On meditating cross-legged

I have for the past few months returned to meditating first thing in the morning. I have done it for several reasons and there have been several results. I do this first thing, only emptying my bladder before I sit down to meditate. Normally I don't want a poo first. That normally happens some time after breakfast, or if I am in a hurry after breakfast, then later in the day.

I sit on the floor, with a big old sofa cushion at the bottom, then a buckwheat husk crescent cushion on top of that, to tilt my pelvis forward. I sit in Burmese position, which is widely spread cross-legged, with one foot tucked in close to my crotch and the other foot just in front of it. The wider spread my thighs, the more rotated are my hip joints, and the more inverted my feet become. It is not as demanding as the lotus positions. Then I superimpose Whole Woman sitting posture from the hips up,
- chest lifted,
- belly relaxed
- large lumbar curve,
- upper body shifted back to put my centre of gravity between feet, thighs and bum;
- shoulders down;
- hands rest either palms down on my knees (elbows almost straight) or palms up just above my knees (elbows close to my ribs, or forearms writs resting in my groin on each side of my belly.
- chin slightly tucked so I am looking straight forward
- crown of head pulled up tall.

I found right from the beginning that when I finished my meditation and stood up again I was ready to empty my bowels. This has continued every day, unless I really don't have time to meditate then, in which case I usually fit it in later in the day.

I suspect the reason for this change is that it clears my mind and sets my 'rhythm' for the day. I usually wake from dreaming state with all sorts of thoughts and ideas going very fast in my head, and all mixed up together. They are often my To Do list for the day or the week or the month or the year or the lifetime, but not in any logical order, so I am often a bit stressed about what is ahead of me and what i will manage to achieve by the end of the day. Meditating seems to put all the toys back in the toy box, so I can pick what I want when I am planning my day, rather than have it all coming at me in a torrent. Hence, at the end of my meditation I am calmer when I begin my day, because my sympathetic nervous system has quietened, and I am no longer in early morning arousal.

Another effect may be that by getting into WW posture, cross-legged, I am allowing my torso to remain in WW posture, undisturbed for half an hour. I do find that I am a bit stiff in the mornings when I get up. Sitting down cross-legged on my cushions is not difficult but I find that I can pull up further into WW posture a couple of times during the meditation, and lean forward into further hip flexion to stretch my gluteal muscles at least once. This allows further pelvic tilt and lumbar curve by the end of the meditation. Perhaps the meditation calms my body as well as my mind? Perhaps my organs find their 'equilibrium' in that fixed posture? I am quite comfortable once I am settled.

This posture is also very open. It gives me practice in 'opening up', lowering my defences, being open to new ways of doing things, and open to accepting others' ideas as possibilities.

When unfold at the end of it, my knees are a bit stiff, and one foot might be asleep, but once I get up and walk around I am discomfort free again after a minute or so. Then invariably it is off to the toilet.

On the flip side it is a posture that can make people (particularly women and girls) feel vulnerable, particularly relaxing the adductor muscles, because most of us have been brought up to sit with our knees together, or crossed, for the sake of modesty. This is more significant the less clothing we are wearing. This is a very deep cultural practice, which may have its roots in self-protection. If you feel uncomfortable about exposing your groin and relaxing your legs apart, you could put a throw, or blanket over your lower half, or wear a full skirt that touches the ground all round.

We could learn a lesson from men here. Why would a man feel comfortable with his genitals exposed in this very traditional meditation posture? Possibly because he actually likes to show the world the shape of his covered pride and joy? Or he has no reason to feel sexually or otherwise vulnerable, being male. Think Mick Jagger or Tom Jones or Jimi Hendrix. All very phallic. ;-)

What ever you do, ensure that you feel safe while meditating. Tell others in the house that you are going to meditate, and request that they do not disturb you or make too much noise while you are meditating. Tell them how many minutes. Lock the door of the room if necessary for those who do not or will not respect your wishes, or those who forget, or weren't listening - it doesn't stop them trying to open the door, or knocking but if you don't respond they will get the message, and you can resume your meditation, safe inside. If you use your mobile for a timer put it into Airplane mode so it won't start ringing if someone calls. Check for any alarms or notifications you may have set to go off for the duration. Take your landline phone off the hook or unplug it.

So, if your head too wakes in a mass of mental spaghetti, you might find that morning meditation in Whole Woman sitting posture, untangles your mind and your body, and that the day starts more smoothly. I think this new habit of mine dovetails neatly with getting up at the same time each day, which leads to going to bed at the same each day (almost), which leads to better and sufficient sleep, and an overall more regular diurnal rhythm and physiology, and perhaps more even metabolism?

The benefits of mediation, physical, mental and spiritual, are well documented, and I don't think it matters a lot which type of meditation you choose, it is simply important to do it. I think posture is important during meditation, so that it doesn't drift into sleep. Now, I think my experience has shown me that it has important metabolic benefits as well.

What do you do with your legs during meditation? All types of meditation do not require cross-legged posture. Transcendental Meditation, for instance, does not require a meditator to sit in any particular way, or using any particular seating. It could probably be done standing in a train station if you have the time before the train arrives. It can certainly be done sitting in the passenger seat of a car, but I wouldn't recommend it while driving. ;-)

Christine Kent likes us to get as low to the ground as possible, and get as much flexion and rotation of the hip joints as possible, to make us more flexible and get the pubic bones as far underneath us as possible. The knee joints are only designed to go back and forth. They have very little provision for twisting/rotating, so the hip joints need to do all the turning out. This might mean sitting on a higher cushion, or on a low stool, but still allowing the knees to fall apart, with relaxed thigh adductor muscles (inside your thighs), some cushioning under your ankles and feet, and with torso pulled up into WW posture.

If we are sitting cross-legged for considerable time during the day it does stretch the muscles at the back of the legs and pelvis and back. It is important to balance the rest of our muscles by doing other activities or exercises during the day that use all our body's muscles, like the WW video workouts on the DVD's.

Louise