mantis

If there is something you want to say please go ahead and do so.

OK, I can do it quite well naturally and it's moot. "has practiced many things over the years." Neat. I guess dabbling in spirituality and yoga makes one an authority.

What makes you the authority on how useful/useless the full lotus position is?

A word of caution when bringing up full lotus, a lot of people say its "useless" or "unnecessary" simply because they themselves cannot achieve the position.

I'm quite flexible as well but years of weight training has given me cartoonesque thighs and butt. I could easily assume the lotus position without doing any kind of stretching, ever. Sitting there for a prolonged period of time, however, is another feat altogether.

Can't wait lol

At 20 minutes a day now, man those last few minutes are tough Going to start meditating in the position once I break the 30 min mark, which should be in another ~3-4 wks.

Cool bump, I've been interested in the Kundalini recently, right on time

You can try a mixture of soy isoflavones + capsaicin: http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2009/09/capsaicin-and-soy-isoflavones-grow-hair.html I have practically all of my hair but this has made my hair noticeably thicker (I only purchased the soy isoflavones, not capsaicin).

Still steadily adding 2 minutes a week, at 15 minutes now.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-27/us/wwi.veteran.death_1_frank-buckles-susannah-buckles-flanagan-veterans?_s=PM:US The first World War didn't stop him from living to 110.

Which brand do you all prefer? I just purchased this one and like it so far, it's one of the few brands that actually lists the ginsenoside content. http://www.iherb.com/Solgar-Korean-Ginseng-Root-Extract-60-Veggie-Caps/14266?at=0

I can vouch for the brand I listed, energy, focus, learning etc. have all improved drastically and it hasn't even been a week yet. I'm placing an order for two more bottles

People of all ages consume Ginseng in South Korea regularly, I'm not particularly worried

i've been a vegan for about 2 months - not really strict strict as at times i've eaten food both willingly and unwillingly that have dairy or something similar in them. anyways, this has really been bugging me as of recent. i eat dinner for example with like some tofu and rice and possibly a wheat bagel after but i never feel "full." i always feel like i can eat more than what i have. i have been thinking a lot about going back to a non vegan diet but avoiding red meat still and some dairy. this would allow me to eat chicken and fish which are both very nourishing. also i fear that i may not be getting enough protein as for someone my age i should be getting 70 grams a day at least and i don't think i'm near that.

Some full lotus progress pics http://i41.tinypic.com/211jhuh.jpg http://i43.tinypic.com/2ms0g.jpg Sorry for the terrible angles, I have to lean forward a ton to try and capture my entire lower body when using my cameras phone. I could never get both of my feet into the creases in my hips now and as you can see it's no longer a problem. I look forward to the future and being able to sit in the lotus pose for an hour.

This thread is over 3 years old, I'm not a vegan

The reason I asked is because if you can only uncomfortably hold the pose for a few seconds you might want to try forgetting about it for a while and just try stretching as much as you can. Even before I started stretching diligently I could sit in full lotus for a good 30 minutes but I was overcompensating and was never truly "comfortable" as I now am. As an aside, I think being slim is especially helpful when tackling the full lotus position. I gave up weight training a few months ago and I then had 27" inch thighs (I can post a picture for non-believers, this was at 185lbs). I've naturally slimmed down considerably (~165 or so) with the bulk of the weight coming from my quad/glute area as that is where I am naturally heaviest, it's been much easier to sit since. My 0.02c.

When you say a couple of seconds do you say this because one of your legs slide out of place or because the discomfort is too great?

It's strange how the Indian yogis use the left leg over the right instead of the reverse. As for me, at 7 minutes daily now and it gets more and more comfortable. I don't feel any kind of strain or effort to sit longer.

Looks like Wang Liping's right knee is off the floor in this pic: http://yuantaopai.com/imagenes/articulos/180556_Wang%20Liping%20neidan.jpg All hope is not lost

Thanks for clearing that up, I got the idea from kathyli but I don't think English is her first language and some things may get scrambled up in translation.

Do you think its cool to write in an unexceptionably complicated matter just for the sake of it? Just curious.

Thanks, this seems to be the most useful link: http://www.longmenpai.com/forum/showthread.php?93-An-important-preparation-practice-for-beginner-Taming-mind-and-still-sitting-(%26%2325910%3B%26%2324515%3B%26%2338745%3B%26%2322352%3B) Seems to be a stillness meditation in which you simply sit and listen to your heart beat.

From what I have gathered from this thread, mainly Taomeow, having your right leg on top is for us males (to garner more Yang) and the opposite is suited for women. It's easier if you sit on a cushion but I think practicing without one at first is best. I'm looking at a good 4-6 months before I even attempt sitting in full lotus for an hour, small increments.