# What's so great about the lotus position, anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521 "2012-03-02T04:23:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/1 "2012-03-02T04:23:34Z")
I did it a few times in my teens for fun, and it just made my feet fall asleep. Can people maintain this position without that happening? ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/2 "2012-03-02T04:47:39Z")
There are plenty of yoga practitioners doing it in India and world over. I see Hindu / Jain preachers sitting in this posture and lecturing devotees everyday on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/3 "2012-03-02T04:51:09Z")
> [@indian](#): > > There are plenty of yoga practitioners doing it in India and world over. > > I see Hindu / Jain preachers sitting in this posture and lecturing devotees everyday on TV. Yes, but…why? I’m guessing there’s some philosophical reason for it, just don’t know what it is. Edit…Well, now I know! > [@](#): > > The position is said to resemble a lotus, to encourage breathing proper to associated meditative practice, and to foster physical stability. I guess if you fall asleep in that position you’re less likely to fall over. \ ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/4 "2012-03-02T09:52:00Z")
I think it is supposed to align your [chakras](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra)… all it does for me is malign my hips. Si ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/5 "2012-03-02T13:58:26Z")
I can’t sit like that without exerting constant effort to not fall over backward. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/6 "2012-03-02T21:38:00Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I can’t sit like that without exerting constant effort to not fall over backward. Which is funny because the entire point is stability. The idea is to fully support your weight in the most natural way. It’s not very natural for me, thought. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/7 "2012-03-02T23:43:07Z")
I’m sitting like that right now. I find it the most comfortable position to sit in, and if possible I usually sit in some variation of cross-legged. My feet keep their feeling. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/8 "2012-03-02T23:57:25Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > … My feet keep their feeling. is there a technique to that? that is, are people simply doing it wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/9 "2012-03-03T00:02:16Z")
I really don’t know. I don’t think I’m doing anything odd or technique-y. I’m fit and not overweight, so I’m sure that helps, but it’s just a very natural sitting position for me. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/10 "2012-03-03T03:44:59Z")
Maybe it helps to have longer legs. I’m short and my legs are even shorter, so it was never comfortable for me. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/11 "2012-03-03T16:00:09Z")
I’m 5’2". ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/12 "2012-03-03T16:12:54Z")
It’s a pretty natural sitting position for me, too. My feet only go to sleep if one of the kids sits on my lap. My preferred sitting position is what the kids are calling “criss-cross applesauce” these days. Putting a foot on top a la lotus position isn’t much of a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/13 "2012-03-03T16:31:29Z")
I’ve never really been comfortable with the lotus, but I sit in the half-lotus all the time. The point is stability. As long as you have a comfortable position that supports the proper alignment of your spine, I think you can sit any way you like. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/14 "2012-03-03T16:39:53Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I did it a few times in my teens for fun, and it just made my feet fall asleep. Can people maintain this position without that happening? Of course they can. Practice makes perfect. Tricky in the beginning, then you get the hang of it. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/15 "2012-03-03T17:10:50Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I did it a few times in my teens for fun, and it just made my feet fall asleep. Can people maintain this position without that happening? your legs or joints might be tight. you might over time stretch enough to not have as much pressure. > [@corkboard](#): > > I can’t sit like that without exerting constant effort to not fall over backward. sit with your butt raised a bit, on a cushion. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/16 "2012-03-03T18:45:15Z")
It has mostly to do with the flexibility of the muscles in your hips, groin, and thighs. I doubt I will ever be able to comfortably sit in the lotus position - I do lots of yoga and I usually meditate sitting cross-legged, but my inner thighs and pelvis are chronically tight and this holds me back in several postures. I can sometimes get into half lotus on my left side, that’s it and it hurts like a bitch. Other people I know have always been able to sit in lotus effortlessly, or began to be able to do it with just a little practice. I remember when I started kindergarten and how uncomfortable it was for me when they forced us to sit cross-legged on the floor for ‘circle time’- any form of cross-legged sitting position is not natural or comfortable for my body. Which is not to say that practicing hasn’t improved things. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-the-lotus-position-anyway/614521/17 "2012-03-03T18:52:46Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > I think it is supposed to align your [chakras](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra)… > all it does for me is malign my hips. > > Si It caused me to get Bursitis.