How to Sit
You have to experiment to find your best meditation posture. The most important point to remember is to be both relaxed and alert. If you’re new at this, you might want to start in a chair, with your feet planted firmly on the floor and your hands resting on your thighs, palms down. Your back is straight. Avoid your favorite couch potato position.
Or, try the traditional position, sitting on the floor, legs crossed. If you choose this position, sit on a rug, blanket, yoga mat, or large cushion to keep your knees from pressing into the hard floor. You can put a pillow under your behind to raise it slightly above your knees. This will help prevent your legs from going to sleep and your lower back from aching.
If you are flexible, try different leg positions. Put one foot on the opposite calf in a quarter lotus (fig. 1) or one foot on the opposite thigh in a half lotus position (fig. 2). For a full lotus position (fig. 3), put each foot on the opposite thigh.
Your hands rest on your knees palms down or in your lap, palms up, right hand on top of left hand, the thumbs touching lightly tip to tip.
You can also try sitting on the floor in cowboy position, with the soles of your feet touching. Touch your index fingers to your thumbs and rest your hands on your knees, palms up (fig. 4).
Or sit Burmese-style on your heels and rest your hands on your thighs, palms down (fig. 5). You can also slip your lower legs to the side (fig. 6).
Choose any of these postures and make sure your spine is straight but not tense. Imagine a stack of quarters running up your back. Your shoulders are relaxed and squared. Not hunched.
Your eyes can be closed or opened slightly, gazing downward at a spot on the floor. Your jaw is relaxed. The tip of your tongue touches lightly at the back of your upper front teeth. (This calms you down and helps you circulate your breath and energy.) Your mouth is relaxed with your lips slightly opened.
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