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Concept
Lotus position
Summary
Lotus position or Padmasana (पद्मासन) is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha yoga, and is widely used for meditation in Hindu, Tantra, Jain, and Buddhist traditions.
Variations include easy pose (Sukhasana), half lotus, bound lotus, and psychic union pose. Advanced variations of several other asanas including yoga headstand have the legs in lotus or half lotus. The pose can be uncomfortable for people not used to sitting on the floor, and attempts to force the legs into position can injure the knees.
Shiva, the meditating ascetic God of Hinduism, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and the Tirthankaras in Jainism have been depicted in the lotus position, especially in statues. The pose is emblematic both of Buddhist meditation and of yoga, and as such has found a place in Western culture as a symbol of healthy living and well-being.
The name Padmasana is from the Sanskrit पद्म Padma, "lotus" and आसन, Āsana, "posture" or "seat". In Asian cultures, the sacred lotus is used as a symbol of growth towards perfection and enlightenment as it is rooted in the mud at the bottom of the pond, but rises and blooms above the water. In Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism, the pose is also called the "vajra position" (Skt. vajrāsana, Ch. 金剛座 jīngāngzuò).
The pose is ancient and is described, along with other asanas (sitting postures), in the 8th century book Patanjalayogashastravivarana. A figure seated in lotus position on a lotus flower is shown on dinar coins of Chandragupta II, who reigned c. 380–c. 415 AD. The first tantric text to discuss posture (asana), the 6th-10th century Nisvasattvasamhita Nayasutra (4.11-17, 4.104-106), directs the meditator and "user of mantras" to sit in lotus or a similar posture. The 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that the pose destroys all diseases, and that a yogin in the pose who retains the air breathed in through the nadi channels attains liberation.
Official source
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