Padmasana - Lotus Pose

Sanskrit: Padma - Lotus, Asana - Pose

Padmasana is one of the best meditative asanas. It keeps the body in a stable posture and makes it look like a lotus flower. In the spiritual world Lotus flower is recognized as a sacred flower. It symbolizes spirituality and purity.

• Level: Intermediate
• Duration: up to 45 min
• Repetition: none
• Stretches: hips, angles, legs
• Strengthens: -
• Chakra: all

Benefits

To practice meditation Padmasana is an ideal asana. It keeps your body completely steady. This steadiness helps the mind to become calm. In my experience steady body and calm mind is the first major step towards real meditation. It energizes all the chakras, from Mooladhara to Sahasrara. Padmasana increases flexibility in the ankles and hips.

Contraindications

Padmasana is not suitable for people who have injured knees or even have any kind of complaints with the knees. You should not practice it if you have dislocated hip joint or sciatica. Further, it is not recommended for those who have stiff knees or ankles. Practice Ardha Padmasana instead.

Instructions for Padmasana

1. Sit with your legs stretched out in front of your body.
2. Slowly bend the right leg and place the right foot on top of the left thigh.
3. The soul of the right foot will face towards the sky or ceiling.
4. With the help of your hands bring right heel close to the pubic bone. Do not strain the ankle.
5. Now bend the left leg and place it on top of the right thigh. Left heel will also be close to the pubic bone, do not strain.
6. Try to touch both knees on the mat, if this is not possible then put something soft under the raised knee.
7. Bring your palms on the knees in Jnana mudra, shoulders and arms relaxed, head straight and spine comfortably straight.
8. Close your eyes and observe your body head to toe. If there is any discomfort or tension in any part of the body, release it and sit comfortably with the spine erect. It’s the final position.
9. Comfortable and right alignment of Padmasana makes it easier to go into a meditative state.

The science behind Padmasana

Padmasana is named after the lotus flower. It is not only a beautiful flower, but a very special one. It grows in dirt water and therefore symbolizes purity. People in India consider the lotus as sacred. You will also find a lot of Yogis portrayed in this posture. It is said that only a few wise ones can perform Padmasana for a long period of time (few hours) and stay in a meditative state. We Mostly imagine a person sitting in padmasana and meditating when we think of a Sage or a Yogi. This asana gives a strong foundation for practicing meditation. Therefore Padmasana is known to be the ultimate posture for Meditating.

Attention: Yoga beginners should first learn all yoga practices from a competent teacher and then practice alone.