Sitting on my heels. Am I doing it right?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi, I need a bit of advice when it comes to sitting on my heels. I can only do it for a few minutes but with practise I expect this to increase I just have a question about the position of my feet when sitting like this.

My feet make a V shape as though seen from behind. The lower point of the V is where my toes meet and the two seperate top parts of the V are my heels with my butt resting in the middle. (They are actually a little more flattened out than this letter V here). Is this correct?

Thank you
Calvin

#2

if you are talking about the pose vajrasana which im pretty sure you are , the pose as you suggest is sitting on the heels with no v shape , However most cannot do this without much practise , I could show you how to work towards this , but you would have to come to class .
But heels together is something to go towards . It is very good for stabilising the sacrum

#3

[QUOTE=charliedharma;57414]if you are talking about the pose vajrasana which im pretty sure you are , the pose as you suggest is sitting on the heels with no v shape , However most cannot do this without much practise , I could show you how to work towards this , but you would have to come to class .
But heels together is something to go towards . It is very good for stabilising the sacrum[/QUOTE]

Hi Charlie, yes that is what pose I mean.

I do Ashtanga yoga, and vajrasana is not a part of it.

I have MAJOR problems with keeping alert. I can not sit nor lie in any position that does not give me focus problems. However I can feel that vajrasana does indeed keep me alert. I have only been experiementing with this pose today but I feel like I could watch TV or even listen to something sat in vajrasana and actually be able to focus on it (thats if vajrasana wasn’t so uncomfortable).

So for me vajrasana isn’t actually a part of any yoga practise.

I can actually put my feet straight and sit on the heels like you say to do, I just didn’t know that was how it should be done, I simply opted for the most comfortable choice.

I have just sat in that position on a cushion for a full fifteen minutes on my heels, correctly. I think with consistent practise, simply sitting in the position, I will eventually be able to sit comfortably in vajrasana for as long as neseccary.

Do you think this is a wise strategy?

I’m not going to damage anything am I? Alan Watts always sits in this position, he even medititates in (meditated maybe? I don’t even know if he’s still alive…)

PS: I just found vajrasana on another site. It says that my original position is correct. But I will follow your advice, not that.

#4

so you are putting a cushion under your seat and over your heels is that right ? which is fine as far as im concerned , I would caution to be mindful of your knees do not strain the inner knee ligamaents . Have you tried virasana ? sitting between your feet , probably with cushion .
Thre are lots of variations on poses and there are in this one , so its helpful to not get into what is right or wrong , but more to ask what is this doing for me ? or to know why we do something in a certain way ?
Vjrasana helps to support the spine and therefore the head so that we tend to have a more helpful sitting posture , it can help stabilise the sacrum and pelvis due to its symetrical nature , it is therefore a helpful position for meditataion and does help us to be alert , having said that ive rarely seen people adopt this pose for meditation they plump for virarsana , me I like siddhasana or what I believe is sometimes called Burmese posture .
I have not asked the usual question ie your gender , age , medical (on a physical level )
history , are you stiff in ankles do you have knee issues are your hips tight or groin issues etc etc , this information helps .
I would be surprised that it was not in the Ashtanga vinyasa mysore style series somewhere but Im only familiar with first series , although I am familiar with other postures with my usual practise , But there are certainly elements and movements that are vajrasana like in the first series.
Out of interest can post or point to the vajrasana photograph you cite.

#5

I put two rather thin pillows side by side and sit on those, I try not to put a cushion between my heels and buttocks.

I’ve sat for roughly fifteen minutes twice in this posture and I can really feel the effort it takes to hold the feet straight is benefiting my torso (on the inside mainly the hip area) giving me more awareness there and control.

The only place I feel any tensions is my ankles, it certainly isn’t pain, my heels are very loose and wobbly, hard to consciously control, and so I am constantly using the very unused muscles there while sat in the posture.

I am 27, and male, physically I am healthy. Although when walking I can tell that the tension in my hips causes me to walk badly. My feet stomp to the ground with no control, no coordination nor balance. I can tell this will cause knee problems in the future. I know how it feel to walk correctly without this tension, it is quite a recent thing.

I intuitively feel that what I need is to find some position that involves me being in constant control of the whole torso/spine and managing to stay in this position, the longer the better. I’ve lost control of certain vague parts, they’re all tensed up, internally.

Here is the link you requested: h–p://www-yogapoint-com/info/vajrasana-htm I had to replace the two T’s of http with -'s and then three dots also replaced with -'s.

Thanks for all the advice, I feel better equipped now to have at this inner problem.

#6

[QUOTE=childofthetao;57401]Hi, I need a bit of advice when it comes to sitting on my heels. I can only do it for a few minutes but with practise I expect this to increase I just have a question about the position of my feet when sitting like this.

My feet make a V shape as though seen from behind. The lower point of the V is where my toes meet and the two seperate top parts of the V are my heels with my butt resting in the middle. (They are actually a little more flattened out than this letter V here). Is this correct?

Thank you
Calvin[/QUOTE]

If your knees touch each other you are doing vajrasana. Just make sure to top of your feet are touching the ground…it is hard initially but within a few weeks you can sit like this for 20-30 mins without hurting

#7

Ideally the feet point straight back in what is termed plantar flexion. For some students there isn’t enough opening in the frontal ankle and therefore the feet turn out forming the “v” you mention.

gordon

#8

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;57585]Ideally the feet point straight back in what is termed plantar flexion. For some students there isn’t enough opening in the frontal ankle and therefore the feet turn out forming the “v” you mention.

gordon[/QUOTE]

Apart from vajrasana what other yoga postures help to open the frontal ankle?

#9

Virasana , trianga mukha pada paschimottonasana , to name two. by the way i have practised a form of these poses where you sit on your inner arches and heels as though they are a seat , so you have a very wide v , i wondered if that is what the illustrated in the link you gave . the drawing was not clear to me.

#10

In Vajrasana, the kness should be touching, but what about the ankles and heels?

#11

[QUOTE=childofthetao;58250]In Vajrasana, the kness should be touching, but what about the ankles and heels?[/QUOTE]

Can someone please answer. Should the heels, ankles and big toe joints all be touching in Vajrasana?

#12

Hello whilst I hesitate to use the word should , yes the heels and ankles are touching or coming together , as shape of feet has a role to play , also I have already answered this question in above post , I assume you might not like my answer but the answer stays the same , Most people are not able to acheive heels together , and certainly not comfortably , although if you come to class I can show you how to acheive this action with a belt lol , think of alignment issues for feet in this pose , do you really want your ankles bulging out ?

#13

Oh yes you already said heels together, I was doing that I was just wondering if the discomfort meant I was doing it wrong or not, that’s what made me come back and ask.

#14

I don’t want to hijack a thread, but on a closely related issue, I frequently experience cramping along the bottom of my feet when sitting on my heels or when doing Child’ Pose. I have found that keeping the room warm, wearing socks, and doing a few calf raises before Yoga seems to help, but the problem is frequent enough that I need to ask if there is something else I should be doing. The problem seems to be lessened during the summer months when I am able to spend more time barefoot, and when I do a series of stretches following a hike in the wooded hills near our home.

I do a fairly basic Yoga routine, but at times this problem is an unwelcome annoyance requiring me to stop and massage my feet.

Any Ideas??

#15

You could try stretching from the centre of your inner arch , both forwards and backwards .

#16

[QUOTE=charliedharma;58375]You could try stretching from the centre of your inner arch , both forwards and backwards .[/QUOTE]

I will give this a try. Thanks!

#17

I have heel pain and need arch support for my tired feet. I first wore orthofeet shoes around the house for an hour or two at a t ime, as suggested. This past weekend I ventured out to work my daughters Girl Scout cookie booths. I was on my feet 2 hours straight and my feet felt great.