In the first part of the lesson, everyone is sitting in chairs that I provide. If you sit in a chair at home for meditation and you can easily bring that chair, please do. In the second part of the lesson, you can continue to sit in a chair, sit on a cushion, or sit on a kneeling bench. In the second part, you can alternate what you sit on. It's best to practice your sitting posture for meditation with what you use at home. I only have two cushions and two kneeling benches for people to use. So if you want to sit on a cushion or on a kneeling bench, please bring them.

The first part of the lesson explores your very stable lower body -- your legs and hips that are secured by the ground and what you're sitting on. The second part of the lesson explores your very bendable upper body (your spine, your head, your ribs, and your shoulder blades). Your upper body is stabilized by your your very bendable arms that are anchored on your thighs and by your lower body (your legs and your hips).

When we sit for meditation, we have in common that we’re all physically sitting. How we sit is universal in that we’re either sitting in a way that fully supports our body or we’re not. In this three and a half hour posture lesson for sitting meditation, I go through the body systematically; taking one part of the body at a time in a very specific sequence. The combination of being a chiropractor for thirty years, meditating for twenty nine years, and teaching posture lessons for five years allows me to have a deeper understanding of sitting posture during meditation than most people.

This lesson is designed to be thorough, simple, and clear. There are six points to the lesson. That's simple. The lesson is for three and a half hours. That's thorough. If I could shorten the three and half hour lesson and keep the quality of the lesson, I would. We'll cover each part of your body thoroughly and simply. This is why the lesson will be clear. There are times when I'll be talking and when you'll be able to move around, stretch, or sit casually.

Your Lower Body During Sitting Meditation
The purpose of your lower body during sitting meditation is to support your spine and to support your entire upper body. I consider your legs and your hips to be your lower body. I consider everything from your lower back up to your head to be your upper body.

When you have your lower body properly positioned, you’ll experience that your lower body is what supports your spine to stay upright with minimal tension from your back muscles. The only role of your back muscles is to have postural tension. Click here to read about postural tension. Any tension in your upper body more than postural tension is an interference to your sitting.

You will begin the last exercise in part one with your lower body properly positioned. You will then give permission for all of your upper body muscles (all of your muscles from your low back up to your head) to relax as fully as they can. Your spine will not slump. Your spine will not collapse. You will experience that it is your lower body that supports your spine to stay upright during meditation; and not the muscles of your back and upper body. This will not be a theory. This will be your experience.

I consider your lower body to be responsible for 75% of your sitting posture during meditation. Your upper body is responsible for 25% of your sitting posture. If you have your lower body (your legs and your hips) properly positioned, then you’ve got the majority of the proper posture necessary for sitting meditation.

Your Upper Body During Sitting Meditation
Your upper body has all of the vital parts of your body. Your legs and hips are made up of muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves, and blood vessels. That’s it. Your upper body has your spinal cord, your brain, and all of your organs. Your upper body has all of the magic. Your lower body is made to move all of your magic around.

When sitting, your legs and hips are fixed. They’re not very movable. Your upper body is very flexible and there is some movement in your upper body because of your breath. because your upper body moves and because it's very flexible, there is an art to positioning your upper body. This art requires a sensitivity that you develop over time.

After The Lesson
When you leave the lesson, you’ll know 100% how to have your lower body be proper during sitting meditation. When you leave the lesson, your work with your upper body will be progressive over time. You’ll leave with all of the basic information and experience to give you a good beginning to have proper upper body posture. And then you’ll need to practice. This is similar to leaving a tennis lesson. You’ll know what to do, and you’ll have to practice to be able to do it well.

By taking this lesson, you'll be able to know how to build an ever increasing positive cycle of proper alignment encouraging muscles to relax. And more relaxed muscles encourage even more proper alignment. Then, the even more proper alignment encourages even more muscle relaxation. This cycle goes on without any conscious attention from you. With this cycle occurring, your body has the ability to sit in longer meditations and to have significantly less physical stress while you sit.

Proper posture is a foundation and a key support for your meditation.This lesson can be significantly helpful in having your body be comfortable with an erect spine during long meditations. This improvement can remain for the rest of your life; in one of the most important parts of your life – your meditation time.

There is a follow up lesson that you can take to review the five points of this lesson, to ask any questions, and to sit for an extended time. I don't expect you to master posture for sitting meditation in one lesson. Everyone who has taken this additional lesson has benefitted. Click here to read about this review and practice lesson.

Click here to return to the main page for the posture lesson for sitting meditation.