Lotus position or Padmasana ()
Variations include easy pose ( Sukhasana), half lotus, bound lotus, and psychic union pose. Advanced variations of several other asanas including yoga headstand have the legs in lotus or half lotus. The pose can be uncomfortable for people not used to sitting on the floor, and attempts to force the legs into position can injure the knees.
Shiva, the meditating ascetic God of Hinduism, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and the in Jainism have been depicted in the lotus position, especially in statues. The pose is emblematic both of Buddhist meditation and of yoga, and as such has found a place in Western culture as a symbol of healthy living and well-being.
Etymology and history
The name Padmasana is from the
Sanskrit पद्म Padma, "lotus" and आसन Āsana, "posture" or "seat".
In Asian cultures,
the
Nelumbo nucifera is used as a symbol of growth towards perfection and enlightenment as it is rooted in the mud at the bottom of the pond, but rises and blooms above the water. In
Chinese Buddhism and
Tibetan Buddhism, the pose is also called the "
vajra position" (Skt. vajrāsana, Ch. 金剛座 jīngāngzuò).
The pose is ancient and is described, along with other (sitting postures), in the 8th century book Patanjalayogashastravivarana. A figure seated in lotus position on a lotus flower is shown on dinar coins of Chandragupta II, who reigned .
Sukhasana is from Sanskrit सुख sukha, meaning "pleasure" or "ease".
Position
From sitting
cross-legged on the floor (Sukhasana), one foot is placed on top of the opposite thigh with its sole facing upward and heel close to the
abdomen. The other foot is then placed on the opposite thigh as symmetrically as possible. The pose requires "very open hips".
It can be modified using a support such as a
Zafu or blanket; by sitting on its forward edge, the pelvis is tilted forward.
Variations
Sukhasana (), Easy Pose, has the legs simply crossed in front of the body.
In half lotus, अर्ध पद्मासन (Ardha Padmasana), one leg is bent and resting on the ground, the other leg is bent with the foot in lotus position. It is an easier meditation position than full lotus.
In bound lotus, बद्ध पद्मासन (Baddha Padmasana), the practitioner sits in full lotus, and each hand reaches around the back to grasp the opposite foot.
For psychic union pose, योगमुद्रासन (Yogamudrasana), the practitioner bends forward in full lotus, bringing the forehead as close to the floor as possible. The pose is both an asana and a mudra; easier variants begin from Ardha Padmasana.
Variations of several other asanas such as Sirsasana (yoga headstand), Sarvangasana (shoulderstand), Simhasana (lion pose), Matsyasana (fish pose), and Gorakshasana (cowherd pose) have the legs in lotus. Asanas such as Vatayanasana (horse pose) and advanced forms of Ardha Matsyendrasana (half lord of the fishes pose) have one leg as in half lotus.
File:Sukhasana.jpg|Sukhasana, easy pose
File:Bharadwaja (detail).jpg|The sage Bharadvaja meditation in half lotus. 19th century
File:Flickr - Nicholas T - Taut.jpg|Baddha Padmasana
File:A scene of Yoga mudra.JPG|Yogamudrasana
File:Padma-shirshasana (cropped).jpg|Padma Sirsasana, lotus headstand
Effects
Lotus is one of the yoga poses that most commonly causes injury.
Attempts to force the legs into lotus pose can
knee injury by squeezing and damaging the
medial meniscus cartilage; this is painful and takes a long time to heal. The
must rotate outwards approximately 115 degrees to permit full lotus. Students who cannot achieve this much hip rotation may try to compensate by bending the knee joint sideways, risking injury. Rather than bending the knee, the thighs can be encouraged to rotate outwards (using hand pressure or a strap).
The yoga guru B. K. S. Iyengar notes that people unused to sitting on the floor will initially feel "excruciating" pain in the knees, but that this subsides with practice, until the pose becomes relaxing, both restful and alert and hence ideal for pranayama.
Twentieth century advocates of some schools of yoga, such as Iyengar, made claims for the effects of yoga on specific organs, without adducing any evidence.
Iyengar claimed that Padmasana encourages blood circulation in the abdomen and lumbar region, toning the spine and abdominal organs.
In art and culture
Asian art
In
Buddhism, statues of the founder,
Gautama Buddha, sometimes depict him seated in lotus position and enthroned on a lotus flower.
In
Hinduism, statues often depict gods, especially
Shiva, meditating in Padmasana.
In
Bali, a Padmasana is also a type of Hindu
shrine, named for the posture.
In
Jainism, seated
are represented in Lotus posture.
File:Patan Parshvanatha.jpg|A 10th century CE idol of Parshvanatha in Lotus position from Patan, Gujarat
File:Monkey gives honey to Buddha Shakyamuni, India, Bihar, probably Kurkihar, Pala dynasty, c. 1000 AD, black stone - Östasiatiska museet, Stockholm - DSC09270.JPG|Gautama Buddha
File:Sivakempfort.jpg|Shiva
File:Mahavir.jpg|Mahavira
Pura Jagatnatha in Bali; David Stanley; November 2011.jpg|A Padmasana shrine, here of Pura Jagatnatha in Denpasar, Bali
Western culture
The scholar of religion Thomas Tweed wrote in 2008 that "the prevailing image of Buddhist practice has been the solitary meditator, eyes half closed, sitting in the lotus position."
's 1964 novel
You Only Live Twice has the action hero James Bond visiting Japan, where he "assiduously practised sitting in the lotus position."
The critic Lisa M. Dresner notes that Bond is mirroring Fleming's own struggles with the pose.
The BBC journalist Megan Lane commented in 2003 that since yoga as exercise had become mainstream, lotus position (like
Vriksasana) had been used by advertisers to sell "all manner of goods and services."
She noted that both "healthy living"
goods such as vitamins, fitness clubs, water filter and
probiotic yogurt, and unrelated items such as cars, airlines, financial services "and even beer"
have made use of images of yoga to convey a message of well-being.
Poland's Obory Dairy gave its advertising agency the goal of creating awareness of their "Jogi" yogurt as exclusive and with a positive image. The agency responded with a photograph of two young women meditating in lotus pose at dawn under the heading "Start your day with Jogi", the brand name also meaning "yoga" in Polish.
See also
-
Kukkutasana, cockerel pose, a balancing asana with the hands threaded through the folded legs of Padmasana
-
List of asanas
-
Maravijaya
-
Padmasana (shrine)
-
Zazen
Sources
External links
