Meditation and blood flow

[Tom]

Everyone deals with this problem. It is the same for me still. At first it does not hurt. It is completely comfortable. Your posture when you start and the posture at twenty minutes, however, are usually different. Leaning forward or backward presses the legs together. When you press the legs down and together this cuts off the circulation. My feet can become cool to the touch and a bit purple as a result of lengthening the section to an hour or so, but they still begin to tingle at about twenty minutes. It is much improved from becoming aware of defects in the posture early and correcting them. The less muscular effort involved, consciously applied or otherwise, the better it is for the feet and legs.

[kifyre]

For what it's worth, the book Meditation in Plain English differentiates between pressure on nerves and actually cutting of circulation. According to the book, tingling and legs going to sleep is nerves and isn't something to worry about. But I don't know for sure! [] One thing that has helped me is adjusting my legs. There's actually several inches of variation, moving your feet closer together or farther apart once you legs have already been crossed.

But I'm just beginning. Only a few months now as well, limiting my sessions to 20 minutes. I haven't run into any major leg situations yet.

Finally, several traditions claim the ideal posture is lotus, yes? I've been using www.howtostretch.com and doing a little stretching each day. I'm shooting for lotus in a couple years. [] Maybe a little stretching would be useful to you too?

Best of luck,

Mark

[Anonymous]

If you find some part of your body having poor blood circulation, focus your mind to that part of the body, and breathe deeply/slowly. Keep your back straight. The qi energy will flow to this part and increase blood circulation. When you feel comfortable again, go back to meditating the way you were. But try to keep your back straight.

[Albert]

thanks for the info
I will do my best to work with this.
I hope cutting blood flow for too long won't be bad for my feet and legs.

[Tom]

It just hurts a lot. You can actually cut off the flow of blood for several hours in this way. Naturally, the thing to do is to deal with the causes of the problem. Someone suggested I lie flat on my back and then put my legs in the lotus posture and then work on correcting the posture. It was an odd experience but it seemed to help some.

[Ash]

is there something wrong with just sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the ground?

[Tom]

That is the method which the Taoists prefer. They say it is superior to the full lotus posture because it is less likely to damage the knees and because it is safer to draw energy from the earth up through the feet first.

[Ash]

i've also heard some say that no part of your body should ever be crossed when doing any sort of energy work, although yoga obviously disagrees with this. i guess it depends on whatever works best for you

[Anonymous]

Kung fu also disagrees with this principle, when we practice increasing qi energy. We cross our hands or our feet, sometimes both, depending on the stances used.

[Tom]

The book on astral projection by Denning & Phillips said that for raising energy and working with chakras you can cross your arms and legs or leave them uncrossed. For meditation, it said it is better to cross your arms and legs. This is supposed to keep your energy internalized. Projection requires taking your energy out of your body to some extent so it says not to cross anything. It advises this for use when around people who seem to drain your energy as a defense, to cross your arms and legs casually and don't make eye contact. Of course, many people accidentally go out of body during meditation and that is often done in the full lotus posture with the hands touching each other. It is better not to worry about crossing limbs.

[Albert]

I've asked my sensei and he said the purpose of crossing the legs is to restrict blood flow in order to have more to your brain, and the more you do the less of a problem you'll have with it.

[Nick]

Albert,

I've been meditating for many years and have tried different methods over the last three decades. I still prefer zen meditation that I studied at the zen center of los angeles. But I know that not everyone can sit full lotus, and some people are old and infirm as well. The thing I've observed is that people who meditate in chairs, recliners, on cushions or lying flat in bed all benefit.

The Eastern traditions made posture important. Since I no longer sit cross legged on a zafu (cushion) b/c my 54 year old back doesn't like it, I can tell you that my meditations are deeper than ever.

Take care,

[Adrian]

Greetings everyone,

Regardless of meditation posture, one of the most important disciplines is to keep the spine completely straight while sitting up.

As for meditation position - I believe that is entirely a matter of preference. The Oriental traditions use the Lotus type positions because they are more built for it, but Occidental meditation does not require that position at all.

A meditation position should involve a completely straight spine, and one which enables the energies to flow and thought (or lack of them) processes to be controlled with the maximum concentration.

With best regards,

Adrian Cooper.

[Albert]

I have been meditating for 2 months now in (indian style?) with legs crossed normally. I prefer to continue using this posture, maybe even dare full lotus after I find proper stretching exercises. However, right after 20 minutes, one of my feet and eventually both become completely numb. They often hurt as they 'wake'. I use a small hard pillow to sit on and a towel underneath my legs. Do you have any suggestions on improving blood flow in any way?