How To Sit

  • The biggest thing to remember is to keep your back straight. Keep your back erect (if you're in a chair it's best not to rest your back on the back of the chair), and keep an upright posture. This keeps you alert, and allows you to concentrate more easily on your breath.
  • Your eyes can be either closed or open. Again, the goal of this whole "meditation" thing is to work out your attention muscle. If you find you can concentrate better on your breath with your eyes closed, as many people do, then it's probably best to keep them closed. If you're tired and find yourself dozing off when you close your eyes, try opening them slightly and focusing your gaze softly on a space on the floor in front of you. For me, this becomes distracting, so I keep them closed and only open them if I'm tired.
  • Don't worry about your hands. Some people like to form circles with their thumb and another finger, but that doesn't really matter, in my opinion. I usually just rest my hands, palm down, on my legs, wherever they feel the most comfortable.
  • Cross your legs however you want. I usually cross my legs in front of me, and I think that works fine for most people. If you want to fold your feet like a pretzel you can, but if you're use meditation to strengthen your attention muscle, it may be easiest to keep to a simple, cross-legged pose.
  • Look slightly downward, even if your eyes are closed. This opens up your chest. Again, though, find a place that's comfortable - one that keeps you upright and opens up your chest at the same time.
  • The biggest point I can make about how to sit is to find a pose and posture that's both comfortable and keeps you upright. The guidelines above work best for me and most of the people I know, but they may not work for you. The most comfortable meditation pose will give you so little alertness that it will put you to sleep, and the least comfortable pose will keep you alert, but at the expense of your comfort. The best advice I can give is to try to find a place in between that works the best for you.