 You can experience the integrating potential of your body when you’re seated in the best cross-legged position that you can maintain comfortably in your present physical condition and you stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough so that when you contract the muscles of your abdomen inward to exhale the following inhalation can be effortless. When you’re seated in a beginner’s cross-legged position standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your shins as near as possible to your knees downward on the upper side of your ankles and feet or on small firm cushions beneath them supports your backbone thoroughly enough to experience the integrating potential of your body.
A strong tripod formed by your legs, hips and backbone inside your body based on the 3 points of contact between your hips and shins as near as possible to your knees and the firm support beneath them supports your backbone more thoroughly than any other position of your body. Each more developed cross-legged position gathers your ankles together nearer to your hips and abdomen and supports more of your weight beneath the ends of your shins nearer to your knees and supports your backbone more thoroughly.
More muscles exert effort to support your backbone upright when you’re seated in a beneficial cross-legged position than when you’re walking, standing or seated on a chair. Standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward slightly engages the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the sides and back of your body to exert effort or stretch to support your backbone upright. This allows the muscles at the front of your body to rest more than they rest when you support your backbone upright ordinarily and your breathing is more free and thorough than it is ordinarily.
A beneficial cross-legged position develops naturally to become a more integrated position while you remain still. When you become tired your legs, hips and backbone fall minutely into improved positions.
The proportions of length and range of motion of your legs have the potential to be gathered together into progressively more integrated positions. The architecture of your legs, hips and backbone when you’re seated in a beneficial cross-legged position and the potential of your legs to be gathered into progressively more integrated positions enable the nearly effortless development of a beneficial cross-legged position that’s described in this text.
You experience the benefits of this yoga at every stage of progress of your physical position. Experiencing the most integrated position of your body that you can maintain comfortably in your present physical condition for even one cycle of inhaling and exhaling your breathing is thoroughly beneficial.
2 The method
of simple yoga is founded on the principle that every cross-legged position
that’s as near to a completely developed cross-legged position as you can
maintain comfortably in your present physical condition supports and improves
your body thoroughly.
The method is applied also in this text to a
rudimentary seated position on a firm, flat support with your legs extended
straight forward in front of your hips as much as the method can be applied to
a position that’s not cross-legged.
The method is applied also to a position of
kneeling with your posterior (hips and the ends of your thighs at your hips)
supported firmly and your knees folded and your ankles and feet extended
backward as much as the method can be applied to a position that’s not
cross-legged.
And the method is applied to a position
seated on a chair with your posterior supported firmly and your knees half
folded and your feet supported on the floor like when you’re standing as much
as the method can be applied to a position that’s not cross-legged.
3 When you’re seated in a rudimentary position and when you’re kneeling and when you’re seated on a chair your weight is supported on 2 bases, one base beneath your posterior (hips and the ends of your thighs at your hips) and another base beneath the ends of your thighs at your knees. Your thighs are extended straight forward and parallel one thigh to the other and the ends of your thighs at your knees are close together so the ends of your thighs at your knees are combined as one base of support.
You’re not seated on 3 bases of support in a rudimentary position nor when you’re kneeling nor when you’re seated on a chair. When you’re seated on only 2 bases of support you can support your backbone upright nearly effortlessly for only a short time and your breathing can be nearly effortless for only a short time. 4 When you’re seated in a rudimentary position on a firm, flat support your legs are extended as straight forward as you can support them comfortably in your present physical condition.
Your ankles are located far from your hips
and abdomen, but your ankles are located one near to the other and they can be
crossed one over the other if that’s comfortable.
When you’re seated in a rudimentary position
with your legs extended forward, standing your backbone upright and curved or
leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees
downward causes the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the back
of your body exert effort or stretch to support your backbone upright, so you
can stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward nearly
effortlessly for a longer time than when you’re seated in any other position
that’s not cross-legged.
Your wrists and hands are supported on your
knees or thighs or gathered together and supported one hand on the other –palms
upward- on your thighs at your hips and pressed lightly on your abdomen. The muscular effort or stretching of the
muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the back of your body and the
comparative rest of the muscles at the upper sides of your thighs and at the
front of your body allow you to maintain your backbone upright nearly
effortlessly for a short time.
You can experience many of the benefits of
yoga when you’re seated in a rudimentary position with your legs extended
forward and you stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far
enough so that when you contract the muscles of your abdomen inward to exhale
the following inhalation can be effortless.
When you’re seated in a rudimentary position, standing your backbone
upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your
thighs at your knees downward causes the muscles beneath your thighs and
posterior and at the back of your body to exert effort or stretch to support
your backbone upright. That allows some of the muscles at the front of your
body to rest more than they rest when you support your backbone upright
ordinarily, so you can stand your backbone upright nearly effortlessly for a
short time and your breathing can be nearly effortless for a short time when
you remain seated still in a rudimentary position to benefit from the position
of your body.
When you’re seated in a rudimentary position you can support your backbone upright nearly effortlessly for a short time and your breathing can be nearly effortless for a short time. A rudimentary position develops naturally for you to become able to place your legs and hips in a beginner’s cross-legged position. When you maintain a rudimentary position for at least a few minutes nearly every day for several months you’ll become able to place your legs and hips in a beginner’s cross-legged position.
5 In a kneeling position as described in this text your posterior is supported firmly on a raised seat, your knees are folded and supported firmly on the surface beneath them and your ankles and feet are supported comfortably beneath your posterior. An improvement of a position of kneeling compared with a rudimentary seated position is that your ankles and feet are located relatively near to your hips and abdomen in a kneeling position. Another improvement of a position of kneeling compared with a rudimentary seated position is that a kneeling position supports your posterior elevated higher than your knees, so your knees support more of your weight when you’re kneeling than your knees support in a rudimentary position. Your posterior elevated higher than your knees in a kneeling position causes the energy in your body to move more vigorously in a kneeling position than the energy in your body moves as a result of the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the back of your body exerting effort or stretching to support your backbone upright in a rudimentary position.
When you’re kneeling your weight is supported
on only 2 bases, one base beneath your posterior and another base beneath the
ends of your thighs at your knees. When
you’re kneeling, standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward
far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees downward engages only
a few of the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the back of your
body to exert effort to support your backbone upright. The muscles at the front
of your body cannot rest any more than they rest when you support your backbone
upright ordinarily, so your breathing can be nearly effortless for only a short
time when you remain seated still in a kneeling position to benefit from the
position of your body.
Your wrists and hands are supported on your knees or thighs or gathered together and supported one hand on the other –palms upward- on your thighs at your hips and pressed lightly on your abdomen. When you’re kneeling you can support your backbone upright nearly effortlessly for only a short time and your breathing can be nearly effortless for only a short time. A position of kneeling does not allow free motion of energy in thighs and legs and becomes uncomfortable or numb relatively soon, and a position of kneeling does not progress to become a cross-legged position. 6 When you’re seated on a chair as described in this text your posterior is supported firmly and your knees are half folded and supported firmly on your feet that are supported on the floor like when you’re standing. When you’re seated on a chair with your feet supported on the floor like when you’re standing most of your weight is supported beneath your posterior.
Your posterior is one base of support and your knees together with your ankles and feet are a base of support. Your knees are located close together and your ankles and feet are located close together so your knees, ankles and feet together are one base of support. Your posterior and your knees, ankles and feet together provide only 2 bases of support. When you stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees downward that allows the muscles at the front of your body to rest more than they rest when you support your backbone upright ordinarily. That allows you to support your backbone upright nearly effortlessly for a short time and allows your breathing to be nearly free for a short time so you can experience the integrating potential of your body in a kneeling position for a short time.
When you’re seated on a chair your ankles are located far from your hips and your abdomen. When you stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your knees downward when you’re seated on a chair, the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the back of your body exert effort or stretch to support your backbone upright less than when you’re seated in a rudimentary position so you can stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward nearly effortlessly for a short time.
Your wrists and hands are supported on your knees or thighs or gathered together and supported one hand on the other –palms upward- on your thighs at your hips and pressed lightly on your abdomen. When you’re seated on a chair you can support your backbone upright nearly effortlessly for only a short time and your breathing can be nearly effortless for only a short time. A position seated on a chair does not allow free motion of energy in your thighs and legs and becomes uncomfortable or numb relatively soon, and a position seated on a chair does not progress to become a cross-legged position. A position seated on a chair is described in this text because you can experience many of the benefits of yoga for a short time when you’re seated on a chair. When you know how to be seated in a beneficial position on a chair you can improve many of your experiences to some degree. Even moment of maintaining the most integrated position of your body that you can is thoroughly beneficial.
7 The integrated position, muscular effort and rest of your body integrate the motion and rest of energy inside your body.
Being seated in a cross-legged position that’s as near to a completely developed cross-legged position as you can maintain comfortably in your present physical condition and - Standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees downward so that the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the sides and back of your body exert effort or stretch to support your backbone upright – Allows the muscles at the front of your body to rest more than they rest when you support your backbone upright ordinarily. That position sets in motion beneficial muscular efforts and rest in the muscles that support your legs, hips and backbone - And integrates the motion and rest of energy inside your body. Your habitual experience of integrated motion and rest of energy inside your body helps to integrate the position and motions of your body during your ordinary experiences. 8 Allowing your breathing to be free and thorough allows the energy in your body to move and rest freely -
And allows the muscles of your abdomen, legs and hips to move and rest freely. The major channel of your energy is located parallel to and in front of your backbone extending from the lowest level of your backbone to the highest level and your head. A minor channel is located at each side of the major channel.
Centers of energy are located at five levels of the major channel. The lowest center of energy is located at the lowest level of your backbone and the highest level is located at the crown of your head. Each energy center has some unique characteristics and contributions to your awareness and control of your body.
The center of energy at the level of your abdomen is where the position and motions of your legs, hips and backbone can be integrated. Energy terminals are located at each joint of your left and right hips, knees and ankles, and shoulders, elbows and wrists. Energy pathways branch outward from the energy centers and terminals to every part of your body. 9 Straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort causes beneficial motion and rest of energy in your body. Following intending to be the best person that you can be and allowing your breathing to be free and thorough straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort is the most important cause of beneficial motion and rest of energy in your body.
Straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort causes the spaces between the vertebrae of your backbone to expand minutely and improves the flexibility of all of the joints of your body.
You need to straighten your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort to place your body in a beneficial seated position to remain still to benefit from the position of your body. Straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort is what you do inside your body while you’re placing your legs, hips and backbone in a position to remain seated still. You straighten your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort during all of the time that you’re actually sitting down on a firm support and gathering your legs together to support your body in a position to remain seated still.
Difficulty placing your legs and hips in a comfortable cross-legged position might be caused by not straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort. You cannot place your body in a comfortable position while you entertain ideas that deny that you’re essentially limitlessly good and that you have limitless positive potential. You might not enjoy sufficient self-esteem or inner peace to allow your breathing to be free and thorough or to straighten your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort. You might think that you can’t or shouldn’t or don’t deserve to or don’t dare. When you intend to be the best person that you can be and allow your breathing to be free and thorough you might naturally straighten your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort.
A position of your body that’s not comfortable is not reliably beneficial. A beneficial position of your body that you hold still improves while you hold the position still.
10 Being seated in a beneficial cross-legged position and standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees downward causes the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the sides and back of your body to exert effort or stretch to support your backbone upright.
That allows the muscles at the front of your body to rest more than they rest when you support your backbone upright ordinarily. Your ankles and feet gathered together as near to your hips and abdomen as you can maintain them comfortably - Connect the energy terminals at your ankles to the energy center at the level of your abdomen - And isolate the motion and rest of energy inside your body from being affected by the conditions of your external environment while you remain seated still. Your wrists and hands gathered together at your hips and pressed lightly on your abdomen - Connect the energy terminals at your wrists to the energy center at the level of your abdomen - And help you to perceive and control the position and motions of your shoulders, arms, hands and head while you remain seated still. This combined position of your legs, hips and backbone significantly integrates the motion and rest of energy within your entire body.
[This chapter is being written.]