Yoga practitioners do rigorous practice and follow guidelines on how correct to meditate but the other most important factor to achieve a state of deep meditation is appropriate body alignment. According to yoga gurus, it is really significant for you to maintain correct posture during your meditation practice. For meditation practitioners, sequence of performance can first be correct yoga postures followed by Pranayama and then meditation. Yoga experts said that posture has immense impact on channelizing energies in your body.

Posture is the position in which you sit or lie down. It is believed that certain positions such as lotus posture are excellent for meditation. To support person’s meditative energies, it is extremely supportive to do the yoga postures in a specific order. According to Patanjali after perfecting one’s posture, person can advance in yoga path. In other words, meditation practice is only possible when person is perfect in postures.

But perfecting a correct posture is great challenge for beginners as well as seasoned practitioners. By perfection, it means that reaching a state where you can sit unmoving in one posture for as long as you want without experiencing pain or numbness in your body. Your body is bound to feel certain tiredness but without pain.  

Correct posture is helpful for going deep mediation because in this state person focuses and moves one’s energy in a very thoughtful way, surpasses physical consciousness, and allows for a silent, and still mind. Whereas in normal meditation, person focuses attention and have comparatively brief moments of mental stillness.

It is necessary in going deep meditation to find a position that provides you the greatest stability and proper body configuration of the head, neck, shoulders and spine. Proper body alignment is major element to lengthen your time sitting in meditation. If you focus more on body pains and uneasiness, then your goal to move in to the state of deep meditation may be obscure. In good posture, your body and mind works well and alert, and you must feel relaxed and calm, during meditation. 

When enquiring about correct posture in meditation, Patanjali states that “Sthiram Sukham Asana”. It means any posture in which you are comfortable. But it does not indicate that practitioner can disregard the fundamental norms of posture in meditation practice. There are two basic principles that practitioners must follow while setting up an appropriate posture for meditation. Firstly, your posture has to allow you to relax and to be comfortable and secondly, your posture has to allow you to remain alert and aware. Deep meditation means connection, consciousness, and relaxation. In the state of deep meditation, mind and soul are in rhythmic harmonisation

There are numerous elements of correct posture in meditation

Back straight, sitting up straight: This is the best position for doing deep meditation. You must keep back, neck, and head in a straight line. This position will support you physically and you may feel confident, strong, and attentive. Such emotions are necessary for during meditation practice.

Another aspect of correct posture for deep meditation is to be calm and still during practice but not rigid. It is advised to practice your mindfulness of breathing exercises and feel your body and mind relaxing and maintain a state of calmness and self-possession.

To maintain correct posture to go in meditation, you must keep relaxed to shoulders. It has been observed that in meditation practice, some practitioners do not comprehend it, but people contract their shoulders for a significant portion of the time. It is recommended by yoga gurus that relax your shoulders, and feel the change. During meditation practice, assure to keep your shoulders completely at rest.

Pupil must keep their head straight up over their spine during meditation practice, and do not lean to one side. 

Relaxing your eyes is also a kind of appropriate posture while doing meditation. You may close them if you desire, or softly fix your gaze upon an object in front of you. It is important for practitioners to keep their head perfectly straight and keeping their eyes closed will move them to falling asleep. But with eyes closed, they will also be less confused by their environment.

During meditation practice, it is suggested that practitioners must completely relax their face. Meditation is about eliminating all disguises. They need not make any expression at all during meditation practice. 

General sitting meditation postures are as under

People can meditate in various meditative postures such as sitting, standing, walking and lying down. But mostly people do meditation in sitting positions. The major objective of correct sitting posture is to balance being straight and alert, with being calm.

The effective and correct posture for meditation practice is full lotus. In this posture, the right foot rests on the left thigh and the left foot rests on the right thigh.

Half-lotus can also be practiced by people to go in deep meditation. In this posture one foot rests on one thigh while the other leg is folded underneath the other.

Burmese Meditation Posture for Relaxation and Mindfulness

In Burmese posture, the knees are bent and both legs are folded (but feet are not resting on the thighs). Yoga expert guides that people must follow some steps to make correct posture in meditative state. Such as the legs are crossed and the tops/sides of both feet rest on the floor. The knees should perfectly also rest on the floor.

Depending on the person’s flexibility, they may practice for the muscles to stretch and the knees to begin to drop. A cushion under the knees can support this. People can imagine the top of their head being pulled upward towards the ceiling, which straightens their spine, then just let the muscles go soft and relax. There should be a slight curve in the lower region of the back. 

In Kneeling or Seiza posture, person can sit kneeling using a seiza bench, which keeps the weight off their feet and maintain their spine straight. Practitioners can also sit kneeling with a pillow between their legs. Kneeling is often more comfortable for people with less flexibility in the hips, and is the calmest position to get in or out of.

Chair sitting is also posture for doing meditative practice. It is advised to keep feet about shoulder-width apart on the floor. If practitioners face problem with their back, they can use cushion, such as a zafu, to support the lower back. Both feet should be flat on the floor directly below knees at around ninety degree angle. If required, practitioners can also use a cushion to elevate their feet. This may be comfortable position for most practitioners. 

In all sitting meditation postures, it is advised to keep the spine straight with the lower part of the back curved. Thighs should slope down from the pelvis to the knees enough to tile the pelvis forward and provide needed support for the lower back. When the spine is straight, it allows the diaphragm to move freely and allowing breathing to become deep, easy, and normal. 

To wrap up, it is important to find a meditation position that is most comfortable for you and your body type. Mastering a correct posture is a daunting task of meditation. For few minutes’ meditation, posture would not matter but when person wants to go to deep level of meditation, he/she will have to be proficient in correct posture. The right posture for going deep meditation elaborates how person’s energy moves during meditation.

Read More: Four Effective Meditation Poses for Mind-Body Balance

Postures of sitting tall with his/her back unsupported, hands on the lap, and legs crossed, moves energy freely along the body’s energy centres or meridians (chakras). The posture of person believed to be complementary to the other factors necessary to focus the mind. Real meditation can happen only after a person reaches to the state of deep relaxation therefore the posture always help people in moving at advance stage. It is thought that correct posture is the life of deep meditation.