I started to practice meditating and I've been doing it with my legs crossed while I'm sitting on a pillow. When I'm in this position my leg starts to hurt so I start to think about it and my mind starts to wander.
What position do you meditate in?
Laying down.
Sitting on a recliner. Comfy, and not lying down.
I used to use my big recliner office chair but lying down seems to work better for me.
I'll have to try meditating while laying down.
We only have recliners in our living room and I can't meditate there.
Quote from: CFTraveler on September 09, 2009, 21:50:15
Sitting on a recliner. Comfy, and not lying down.
We bought a nice comfy recliner a little bit ago... don't use it much though.
I think I should give it a shot. :D
Siddhasana.
Decided to invest in a good quality office chair for my room, fully adjustable with adjustable headrest also.
It should be comfortable to sleep in if you need to, without causing aches and pains.
Robert Bruce describes sitting in a chair with blocks under the front legs to make it recline. An office chair gives you the same result.
For years I always had cheap used chairs, until one night I fell asleep in a chair without a head rest and it caused a pinched nerve in my neck and had to go to the chiropractor for a year to fix numbness in my face. Always learning the hard way, but back to normal now.
There are classic paintings of ancient yogis sitting under a tree in trance. Wish I could do that.
If ancient yogis had adjustable office recliner chairs I bet they would have used those instead.
Depends if you're practicing meditation for meditation or as trance for astral projection..
For meditation I sit cross legged either simple cross legged, sometimes half lotus, sometimes full lotus or siddhasana
Advantage: not likely to fall asleep while sitting up. Easier to concentrate (if comfortable).
For APing/trance it seems lying down, recliner or propped up in bed with pillows is the go
Advantage: easier to urge closer to sleep - good for APing, possibly more relaxing (esp. one of those comfy recliners - wish i had one :lol:)
Depending on why your leg is hurting.. you could try other sitting postures to correct the discomfort.. generally less pain with simple crossed legs..
If you don't already... I would suggest that when sitting make sure your pelvis is higher than your ankles/knees (depending on posture). Sit your bum (:lol:) on the pillow but rest your knees/ankles on the floor or use one pillow or mat for your ankles/knees and sit on another pillow so your pelvis is higher.
Hope this helps! :wink:
Basically, it really comes down to being in a comfortable position "for you".
Just be however is most comfortable for yourself. That's the key.
Often times I end up in an odd possition, but I find my favorite is either with my back laying down, but with my legs bent, to keep me from falling asleep. No matter how I decide to sit or lay, I usually make sure my body is mirrored from right side to left side, to help with balance.
I usually meditate sitting up. Often I just sit in my office chair, which has a nice, high back and good lumbar support, but sometimes I use a recliner, and I often meditate in the car (though not while driving; I practice expanded awareness while doing that).
I can and do also meditate lying down on my side, but if I'm tired when I do it, I tend to fall asleep. As it's my habit to meditate as I'm falling asleep at night, though, this isn't a problem.