Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Guide to Meditation Postures

Sitting is a common meditation posture synonymous with Buddha statues, but you don’t need to follow Buddhist principles to try this position. The only criterion for the sitting position is that your posture “embodies wakefulness and dignity.” Here are Jon’s tips for sitting meditation posture:

• Select a good spot. You can practice sitting meditation in any space where you feel comfortable. For instance, on a couch, on your bed, on the ground, or a meditation bench. If sitting on the chair makes you feel too disconnected from the process, try sitting on the floor to help ground yourself. Jon recommends sitting on a Japanese cushion called a zabuton, which provides support and padding for the knees.
• Elevate. Use a smaller cushion, like a zafu (round meditation pillow), travel pillow, or folded blanket, to support your spine and raise your pelvis above your knees. Sit toward the front of the cushion to tilt the pelvis forward, which will support your spine’s natural curvature. With time, you will come to feel effortlessly balanced and grounded, from your pelvis right up through the top of your head.
• Start with easy pose. While experienced meditators may sit with their knees flat, this may not feel natural for everyone. You can always sit on a straight-backed chair, but if you want to persist, you will find that sitting cross-legged on the floor may become more manageable. Beginners can start with the easy pose (or Sukhasana), which, in yoga, refers to any comfortable, cross-legged position in which your body can be at ease. For more structure, consider sitting in a half-lotus position, (a cross-legged position in which you place one foot on the opposite thigh), a full-lotus pose (in which you place both feet on the opposite thighs), or in seiza (the formal Japanese sit, in which you sit on your feet with your knees flat on the ground).
• Consider your hands. Hand gestures are traditionally called mudras, and each has its own demeanor—choose the one that best seems to suit the energy you wish to channel.

In yoga, the lying down position is known as the corpse pose, but the macabre name has a mindful meaning: when you adopt it, you should allow your past self and future self to die and attempt to exist solely in the moment. For those with limited mobility (or those who simply feel like they don’t have time to sit down and meditate), the lying down posture can be especially useful, as it can be done in bed when you wake up or before bedtime. Here are Jon’s tips for using lying down posture during your meditation session:

• Prepare. Lying down on the floor may not be as effortless as it seems. If necessary, put down a rug, some towels, or perhaps layer up a few yoga mats before you start to make yourself comfortable.
• Adjust. Some people find that lying down on a flat surface can hurt their lower back. Raising your knees will alleviate the pressure. Yoga practitioners can use this as a way to fold pelvic tilts into the proceedings.
• Be mindful. Notice how the floor is supporting you and also where you feel tense. Try to relax your whole body as much as possible.
• Fall awake. According to Jon, falling asleep is “an occupational hazard of all lying down meditation practices.” You must train yourself to become aware of when it’s happening and steer yourself away from it. “The invitation,” he says, “is simply to fall awake.”

Find something comfortable to sit or lie on, grab a MasterClass Annual Membership, and dial into the present moment with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of the Western mindfulness movement. From formal meditation exercises to examinations of the science behind mindfulness, Jon will prepare you for the most important practice of them all: life itself.