How specificly do you place yourself in the lotus position? How do you hold your arms? Do you sit crosslegged or try to pull your feet on top of your legs? How do you hold your hands? I know there are different positions to meditate in. Can you please describe the one you use or use most often and why you use it?
I sit comfortably. Generally cross legged, though not in lotus. It's too much for these old knees, and I meditate sometimes for hours a day so I need to preserve my body. But being as young as you are you could probably through stretching, etc, train yourself to sit in lotus for long periods. It would be rather difficult to describe the position without pics. So I'm sure you can do a search and find some yourself.
Yea, basically it's cross legged with feet on top of your legs, if thats difficult you can do half lotus which is one foot on top of one leg. I also think you should just find some pics. Lotus position refers to the position of your legs, and the rest of your body can do all kinds of crazy shit while you remain in the lotus position. Generaly for still meditations, people like to rest their palms face up on their knees. For more internal still meditations, you might put your middle-fingertip or fore-fingertip to the tip of your thumb.
i feel you ive been doing the lotus position for about a year or so and i dont think i was stretching right in the beginnning cause i put some hurting on my knees and now i go through some pain going into it but after a little while i can maintain the position in comfortable relaxation but i do say stretch before you start doing it i wish i would have when i first started
I do half-lotus myslef. and the hand positions depend on the meditation technique you use. Try the pran mudra or the buddhist meditation mudras (mudra = hand position). If you want help on how to place your fingers, you can find some infos here, in the practices/mudras section: http://www.dragonsofjustice.org
I can't do full lotus, just half-lotus. Full lotus takes some time to work up to unless you're naturally flexible. But there is no specific position you have to be in to meditate. I would sugest simply finding a comfortable place to sit, however you like and close your eyes. Hand position is whatever suits you. Sometime you may like to try touching your thumb to one of your fingers and resting them on your knee, or simply folding your hands in your lap, perhaps with thumbs touching. It all depends on what you want and what you're comfortable with. Sometimes I meditate just lying down in corpse pose, other times in half-lotus and sometimes in mountain. Whatever you want, it's your meditation.
I use the Half-Lotus...I'm very unflexible but with my left leg on my right thigh in half lotus I find I feel nicely balanced once i've jiggled about for a couple of moments. It feels nice and natural now. I think you gradually get more flexible with perseverence. Sometimes if i'm feeling stiff I put a pillow or cushion under the left knee for support. I always put a cushion under my bottom to help keep my posture straight. Can anyone recommend some warm up exercises?
I don't recommend Full Lotus if it brings discomfort. It can actually be damaging to you if you force yourself into it and have pain in your thighs, knees, etc. I've heard stories of people having to have surgeries on their legs cause of full lotus position. I meditate in random positions, sometimes Full Lotus.
