Meditating is an unique individual practice and it’s important that you choose the type of meditation that’s best for you. It’s also important for you to choose the meditation pose that’s best for you. Choosing a meditation pose for yourself is simple, but it should still be given a fair bit of attention and consideration.

You’re probably wondering how a silly pose can have such a profound impact on your meditation practice, so let me take a minute to talk about this some more…

It’s important to note thought that your posture in any pose is just as important as the pose you choose to meditate in, so be sure to first learn more about proper posture techniques here.

Now that you’ve reviewed the basic components of proper posture let’s review a few of the most popular meditation poses.

1. Lotus Pose (Padmasana): The lotus pose is by far the most popular and well-known meditation and yoga pose around. It does take some practice to be able to sit comfortably in this pose for an extended period of time, but it’s a great goal to work towards. To sit in lotus, start off by sitting in a cross-legged position. With the help of your hands, place on leg above your other leg so that your right ankle is resting slightly above your left knee or vice versa. Then take your other leg and place it on the other leg so that your left ankle is resting slightly above your right knee (or vice versa).

This posture helps you to breath properly, stimulates the endocrine and circulatory systems and helps to tone the lower back and spine.

2. Half Lotus (Ardha Padmasana): This a great transition pose for those of you working towards sitting comfortably in lotus position. Rather than resting both ankles on your knees simply sit in a cross-legged position and raise one foot and rest it slightly above the opposite knee. That’s it! You’re half way to lotus position now

In half lotus, you’ll reap similar benefits to meditating in full lotus, just to a lesser extent.

3. The Diamond Pose (Vajarasna): Also known as the kneeling pose or zen pose, this is a simple pose where you sit on top of your heels (you’re sitting on your knees) with your spine stretching upwards. It’s very comfortable to rest your hands on top of your thighs when in this position.

This position is beneficial because the reflexology points on your feet are stimulated when seated upon, breathing is effortless and digestion is aided.

4. The Easy Pose (Sukhasana): This is the easiest pose and I recommend it for beginners or for those of you who are not naturally flexible. You simply sit cross-legged but this time rather than resting your ankles on your knees, you align both heels in front of one another on the ground.

You will still reap the many benefits of meditation and this will help you to start opening up your tight joints and muscles to prepare you for other poses.

There is a huge variety of meditation (and yoga) poses available, so don’t be afraid to search online to learn more about the positions out there. As always, try out a couple of poses until you find the one that works best for you and don’t forget the posture fundamentals!