Meditative postures
Best known in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are the lotus and kneeling positions; other options include sitting on a chair, with the spine upright.Meditation is sometimes practiced while walking, such as kinhin, doing simple repetitive tasks, as in Zen samu, or work which encourages mindfulness.They may, in the words of the yoga and meditation teacher Anne Cushman, be practising "self-torture ... apparently believing that bruising your inner thigh with your ankle is crucial to spiritual awakening.All the same, she writes, a formal method is helpful, and the asana chosen needs to be stable and comfortable, as the Yoga Sutras state: on the one side, few people would wish to hold strenuous postures like Downward Dog for half an hour or more; on the other side, a restful posture like Savasana (Corpse Pose) might be comfortable but would more likely lead to sleep than meditation.The spinal column needs to be erect and in balance; this poise lets the muscles of the back relax, and this in turn allows the attention to be focussed on the breath.
SiddhasanaasanasmeditationBuddhistkneelingkinhinmindfulnessYoga Sutras of PatanjaliPadmasana or Lotus poseyoga as having eight limbsPadmasanaBhadrasanaSvastikasanaSiddhasana or MuktasanaSukhasanaVirasanaVajrasanaBaddha KonasanaB. K. S. IyengarGurdjieffHōkō-ji templeAnne CushmanDownward DogSavasanaspinal columnSukhothaiThailandwalking meditationOrthodox ChristianshesychasmSaint Gregory of SinaiTheravadazhan zhuangYiquanList of asanasMindful YogaYogapattasanaPowers, SarahCushman, AnneIyengar, B. K. S.Light on Yoga: Yoga DipikaBibcodeYoga JournalMaezumi, Hakuyu TaizanGlassman, BernieBrain activity and meditationHistory of meditationMeditation in popular cultureMind–body interventionsResearch on meditationAnapanasati (Buddhist breathing meditation)Buddhist meditationChristian meditationTaoist meditationDancemeditationDhyāna (Buddhist meditation)Dhyāna (Hindu meditation)Henosis (Neoplatonic meditation)Islamic meditationJain meditationJewish meditationMuraqabah (Sufi meditation)Naam Japo (Sikism meditation)NeigongPranayama (yoga breathing practice)QigongShikantaza (Zen Buddhist seated meditation)Silva MethodTantraTranscendental meditation (TM)Vipassanā (Silent meditation)Zazen (Zen Buddhist seated meditation)Zhan zhuang (tai chi standing meditation)5RhythmsBiofeedbackBrainwave entrainmentBreathingChantingConcentrationConscious breathingCountingEmptinessGuided meditationHigher consciousnessMantraOnenessPoetryPrayerRelaxationSamyamaTantric sexSilenceTranceVisualizationThich Nhat HanhJon Kabat-ZinnSam HarrisPema ChödrönSusan PiverS. N. GoenkaJoseph GoldsteinYuval Harari14th Dalai LamaMatthieu RicardSharon SalzbergDaniel GolemanThubten ChodronMartine BatchelorStephen BatchelorThe Varieties of the Meditative ExperienceMeditation and painDrishtiPranayamaSun SalutationVinyasaYoga as exerciseYoga as therapyHatha yogaAnjaneyasana (crescent moon)Bidalasana (cat)/Bitilasana (cow)Bhujangasana (cobra)Chakrasana (wheel) or Urdhva Dhanurasana (upward bow)Viparita Dandasana (inverted staff)Kapotasana (pigeon)Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (king pigeon)Ushtrasana (camel)