Cato
Germany
65 Posts
Posted - Mar 17 2020 : 09:19:57 AM Show Profile Email Poster Edit Topic Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Message Delete Topic
Hi everybody,
this one is about the sitting posture in DM. I learnt that DM is ideally done with back support. However, I always felt it was cleaner to do it without back support. It is just a feeling and probably I also just want to train sitting in an upright and healthy manner. So I always meditated without back support and try to keep a straight spine. Nevertheless, I think I tend to round my back a little and I bend forward in the solar plexus region. As I am struggling with overload in the solar plexus area (amongst others a sense of crying and sadness there), I wonder if it could originate from this suboptimal sitting posture.
Now, does this make sense or am I just making it up? Can energy accumulate in an area - as it cannot move smoothly due to a not perfectly straight spine - resulting in an overload?
Christi
United Kingdom
3684 Posts
Posted - Mar 17 2020 : 1:54:25 PM Show Profile Email Poster Visit Christi's Homepage Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
Hi Cato,
You do not have to use back support if you do not want to, for any of the AYP practices. People who are used to sitting without back support may actually find it a distraction. There are also advantages to being able to sit without back support. Sometimes, back support is simply not an option, as it is not available everywhere.
I would say that it is possible for prana to get stuck because of poor posture. Or it could go the other way as well, that blockages in the subtle nervous system could cause a poor posture. Certainly, the more we meditate, the straighter the spine tends to become, because of the flow of prana through the central channel.
But I would not over-think this one. In some schools of yoga, there is a strong emphasis on trying to make the spine straight. That is certainly not part of AYP, where comfort is emphasised over trying to maintain a straight spine. Deep Meditation is all about reducing potential distractions, so that we can go deep with the mantra. The spine will straighten of its own accord, when it needs to.
Christi
BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1550 Posts
Posted - Mar 18 2020 : 04:34:40 AM Show Profile Email Poster Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
Hi Cato
I can say from experience that the body will tend to adopt certain positions depending on how the energy moves. Sometimes I sit at my desk and I feel strongly inclined to round my back. This is where asanas are helpful, in letting the energy have its own way. Then hopefully it will cooperate while you go about daily life.
Here is my guess: After all the years of yoga postures, your back is strong enough to be comfortable unsupported in meditation. Therefore it's probably the energy dynamic that is prompting you to round your back, and not the other way round.
That is a guess. But you are the one who knows. You have lived with your back for a long time. So trust that gut feeling and go with what you sense is right.
Edited by - BlueRaincoat on Mar 18 2020 06:29:27 AM
Blanche
USA
606 Posts
Posted - Mar 18 2020 : 07:48:36 AM Show Profile Email Poster Visit Blanche's Homepage Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
Hi Cato,
Sitting on a small pillow or folded blanket that raises the end of the spine a couple of inches from the ground, or even sitting on a half-rolled yoga mat when there is nothing else available, then allowing the knees to rest on the floor as you sit cross-legged, maybe in siddhasana, brings the spine in an optimal position to curve and support the upright posture effortlessly. Sitting without back support effortlessly is fine. However, if the attention keeps drifting to the posture when one sits without back support, this becomes just another distraction. If this is the case, just find a way to get some back support.
Dogboy
USA
1711 Posts
Posted - Mar 18 2020 : 11:47:01 PM Show Profile Email Poster Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
quote:
Sitting on a small pillow or folded blanket that raises the end of the spine a couple of inches from the ground, or even sitting on a half-rolled yoga mat when there is nothing else available, then allowing the knees to rest on the floor as you sit cross-legged, maybe in siddhasana, brings the spine in an optimal position to curve and support the upright posture effortlessly.
Second this. One can also sit on a large bolster between the thighs in thunderbolt position, as if you were riding on a saddled horse.
dietarydongguan
USA
6 Posts
Posted - Mar 19 2020 : 07:19:52 AM Show Profile Email Poster Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
Cato
Germany
65 Posts
Posted - Mar 19 2020 : 08:55:07 AM Show Profile Email Poster Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
Thanks everybody ,
so I guess prana getting stuck due to poor sitting posture is of minor concern. I think I will keep meditating without back support and see where it leads me. Would you also recommend full lotus (it gets the spine pretty straight)? It doesn't get mentioned a lot, perhaps because it can tend to be strenuous after a while...
BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1550 Posts
Posted - Mar 19 2020 : 3:36:34 PM Show Profile Email Poster Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
quote:
Originally posted by Cato
Would you also recommend full lotus (it gets the spine pretty straight)? It doesn't get mentioned a lot, perhaps because it can tend to be strenuous after a while...
The lotus is a very stable position. Like all poses, it becomes comfortable with practice. But we don't favour it in AYP because it's siddhasana we practice or aim towards.
Blanche
USA
606 Posts
Posted - Mar 26 2020 : 07:01:46 AM Show Profile Email Poster Visit Blanche's Homepage Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Get a Link to this Reply Delete Reply
quote:
Originally posted by Cato
Thanks everybody ,
so I guess prana getting stuck due to poor sitting posture is of minor concern. I think I will keep meditating without back support and see where it leads me. Would you also recommend full lotus (it gets the spine pretty straight)? It doesn't get mentioned a lot, perhaps because it can tend to be strenuous after a while...
You could also think about your posture as a reflection of the state of the settle body. As purification progresses, your posture will probably improve. It is not necessarily helpful to focus on some super-straight pose, which may be uncomfortable to maintain and interfere with the practices.
Full lotus could mess up the knees when held for a long time. Siddhasana with back support is definitely more comfortable in the long run. Keeping the spine upright seems to be the key factor in these poses.
