—The Relative Importance of Postures, for Beginners—
Meditation Sitting Posture
As one who primarily sits while meditating, I wanted to address one of the issues that beginners to meditation face when first learning to meditate, and that is posture. It can be either be a source of intimidation or obsession to get into what is called lotus position. Some settle for half-lotus and still others don’t worry about it at all.
Honestly, as a beginner, if you can actually manage to be sitting for a half an hour to an hour then you deserve several high fives and a cup of tea. It is NOT something to over-emphasize at all. The point is to be still and inwardly silent. Whatever works for you to this end is where you want to be. Obviously many people involved in meditation do it while involved in some form of activity.
Proper Meditation Postures
There are those who will argue the value of lotus position and an erect spine and go on about this and that. It should NOT be something that dissuades a newcomer to meditation. Again, the point is the point and how you get there in terms of posture is up to you. Posture is important when you are ready to pay attention to it. It should not be a deal-breaker.
Lotus position was not always called lotus position. It was discovered by someone eons ago. They discovered it by searching for what felt best and achieved the best results. The criterion was comfort, relaxation and success in meditation. The success comes from the relaxation. It maximizes relaxation and still requires you to be alert. It is probably the best at doing both of these things.
Meditative Relaxation
Lotus position was arrived at by seeking maximum relaxation and maximum alertness. One might argue that we should not re-invent the wheel, but by the same token we should not just accept it without being willing to discover what works best for ourselves. This is the point. We would do better to begin with our primarily focus and slowly but surely arrive for ourselves at this posture, naturally.
Approach the whole thing organically. Yoga postures are not just put together willy nilly. They are universal. They are powerful positions where something clicks in the body energetically—where energy flows best. Anyone who started from scratch at stretching would arrive at these same postures. Again, it is universal. Lotus position is no different. Let us all find it organically and not as part of some lesson.
Remember that the goal is to have no goal but to find a way to relax into awareness. The body will do the rest by itself. We will “find ourselves” in the position that works—the universal position. Who knows? Perhaps you will pay such close attention that you will discover a new position. It could happen. Start from the real and do not depart from the real—keep it organic and natural.