Posture..when sitting

[Apprentice]

Hey everyone, been a while since i've posted...

But since i've last posted, i've gotten into Yoga...

They have seated Postures(for meditation)...i'm assuming that Kung Fu Has these too?

The postures are very uncomfortable to me(im just starting them)......i've learned everything from a book by the way, i know, not the best...but its all money/time will allow


They say the postures should be very relaxed.....its very hard for me to relax cross legged, with str8 posture(flexibility and back strength)....and im curious.....i CAN str8en my posture, but i sacrafice relaxation for that....should i str8en it, which would flex my back muscles(definantly not relax)...and use this, sort of as an Isometric(still) exercsie....until i can Relax into the posture...or should i Relax, and just get my back stronger at each little point between bad posture and good posture? Any comments are welcome

Ps: Im gonna do kung fu in not-to-long....couple months! :D

[Felipe Bido]

If the crossed leg position (Padmasana) is still painful to you, forget the straightening of the back and concentrate in relaxing your knee joints, for now.

After the pain of the legs is gone, Padmasana is one of the most relaxing postures. And the straight back comes from the flexibility of your knee joints.

I recommend you to get a small pillow, and sit on it while doing Padmasana. Cross your legs, and sit on the small pillow, placing ONLY the coccix area and leaving your legs out. Being in a higher position than the legs, your back will get relaxed and straight.

[TkdWarrior]

well wat posture u r doing??
i'll prefer normal crossed legged(sukhasana) posture for meditation or sometimes half lotus...
padamasana or lotus posture is very tough and normally no one can do it first time... u can go with half lotus only one leg on the thigh or u can go sukhasana(which is basically sitting ur legs crossed) this too gave u almost same results as lotus posture
u start with half lotus first... then move on to lotus...
in half lotus one leg is touching ur point b/w balls and a-n-us and the other leg is over its thigh as in lotus posutres...
filepe had some good pillow advice u can follow that too...
cheers with Yoga

PS:everything is good if u can start with book but don't start prayanama without a teacher. and remember breathing plays a big role in Yoga. it will also relax u a bit.
-TkdWarrior-

[Apprentice]

more replies are welcome, i am currently trying the easy pose(as they call it)....its the regular cross legged position. And i try the Staff Pose, because i thought it would help the easy pose a little.

I do pranayama already, is that bad? When sitting in a chair, with my back str8, i'll breathe into my abdoment and concentrate on the breath, making it slow n steady, sometimes i'll just do that. Othertimes i'll focus on a Mantra, such as OM, or i'll do alternate nostril breathing, sometimes with bee breath.

Since i can't get the postures quite right, the only time i'll focus on a chakra, is when im in Shavasana. But sometimes i'll focus on the third eye while sitting, cuz it feel soo good when im done :)

All comments are welcome

[TkdWarrior]

pranayama is more that that u hav described...
everyone knows about four types of breath
simple,reverse,pre natal, post natal
but in simple n reverse there can be more variations around 3-4
i think u can try simple and reverse without much trouble but later styles will give u troubles... and those variation are as tough as u can imagine... and there r some style of prayanama which u can't do in summer ie bhastrika or some u can't do in winter ie sheetla... so those things hav to be known ...otherwise that can hurt u...
cheers
-TkdWarrior-