Top 5 Best Meditation Postures For Your Practice

2 Sep 2021 HYN Himalayan Yoga Academy

Whether you are a beginner or you’ve been meditating for a while, the meditation postures are very significant. The first step to setting yourself into practice is finding a comfortable position to meditate. Sitting for hours with a blank mind seems impossible, right? But as with any exercise, it takes practice, time, and commitment. The goal of meditation is to guide you toward increased awareness, focus, and compassion for yourself. Your body positioning should reflect that. You can’t be in any discomfort or pain.

Thus, here are some meditational postures for your practice :

Table of Contents

What exactly is meditation?

Meditation is a practice where an individual uses techniques, such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity to encourage a heightened state of awareness and focus your attention. It has numerous benefits for psychological well-being. Such as Meditation can significantly reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain and enhance peace and perception, self-concept, and well-being.

Also, you become more self-aware and focus on the present. You reduce negative emotions. You can increase your imagination, creativity, patience, and tolerance.

Factors for Meditation Postures

1) Comfort: You need to choose a posture that makes you feel comfortable even after being in the same position for so long. You need to focus on your inner self, so you don’t want any physical distractions, only comfort.

2) Stillness: During meditation, you should seem focused and balanced. You can test this by gently rocking your body from front to back and side to side. Do this until you’ve found the perfect spot.

3) Relaxation: Meditation is supposed to relax you, removing all the tensions. So, scan your body for any part that isn’t relaxed and adjust accordingly.

4) Alignment: You must check whether your spine is straight or not. It should be stacked, shoulder over hips, not leaning in any direction.

Five Meditation Postures

1) SUKHASANA – EASY SEAT POSE

Sit with the legs straight in front of the body.
Bend one leg and place the foot under the opposite thigh.
Bend the other leg and place the foot under the opposite thigh.
Place the hands on the knees in chin or jnana mudra.
Keep the head, neck, and back upright and straight but without strain. Close your eyes.
Relax the whole body. The arms should be relaxed and not held straight.

Sukhasana is a relaxing postures said to be the simplest meditation posture. However, it is difficult to sustain for a longer periods of time unless the knees are close to the ground or on the ground . Otherwise most of the body weight is supported by the buttocks and backache develops .

For those who are extremely stiff, Sukhasana may be performed sitting cross-legged with a belt or cloth tied around the knees and lower back.

2) PADMASANA – Lotus pose

Here two levels of lotus pose are described. Each one progressively more difficult than the last. You should be perfect on one variation before doing next one.

Also, make sure you prepare your hips before practicing with hip openers.

Half Lotus

Sit with the legs straight in front of the body.
Bend one leg and place the sole of the foot on the inside of the opposite thigh.
Bend the other leg and place the foot on the top of the opposite thigh.
Without straining, try to place the upper heel as near as possible to the abdomen. Adjust the position so that it is comfortable.
Place the hands on the knees in either chin or jnana mudra.
Keep the back, neck, and head upright and straight.
Close your eyes and relax your whole body.

Full Lotus

Sit with the legs straight in front of the body.
Slowly and carefully bend one leg and place the foot on the top of the opposite thigh.
The sole should face upward and the heel should be close to the pubic bone.
When this feels comfortable, bend the other leg and place the foot on top of the opposite thigh.
Both knees should, ideally, touch the ground in the final position.
The head and spine should be held upright, and the shoulders should be relaxed.
Place the hands on the knees in chin or jnana mudra.
Relax the arms with the elbows slightly bend and check that the shoulders are not raised or hunched.
Close your eyes and relax your whole body.
Observe the total posture of the body.

Those who suffer from sciatica or weak or injured knees should not perform this asana. This asana should not be attempted until the flexibility of the knees has been developed through the practice of pre-meditation asanas. It is not advisable during pregnancy as the circulation in the legs is reduced.

3) Virasana pose – hero pose

Sit with both legs straight in front of the body.
Bend the left leg underneath the right leg so that the left heel is touching the right buttock.
Bring the right leg over the top of the bent left leg so that the right heel touches the left buttock.
Adjust the right knee so that it is above the left knee.
Place the hands either on the right knee, one on top of the other, or the each foot, whichever is comfortable.
Hold the head, neck, and back straight.
Close your eyes and relax your whole body.
Be aware of the breath at the tip.

This asana is quite easy and comfortable to sustain for a long period as a comparatively large area of the body is in contact with the floor. It is a useful alternative to other meditation asanas.

4) TADASANA

To take your meditation poses off the ground, try standing in tadasana.
To get the most out of this pose, pay close attention to the anatomical checkpoints.
Start standing with your big toe mounds touching.
Pick up all of your toes and spread them wide before placing them back down.
Pull your quads upward, making your kneecap rise.
Internally rotate both thighs.
Draw your belly in and widen through your shoulder blades.
Shrug your shoulders up and let them roll back as you release.
Arms hang naturally by your sides with your palms facing forward.

Anatomical Checkpoints

If your ankle touching is uncomfortable, slightly separate your heels.
Root your calves and feet into the floor.
Maintain the natural curves of your spine.
Make sure your shoulders are stacked over your hips.
Keep your neck long and chin neutral.

5) SAVASANA (Corpse Pose)

Lie flat on the back with the arms about 15 cm away from the body , palms facing upward.
A thin pillow or folded cloth may be placed behind the head to prevent discomfort.
Let the fingers curl up slightly.
Move the feet slightly apart to a comfortable position and close the eye.
The head and spine should be in a straight line.
Make sure the head does not fall to one side or the other.
Become aware of the natural breath and allow it to become rhythmic and relaxed.
After some time, again become aware of the body and surroundings, and gently and smoothly release the posture.

POINT CHECK

Once you’ve chosen your position, move through these points to check for an optimal experience :

Find your comfortable position.
Your spine should be straight but not over extended.
You can place your hand on your lap or make any gestures. Try not to move your hands throughout the practice.
Relax your shoulders.
Slightly tuck your chin about 20 degrees to stay relaxed for long period of time.
release your jaw, or if you are unsure, you can move it around a bit to find and release tension.
Choose your gaze. You can either keep your eyes closed, or you can have a gaze at a focal point 3 to 5 feet in front of you.

How to practice?

First of all, choose a quite spot that is free from any kind of distractions.
Then, you can set a time limit. If you are just getting started, you might want to stick to shorter sessions of about 5-10 minutes in length.
Pay attention to your body and get comfortable with it; you shouldn’t feel any pain or discomfort.
Focus on your breathing, and pay attention to how each breath feels.
Notice your thoughts, whenever you start to think about something then gently focus on bringing attention back to breathe.