Recumbent Meditation Positions

Sitting meditation positions and body postures are most common but there are also recumbent meditation postures and body poses that are less well known to beginning practitioners.

When lying flat on your back for meditation, observe the following steps for correct alignment of meditation postures and body poses in the recumbent position:

1. Place a cushion or pillow under the knees to allow them to bend slightly to keep the gates of energy open in the joints and allow the vital chi energy to flow through unimpeded.

   

   An alternative option is to bend the knees and place the soles of the feet so that they face each other, knees extending outward on each side.

   

2. Your hands can be positioned in a resting position, palms facing down on the chest, fingers slightly bent and spread apart. Or they can assume a mudra position (see Hand/Finger Positioning ) on your Lower Dantian.
   
   Or they can be placed one on top of another cupping the area of the Lower Dantian.

   For females, place the right hand over the left with the right thumb inserted in the left palm. For males, place the left hand over the right with the left thumb inserted in the right hand.

   This allows you to properly connect the yin and yang pathways that intersect in the hands to the rest of the body.

3. Place the tongue at the roof of your mouth where teeth and palate meet to form a bridge for the chi energy to flow through.

4. As in all meditation positions and body postures, you should position your head so that the chin is slightly tucked in toward the chest, to align the head with the rest of your body posture.

1. Always lie on your right side as opposed to the left. Lying on your right side will increase brain activity on the left hemisphere of the brain, which is very crucial for accessing positive emotions, reducing stress and anxiety, and inducing relaxation.

   If you lie on the left side, you will activate the right side of the brain, which when more active, induces fear, depression, stress and anxieties.

2. Bend your right leg slightly to straighten out your back. Then bend the left leg even more so that your left foot rests on the ankle of your right foot.

3. As in all meditation postures and body poses, incline your head to align with the rest of your spine, so that the chin is slightly tucked in.

4. Again, as in all meditation positions and body postures, place the tongue against the palate to connect the pathways and form a bridge for the vital chi energy to flow down.

5. Place your right hand under your right ear so that the palm cups the ear, thus completing another connection of chi pathways that intersect in the hand with the pathways that begin in the head.

   This also encourages more left-hemisphere brain activity during meditation.

6. Place your left palm over the Lower Dantian to encourage connection of channels for the chi energy to flow unimpeded throughout the body.

   If you find that position awkward when lying on your side, then you can place your left hand on your hip, but over the Lower Dantian is ideal.

And there you have it — the steps to all the different meditation positions and body postures you can assume in recumbent chi kung/qigong meditation. Experiment and choose the positions that you find most comfortable for you.




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