The ideal posture for meditation

Article by Heinz Grill, originally posted in German on 15^th August 2023

Padmasana, the classical pose of yoga, literally means “position of the lotus”. The lotus plant looks similar to the water lily, which with its root and stem rises out of the muddy water and raises a wonderful, open, bright white or pink-coloured flower calyx to the water surface.¹⁾ It is interesting that the leaves of the lotus show the peculiarity of being water repellent, so that water simply drips off them. This means that the leaves always remain clean, and fungus or other harmful organisms cannot spread on them. This is called the lotus effect. (Source; Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_effect) The lotus flower represents a symbol for meditation, and intends to depict that astonishing separation between darker or more bodily-fixed components and the brighter, lighter and freer reality signalled by the flower,

For any meditation, a stable sitting posture should form the natural, calm base into which the body assimilates itself.²⁾ Patanjali summarised the knowledge of Raja Yoga in the Yogasutra. In verse II.46 it says sthira-sukham-āsanam; in English “The seated posture should be stable and comfortable.” (See also page 32 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Interpretive Translation by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati https://swamij.com/pdf/yogasutrasinterpretive.pdf) Older people can use a chair. Above all, what is important is that the spine is held upright without leaning and the head remains free. Secondary anthroposophical sources describe the lotus pose as a “Luciferic posture”, in other words as a position that escapes from the world, inclined too much towards the cosmos, as the soles of the feet face upwards in a most unusual way, whereas when sitting on a chair the soles of the feet adhere calmly to the ground. These detailed discernments are not important however. Amongst all the positions that there are in yoga, the lotus pose provides the most natural energetic centring and therefore it gives any meditation a free and open basis for relationship. When the body rests in the lotus, is composed within itself, like water in a pond that gives a natural, idyllic sphere, the thinking-force and concentration can be easily and freely elevated. These subtly gathered streams give the so-called etheric body, the life-forces of the human being, an optimal foundation. People with an anthroposophical orientation, who avoid the ground and prefer a chair, would nevertheless do well to bring a certain degree of gathering to the base of the body, really straightening up the back well, out of the sacrum, out of the centre and with the entire chest region, so that the head seems as if it is supported.

Observing the forehead, while the body is calmly upright and gathered, and the breath is relaxed, flowing freely, after some time gives a very sensitive perception. Latent in this forehead is the “third eye”, or to use the technical term, the “ājñā-cakra” ³⁾ The Sanskrit word ājñā means something like “command” and is intended to mark the centre at the forehead as the highest place of command of the consciousness or astral body. (This has been described by Heinz Grill in German in his book Die 7 Lebensjahrsiebte und die 7 Chakren, Pages 138 ff. You can read about the ājñā-cakra in English in The Soul Dimension of Yoga, also by Heinz Grill) , and when it is experienced more consciously, it already leads to a first calmness. By now placing a very clear, graphic mental picture of a spiritual content before the forehead and practising a prolonged, free concentration, practitioners soon notice that they can acquire the ability to observe the thinking and the object of the thought, and then to steer these in a direction. The eyes can best remain open, without wandering much, in order to avoid unconscious attacks of tiredness or dreamy pictures.

For meditation it is already of value when the body, collected, comes to calmness and the head is prepared for a clear and calm observation. The posture in itself, as a beautiful sitting position, harmonises many bodily streams. For an in depth meditation practice, nevertheless, further mental steps must take place with focused concentration on a chosen thought-content. To start with, however, a sitting posture like this one, with good awareness and a differentiation between the different parts of the body, can give a very valuable initial and freer consciousness over the body.

Although the feet face upwards, the lotus bears absolutely no feelings of escape from the world. It even gives a pleasant feeling of being in the body, while at the same time the thoughts become freer..

The somewhat simpler form: “The half lotus” sitting on a cushion.

The lotus is supposed to escape from the world – such is a common anthroposophical opinion – and the sitting position on a chair is supposed to be connected with the earth. However, if the bodily streams are considered very finely, the perception is the exact opposite. Because the body is relatively stretched out on a chair, the gathering needed by meditation is harder to master, as the body with its limbs is not closed. The will cannot gather itself so easily. These fine perceptions, which the body can signal through the gathering of its life forces, can be helpful for meditation; nevertheless they are not of decisive importance for the success of a meditation. The sitting posture has absolutely no moral ramifications.