What You Should Know as a Meditation Beginner

- Full lotus posture: This is the most difficult position to master. It involves sitting cross legged on the cushion with your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot on your right thigh. - Half lotus posture: In this position, you have one foot on the opposite thigh and the other foot under the opposite thigh. - Quarter lotus posture: This position involves placing the top of each foot rests on the calf of the opposite leg. - Burmese posture: You can start with either the right or left leg in this position. Place the left leg on top of the right leg and have your right leg resting under the left one. - Kneeling: You kneel on a cushion or pad and rest your buttocks on the backs of your legs - Sitting in a chair Regardless of what position you choose for beginning meditation, it is important that you keep your spine straight for the duration of the meditating period. You should have your buttocks thrust outward and your chin tucked in toward your chest. You must also have your hands in a specific position. Hold your arms close to your body with the left hand resting on the right hand. Your palms should be open, with the joints of the two middle fingers resting lightly against each other. The tips of your thumbs should also be lightly touching each other. When you are seated on the cushion for beginning meditation, you should have your knees on the cushion. This does require practice because it is common to have a space between your knees and the floor when seated in this position. If you meditate when sitting on a chair, don’t relax against the back of the chair. You should sit towards the edge of the seat so that your spine will be straight. Your feet should be resting on the floor and your knees slightly apart. Once you have the perfect position for beginning meditation, rock your body back and forth a few times to establish yourself on the cushion. Then you can start focusing on your breathing and begin meditating.