Gil Fronsdal talks about the importance of posture in our meditation practice and offers a bevy of suggestions for staying comfortable and pain-free both on the floor and in a chair.
This dharma talk was originally published on Dharma Seed.
“And so the dharma posture is a posture that we can hold our sadness in, hold our grief, despair, whatever it might be, but without giving into it, collapsing into it. So it’s not denying it, but it’s also not getting entangled with it.” – Gil Fronsdal
In this episode, Gil explores:
- How posture can really help anchor us to the present moment
- Being intentional with our posture in meditation versus giving into posture driven by emotions that arise during meditation
- Why there is no perfect posture for meditation, only the posture that works best at this moment in time
- Tips and tricks for various meditation postures, from sitting on the floor to using a chair
“The classic instructions for sitting on a chair is to have the legs parallel with each other, with both feet, soles of the feet, flat on the floor. I think that’s grounding and a little bit of a posture of strength, which is very nice to have. However, some people like to have their legs out wide, it gives the feel of more support that way. So whatever works best for you.” – Gil Fronsdal