Sequence for lotus pose development

Check this forum for suggestions on Yin Yoga flows, sequences and postures, as well as HOW to practice Yin Yoga.
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inhaleexhaleee
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Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:45 pm

Sequence for lotus pose development

Post by inhaleexhaleee »

Bernie,

I found this past thread regarding lotus development through the practice of yin yoga:

viewtopic.php?t=537

However, the link to the sequence you recommended is broken. Could you please advise on what you recommend to work towards full lotus? Maybe particular sequences and any other tips?

Thank you and be well 🙏
admin
Site Admin
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Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 7:41 am

Re: Sequence for lotus pose development

Post by admin »

Hi and thank you for letting us know about the broken link.

It is now fixed. I will now ask Bernie to answer your question.

Nathalie
Bernie
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Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Re: Sequence for lotus pose development

Post by Bernie »

Hi...the link has been fixed. You can visit that page here. As to my thoughts on Lotus Pose, you can read this article and this article if you have knee issues.

Cheers!
Bernie
inhaleexhaleee
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:45 pm

Re: Sequence for lotus pose development

Post by inhaleexhaleee »

Thank you very much. Both of the additional articles were helpful, particularly because knee pain has been an issue for me... as far as one's individual limits go: what would you say would be the furthest of the cross legged/lotus sequence poses that most people could achieve before hitting bone on bone limits? Like will 85 or 95 percent of people be able to make it to burmese pose, quarter lotus, or half lotus before hitting their own personal limit?

I am friends and work with long term meditators and Buddhist monks who meditate in deer pose, and am wondering if it could be recommended to them to practice more yin yoga, or perhaps due to bone structure they may never even make it to be able to comfortably sit in Burmese or quarter lotus for one hour? Personally any cross legged pose feels more conducive to calming the mind and just feels more stable; thus understanding these limits would be helpful.

I appreciate the (y)insight 🙏
Bernie
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Location: Vancouver

Re: Sequence for lotus pose development

Post by Bernie »

I don’t know if any statistics have been gathered on what percentage of the population can comfortably sit in Burmese pose (one foot in front of the other) or any Lotus variations (one foot on top of the opposite leg) but I am not sure that knowing the numbers would really matter. What matters is what you (or any particular individual) can do. Better is to help meditators figure out what is stopping them. If they are stopped due to compression, then there is no going further.

All these postures require flexion at the hips (about 90-100 degrees which is doable for most people), varying degrees of abduction and a lot external rotation at the hip. It is this latter movement that is the limiter for most people. People with a lot of anteversion of the acetabulum (which means the hip socket is facing forward) and/or a lot of femoral torsion (which means the thigh bone is highly twisted) may never be able to sit in any variation of Lotus pose. Since the hips cannot give the rotation needed to sit in these postures, a lot of torque from placing the foot onto the opposite leg goes into the knee, which causes the common knee pain many meditators feel.

How to know if people are stopped by compression? That is not easy. First, I would assume that anyone who has been sitting in meditation for years, and can’t do Lotus pose, has already reached their limit and are in compression. Sitting like this is yin….they would have stretched out any tensile resistance to the maximum available by sitting every day for 30-60 minutes with the legs externally rotated at the hips. Second, can they sense where the resistance is at their hips? If it is occurring in the posterior area, that is likely compression. If the sensations are more anterior, there may still be some tension in the capsular ligaments.

There is a whole other class of postures you may want to investigate: the seiza style of sitting on the heels or with blocks between the feet or on a meditation bench. This requires no external rotation at the hip but does require a lot of flexion at the knees. For some, this is a very therapeutic posture which also allows the spine to be neutral, while for others this is too much for the knees. I personally like to alternate the seiza and Burmese styles.

Cheers
Bernie
inhaleexhaleee
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:45 pm

Re: Sequence for lotus pose development

Post by inhaleexhaleee »

Very helpful, thank you for the additional information.

Be well 🙏
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