Half Lotus Vs. Full Lotus

[AngolMoa]

Hi friends,

 

I thought I would ask everyone what their thoughts are on the differences between half lotus and full lotus (aside from the obvious difficulty of maintaining a full lotus lol).  I've certainly done a number on my knees over the year trying to hold a full lotus too early, or stretched too aggressively to try and attain a full lotus.  Anywho, your thoughts are all appreciated! 

[thelerner]

random thoughts.  I usually sit on a zafu (stiff pillow) in half lotus, I can't do full lotus.  Kudos for those who can, but comfort and knee safety are important.  FWIW I find the feminine Right over left to be more comfortable.  If I'm feeling particularly stiff I'll sit 'looser', legs not tucked, one slightly infront of the other.  When I'm good, sitting a long time, I accept the numbness of my legs.  On the otherhand I don't want any damage either. 

 

Lately I'm doing more stretching, 10 minutes morning & night.  It's made my sitting easier.  As we get older we get creakier and can't take flexibility for granted.  

Edited February 20, 2021 by thelerner

[Master Logray]

22 hours ago, AngolMoa said:

Hi friends,

 

I thought I would ask everyone what their thoughts are on the differences between half lotus and full lotus (aside from the obvious difficulty of maintaining a full lotus lol).  I've certainly done a number on my knees over the year trying to hold a full lotus too early, or stretched too aggressively to try and attain a full lotus.  Anywho, your thoughts are all appreciated! 

 

Half Lotus is inherently imbalanced and not so stable than full Lotus.  The tradition teaching is that once your Chi is moving correctly, the muscles and tendons will soften and full lotus becomes possible or much easier.

 

However nowadays teachers tend to let students adopt all kinds of poses, full lotus, half, or easy, or even sitting on chair, leaning, lying down etc. The rationale is that it is no point to struggle to achieve full lotus when there are more important objectives like stilling the mind.

 

 

[AngolMoa]

Ooooo I’ve never considered it from that perpective! Thank you for sharing 😊!

[C T]

Oh... this subject again. 

 

The recommended yoga asana (pose) thats tailored specifically to open the hips is the Gomukhasana. 

 

In the main, its believed that where Yoga is concerned, there are 84 asanas in total. A genuine practitioner will, at the early stages of taking up a meditative path, understand that there is a sequence to developing the physique, leading to, and culminating in the liberation of the bodymind. It will also be understood that not one pose takes priority over another, and those that experience pitfalls attempting full lotus have missed some of the pertinent yoga fundamentals. 

 

At the beginning of a spiritual and/or yoga adventure, most if not all traditional yoga schools will impart to aspirants the core principle of sthira sukham āsanam, translated as, "Asana means a steady and comfortable posture." If force is needed, one might as well abandon the practice and just remain focussed on cultivating one's path minus the incorporation of such poses. If one is hung up on a particular pose, the plot is lost. 

 

The four seated poses of Siddhasana, Padmasana, Bhadrasana and Simhasana share equal import - no one is more superior than the other. 

 

 

 

 

[dwai]

Spoiler

https://youtu.be/YFgkVxS_z7Q

Follow the exercises in this video above to develop your ability to do full lotus.

[Rara]

Half-lotus good, full-lotus better but no rush to get there!

Edited February 27, 2021 by Rara

[AngolMoa]

CT, dwai, and Rara, thanks so much for your replies!