 Step
by Step
Fold a thick blanket or two into a firm support
about six inches high. Sit close to one edge of this
support and stretch your legs out in front of your
torso on the floor in Dandasana (Staff Pose).
Cross your shins, widen your knees, and slip each
foot beneath the opposite knee as you bend your knees
and fold the legs in toward your torso.
Relax the feet so their outer edges rest comfortably
on the floor and the inner arches settle just below
the opposite shin. You'll know you have the basic
leg fold of Sukhasana when you look down and see a
triangle, its three sides formed by the two thighs
and the crossed shins. Don't confuse this position
with that of other classic seated postures in which
the ankles are tucked in close to the sitting bones.
In Sukhasana, there should be a comfortable gap between
the feet and the pelvis.
As always, you should sit with your pelvis in a
relatively neutral position. To find neutral, press
your hands against the floor and lift your sitting
bones slightly off the support. As you hang there
for a few breaths, make your thigh bones heavy, then
slowly lower your sit bones lightly back to the support.
Try to balance your pubic bone and tail bone so they're
equidistant from the floor.
Either stack your hands in your lap, palms up, or
lay your hands on your knees, palms down. Lengthen
your tail bone toward the floor, firm your shoulder
blades against your back to you're your upper torso,
but don't overarch your lower back and poke your lower
front ribs forward.
You can sit in this position for any length of time,
but if you practice this pose regularly, be sure to
alternate the cross of the legs. A good rule of thumb:
On even-numbered days, cross the right shin in front
of the left, and on odd-numbered days, do the opposite.
Alternately, you can divide the practice time in half,
and spend the first half with your right leg forward,
and the second half with the left leg forward. |
