We continue our journey dedicated to the deepening of posture in meditation: let’s explore, in this article, the position with the legs bent to the ground, on their knees.

After focusing on the most affected areas of the body during sitting meditation, and after considering the cross-legged position, this article is about the kneeling position.

This position is often used by those who practice Zen meditation or by those who practice martial arts. The most noticeable body difference compared to the cross-legged position concerns the hips. In this case your hips are less stressed for opening and flexibility.

How to sit on your knees to meditate:

To sit on the ground on your knees on a hard floor can be painful. Use a folded blanket or a thin pillow to “soften the floor”. Once you have prepared the ground, get on your knees, with the butt resting on the heels, slightly spread the knees between them (about the distance of two fists) keeping your back straight.

If this position creates pain in a part of your feet you can put a pillow between your feet and the ground. If you feel tension in your legs, you can put a small cushion between your butt and heels.

On the market there are also very low wooden benches used precisely to improve the comfort of this position.

And arms, where do I put them? This is a question that often recurs when you are learning to sit and meditate. In this case, the arms can be left soft, with hands on the legs, so as to keep the shoulders relaxed.

If you have problems with the joints of the knees, both this position and cross-legged, can cause pain and discomfort. For this reason, in the next article I will cover the topic of meditation on the chair.

See you next friday!

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