Meditating while sitting cross-legged

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Not everyone can meditate cross-legged — I’m one of them!

Fortunately, there’s no need to be in a cross-legged posture to meditate. In fact if you force yourself into an uncomfortable cross-legged posture then you may do long-term damage to your joints, and you certainly won’t be comfortable enough to meditate effectively.

However, if you have the flexibility then sitting cross-legged is a very stable and grounded posture. There are a number of ways of sitting with crossed legs.

Tailor Position

The first picture is the tailor position, which is the simplest cross-legged position. It’s also probably the most common cross-legged posture.

It’s very important for you to have both knees on the ground, to give you adequate support. Having three points of contact (your butt, and both knees) gives you a lot of stability. When was the last time you saw a photographer trying to keep a camera stable on a dipod?

If you can’t quite get both knees on the floor, then you can use some padding (a thin cushion or folded scarf) under your knee to keep you stable. If one, or both of your knees is more than an inch (2-3cm) off the ground, then use a chair or try sitting astride cushions or a meditation bench or stool. You can always do some yoga to loosen up your hips, and then come back and try a cross-legged posture later.

Again, if your hands don’t rest naturally on your lap, keep them supported, perhaps on a cushion or on a blanket. You might want to alternate which foot is in front from time to time. This is a good thing to do because any cross-legged posture is slightly asymmetrical. If you alternate the position of your feet, then you’ll even out the imbalances and not “build them in” to your posture.

Comments

Comment from dibyadeep
Time: March 26, 2008, 1:12 pm

hii…i have been trying to mediate for some time, and have been trying to concentrate on my breath. I have been using the cross-legged position continuously. The problem I am facing is not of flexibility, but due to the fact that my legs become completely numb after around 20 mins. I dont feel any pain, but possibly due to blockage of some artery this sort of phenomena happens. Is it possible to circumvent this problem through some means?…thanks a lot for your reply

Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: March 26, 2008, 1:53 pm

Hi. You didn’t mention whether the legs are going numb below the hip or the knee, and that’s an important piece of information. Usually this happens below the knee, so I’ll work on that assumption and you can correct me if that assumption is wrong.

When the legs below the knee go to sleep it is, as you suspected, due to pressure (although I think its pressure on the nerves rather than the artery). So you need to look at where the calf muscles meet the thigh and see if you can create more space there.

One way to do this is to take the calf muscle in one hand with an overhand grip and to slip the other hand under the thigh and getting a grasp of the thigh muscle with an underhand grip. Then rotate the calf muscle up and forwards and the thigh muscle down and backwards. When you let go you’ll find there’s more space.

Also make sure that you’re wearing *very* soft clothing. Jeans or any other thick material will bunch up in the popliteal region and create pressure.

Lastly it may be that you’re sitting too low and that you need a firmer and higher cushion.