I cannot sit in this position, and to make myself feel
good, I am going to assume that most people can’t either.
Hello, I am Supreet. This is Part 4 of my Meditation Tips for Beginners series.
If you missed parts 1, 2 or 3, you can watch them by clicking on the link in the top right corner,
and I'll also link it in the description below.
In this video, let’s talk about the proper posture for meditation.
If you look at pictures of people meditating, you may have noticed that
they are always sitting with a straight back. There’s a reason for that.
A straight spine and proper posture is very important to make your meditation effective.
And also, it makes you look good!
In a formal sitting down meditation session, you want to be sitting in such a way that you are
comfortable, yet alert. For that, keep your back straight, or almost straight, as straight as you comfortably can.
If you make yourself too comfortable, like lounging or laying back in a couch or on a bed,
then you are very likely to doze off in the middle of your meditation,
which is okay, if you’re meditating to help you fall asleep.
But if you want to stay awake during your meditation, you want to keep your back straight.
You can sit on a chair, keeping your back straight.
So ideally you should not be using the backrest of the chair, but if that is uncomfortable
for you, then use the back support.
Or you can sit on the floor.
There are various positions you could try if you choose to sit on the floor.
There is the lotus position, which looks like this.
I cannot sit in this position, and to make myself feel good,
I am going to assume that most people can’t either.
If you can, comment below and tell me.
You can also probably fold yourself into a pretzel!
Then there is the quarter lotus position, which is the position I sit in.
I find that I cannot sit for a long time in this position without it becoming uncomfortable.
So to make it comfortable, I either sit using the back support of a couch, while keeping
my back straight, or I sit on a firm cushion, a bolster, or on my husband.
A firm cushion or bolster elevates your hips above your knees and that makes it so much
easier to sit with a straight back and still be comfortable.
You have to experiment a little to find out what is the right height of cushion that you
need to elevate your hips above your knees.
But make sure it is firm.
You could consider buying a meditation cushion.
Or, you can just sit on a chair.
Sometimes I also like to sit kneeling down on my knees, with my bum resting on my feet.
This is called Vajrasana.
To make it more comfortable, you can place a cushion or yoga block under your bum and
between your legs.
I can sit in this position for about 5 minutes, and then I usually change into the quarter lotus
position. There is a very deep reason behind that. My feet fall asleep.
There are some other positions also that you could use.
In the description, I will link an article that shows 6 ways to sit during meditation.
Now let’s talk about what to do with our hands.
The simplest thing you can do is to rest them in your lap, palms up or palms down.
Alternatively, you can place your right hand on top of your left with your thumbs very
lightly touching, resting them on your lap at your navel.
This is called Dhyan Mudra.
Or you could join the tip of your thumb to the tip of your pointer finger, keeping the
other fingers straight, and resting your hands on your thighs or knees.
The benefit of doing this hand position, or gyan mudra, is that it is helps you deepen
your practice, unlock blocked energy and look like a professional yogi.
Let the muscles in your shoulders and back relax.
Your shoulders can be pushed slightly back.
This establishes a strong back while opening up the front body.
Relax your face muscles and your jaw.
Let your eyes and eyebrows relax.
The eyes are typically kept closed.
But you could also keep them open in a soft gaze, where you don’t really focus on anything,
but gently gaze at the space about 2-4 feet in front of you.
Experiment with eyes open and eyes closed meditation, and see which one works better
for you.
But don’t keep opening and closing them in one session.
Try one day with open eyes, another day with closed eyes.
I mostly keep my eyes closed.
There is also a meditation called Gazing Meditation, or Trataka Meditation
in which we keep the eyes open, and focus on a physical object like a candle.
I have made a detailed video on Gazing Meditation. If you're interested, you can
watch it by clicking in the top right corner.
The next tip about posture is that it is best to wear loose, comfortable clothing.
A lot of people tell me that they are able to start meditation, but find it hard to stick
the habit.
I have myself been in the same boat.
In next week’s video, I am going to give you some new tips to make the meditation habit
stick, in Part 5 of this series.
To make sure you don’t miss that video, hit Subscribe and the Notification bell.
See you next week in Part 5 of Meditation Tips for Beginners!