So it is the weekend, and the best time to take a moment and simply sit and be.
I understand sitting is not always the easiest for everyone these days, particularly when we're talking about sitting on the floor. Our highly sedentary lifestyles and repetitive one direction activities, such as running, cycling, walking, mean that we have lost a lot of the flexibility and movement in our hips, which makes sitting on the floor challenging.
Add to this the inflexibility created by stress, toxicity from our foods and environment as well as dehydration, just to name a few other factors and you start to see the bigger picture of things.
So if you can find an excuse to sit on the floor for some time today.
Be it at home, at the beach, or a picnic.
For one hour, 30mins or 5mins.
Watch the video to see some hints and advice for how to prop yourself up to get the most out of the practice.
It can help to have a mirror to one side so you can see yourself side on to check out your posture.
In meditation, it is often suggested better to sit with your hips higher than your knees, so don't be afraid to experiment and find the position where you can comfortably sit for some time. And then repeat often. And then notice if it gets easier with time and duration spent there.
More stretches will be coming up to help you if you find this area an issue for you.
Happy Sitting Saturday,
Tx
PS: as I mentioned at the end of the video, if you aren't able to sit on the floor because you are at work (hopefully not on a saturday) but if you are, draw your attention to your posture as often as possible. You could do it now whilst you read this. Find the sitting bones, as you sit on them feel the core muscles gently engage (this means the belly can still expand with the abdominal breath, such as you were introduced to in yesterday's video) to support the spine that naturally lengthens up from this position and then ensure you're not holding any tension through the shoulders and jaw. Notice how long you hold this posture for and what your fall back posture is. This is why it's called a practice :) Watch the video for the on the floor practice tips.
I understand sitting is not always the easiest for everyone these days, particularly when we're talking about sitting on the floor. Our highly sedentary lifestyles and repetitive one direction activities, such as running, cycling, walking, mean that we have lost a lot of the flexibility and movement in our hips, which makes sitting on the floor challenging.
Add to this the inflexibility created by stress, toxicity from our foods and environment as well as dehydration, just to name a few other factors and you start to see the bigger picture of things.
So if you can find an excuse to sit on the floor for some time today.
Be it at home, at the beach, or a picnic.
For one hour, 30mins or 5mins.
Watch the video to see some hints and advice for how to prop yourself up to get the most out of the practice.
It can help to have a mirror to one side so you can see yourself side on to check out your posture.
In meditation, it is often suggested better to sit with your hips higher than your knees, so don't be afraid to experiment and find the position where you can comfortably sit for some time. And then repeat often. And then notice if it gets easier with time and duration spent there.
More stretches will be coming up to help you if you find this area an issue for you.
Happy Sitting Saturday,
Tx
PS: as I mentioned at the end of the video, if you aren't able to sit on the floor because you are at work (hopefully not on a saturday) but if you are, draw your attention to your posture as often as possible. You could do it now whilst you read this. Find the sitting bones, as you sit on them feel the core muscles gently engage (this means the belly can still expand with the abdominal breath, such as you were introduced to in yesterday's video) to support the spine that naturally lengthens up from this position and then ensure you're not holding any tension through the shoulders and jaw. Notice how long you hold this posture for and what your fall back posture is. This is why it's called a practice :) Watch the video for the on the floor practice tips.
In case you're not sure what the sitting bones are???
Here is a great image of a man sitting in the meditation position with hips higher than knees that I mentioned earlier.
Image: Kaminoff, L. (2007). Yoga Anatomy. Human Kinetics Books: U.S.A
