Meditative postures

Meditative postures or meditation seats are the body positions or asanas, usually sitting but also sometimes standing or reclining, used to facilitate meditation. Best known in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are the lotus and kneeling positions; other options include sitting on a chair, with the spine upright. Meditation is sometimes practiced while walking, such as kinhin, doing simple repetitive tasks, as in Zen samu, or work which encourages mindfulness. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali describe yoga as having eight limbs, one being asana, the meditation seat. The sutras do not name any asanas, merely specifying the characteristics of a good asana, stating: स्थिरसुखमासनम् ॥४६॥sthira sukham āsanamYour [meditation] seat should be steady and comfortable. Yoga Sutras 2:46 The Sutras are embedded in the Bhasya commentary, which scholars including Philipp Maas now believe are by the same author; it names 12 seated meditation asanas, possibly all cross-legged, including Padmasana, Virasana, Bhadrasana (now called Baddha Konasana), and Svastikasana. Sitting positions, often cross-legged, provide a stable base for meditation, and have been used for the purpose in Buddhism and Hinduism for many centuries. These include Padmasana (full lotus), Ardha Padmasana (half lotus), Siddhasana or Muktasana (also called Burmese posture, sitting with the knees on the ground and the feet tucked in close to the body), and Sukhasana (any easy cross-legged position). Other possibilities are the kneeling postures Virasana (sitting between the heels) and Vajrasana or Seiza (sitting on the heels). Another sitting posture, Baddha Konasana (Cobbler's Pose), is suitable for people who can sit with the feet together and both knees on the ground; B. K. S. Iyengar states that to meditate in this position, the palms should be held in prayer position over the chest, which demands some practice for balance. Seymour Ginsburg, describing Gurdjieff meditation, suggests that such compact positions help the meditator to "include the entire experience of ourself in our attention.