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{{Short description|Cross-legged sitting meditation pose}}
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{{EngvarB|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
[[File:Padmasana - Yoga Class - Chamrail - Howrah 2013-08-24 2027.JPG|thumb|upright=1.35|Demonstrating lotus position]]
'''Lotus position''' or '''Padmasana''' ({{lang-sa|पद्मासन|translit=padmāsana}})<ref>{{cite book |last1=Budilovsky |first1=Joan |last2=Adamson |first2=Eve |title=The complete idiot's guide to yoga |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b5pE8-Oyly0C |edition=2 |year=2000 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-02-863970-3 |page=204}}</ref> is a cross-legged sitting [[meditation posture|meditation pose]] from [[History of India|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 [[Hinduism|Hindu]], [[Tantra]], [[Jainism|Jain]], and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] traditions.

Variations include 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.<ref name="AcottCramer2013"/>

[[Shiva]], the meditating ascetic God of [[Hinduism]], [[Gautama Buddha]], the founder of [[Buddhism]], and the [[Tirthankara]]s in [[Jainism]] have been depicted in the lotus position, especially in statues. The pose is emblematic of both Buddhist meditation and of yoga, and as such has found a place in Western culture as a symbol of healthy living and well-being.

== Etymology and history==
[[File:Sacred lotus Nelumbo nucifera.jpg|thumb|The flower of the sacred lotus, ''[[Nelumbo nucifera]]'', grows out of mud, thus symbolising [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baillie |first1=Allan |last2=Ostro |first2=Suzanne |title=The Lotus |journal=Tricycle, the Buddhist Review |date=1999 |volume=8 |issue=3, Spring 1999 |url=https://tricycle.org/magazine/the-lotus/ |access-date=11 April 2020}}</ref>]]

The name Padmasana is from the [[Sanskrit]] पद्म ''Padma'', "lotus" and आसन, Āsana, "posture" or "seat".{{sfn|Iyengar|1991|pages=129-133}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Zimmer, Heinrich Robert |author-link=Heinrich Zimmer |title=Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5IYVBgAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6684-7 |pages=100, 220 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906092006/https://books.google.com/books?id=5IYVBgAAQBAJ |archive-date=6 September 2017 |url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In Asian cultures,<ref name=DTD>{{cite journal |last= Devendra |first=D. T. |title=Lotus without Symbolism |journal=The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland |date=1969 |volume=13|pages=83–92 |jstor=43483467}}</ref> the [[Nelumbo nucifera|sacred lotus]] is used as a symbol of growth towards perfection and [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]] as it is rooted in the mud at the bottom of the pond, but rises and blooms above the water.{{sfn|Temple|2007|p=Chapter 1, The Symbolism of the Lotus Flower}} In [[Chinese Buddhism|Chinese]] and [[Tibetan Buddhism]], the pose is also called the "[[vajra]] position" (Skt. ''vajrāsana'', Ch. 金剛座 ''jīngāngzuò'').<ref>{{cite book | last=Hua | first=Hsuan | title=The Chan handbook: talks about meditation | url=http://www.longbeachmonastery.org/the_chan_handbook.pdf | year=2004 | publisher=Buddhist Text Translation Society| isbn=0-88139-951-5 | page=36 | access-date=17 December 2018| url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328134240/http://www.longbeachmonastery.org/the_chan_handbook.pdf | archive-date=28 March 2012 | df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Rinpoche, Patrul |title=Words of My Perfect Teacher: A Complete Translation of a Classic Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism |edition=Revised |author2=Padmakara Translation Group (trans.) |publisher=AltaMira Press |year=1998 |page=440}}</ref>

The pose is ancient and is described, along with other [[asana]]s (sitting postures), in the 8th century book ''Patanjalayogashastravivarana''.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=97}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |last2=Pal |first2=Pratapaditya |title=Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700 |url=https://archive.org/details/indiansculpturec00losa |url-access=registration |year=1986 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-05991-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/indiansculpturec00losa/page/110 110] |quote=Reverse: Goddess, nimbate, sitting en face on lotus with legs folded in lotus position. Diadem or noose in right hand, lotus flower turned towards her in left. .. Legend: ''Śrī-vikramaḥ'' (the courageous one).}}</ref> The first [[tantra|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.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=99-100}} 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 (yoga)|nadi]] channels attains [[moksha|liberation]].{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=111}}

== Position ==

From sitting [[cross-legged]] on the floor in [[Sukhasana]], one foot is placed on top of the opposite thigh with its sole facing upward and heel close to the [[abdomen]]. The other foot is then placed on the opposite thigh as symmetrically as possible.{{sfn|Iyengar|1991|pages=129-133}} The pose requires "very open hips".<ref>{{cite book | last=Powers | first=Sarah |author-link=Sarah Powers | title=Insight Yoga | publisher=Shambhala | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-59030-598-0 | oclc=216937520 | page=181}}</ref> It can be modified using a support such as a [[Zafu|cushion]] or blanket; by sitting on its forward edge, the pelvis is tilted forward.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=Silva; Mehta, Mira; Mehta, Shyam |date=1990 |title=[[Yoga: The Iyengar Way]] |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-0863184208 |page=54}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pynt |first1=Jenny |last2=Higgs |first2=Joy |title=A History of Seating, 3000 BC to 2000 AD: Function Versus Aesthetics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2KFPUOLQc2oC&pg=PA101 |year=2010 |publisher=Cambria Press |isbn=978-1-60497-718-9| page=101, note 18}}</ref>

{{anchor|Variations}}

==Variations==

In half lotus, अर्ध पद्मासन (Ardha Padmasana), one leg is bent and resting on the ground, the other leg is bent with the foot in lotus position. It is an easier meditation position than full lotus.<ref>{{cite book |author=Swami Satyananda Saraswati |author-link=Swami Satyananda Saraswati |title=Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha |url=http://www.znakovi-vremena.net/en/Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha.pdf |publisher=Yoga Publications Trust |location=Munger, Bihar, India |year=1996 |page=97 |isbn=978-81-86336-14-4 |access-date=11 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807084750/http://www.znakovi-vremena.net/en/Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In bound lotus, बद्ध पद्मासन (Baddha Padmasana), the practitioner sits in full lotus, and each hand reaches around the back to grasp the opposite foot.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sjoman |first1=Norman E. |author-link=Norman Sjoman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISBN8170173892 |title=The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1999 |edition=2nd |orig-year=1996 |isbn=81-7017-389-2 |page=Plate 6}}</ref>

For psychic union pose, यओगमुद्रासन (Yogamudrasana), the practitioner bends forward in full lotus, bringing the forehead as close to the floor as possible.{{sfn|Saraswati|2004|pp=182-183}} The pose is both an asana and a [[mudra]]; easier variants begin from Ardha Padmasana or [[Sukhasana]].<ref name="Vishnudevananda 1988">{{cite book | author=Vishnudevananda |author-link=Vishnudevananda | title=[[The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga]] | publisher=Crown Trade Paperbacks | location=New York | year=1988 | isbn=978-0-517-88431-7 | oclc=32442598 | pages=plates 128–129}}</ref>

Variations of several other asanas such as [[Sirsasana]] (yoga headstand), [[Sarvangasana]] (shoulderstand), [[Simhasana]] (lion pose), [[Matsyasana]] (fish pose), and [[Gorakshasana]] (cowherd pose) have the legs in lotus.{{sfn|Iyengar|1991|pp=137-139, 142-143, 204-206, 230-237}} Asanas such as [[Vatayanasana]] (horse pose) and advanced forms of [[Ardha Matsyendrasana]] (half lord of the fishes pose) have one leg as in half lotus.{{sfn|Iyengar|1991|pp=98-99, 270-276}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Bharadwaja (detail).jpg|The sage [[Bharadvaja]] [[meditation|meditating]] in half lotus. 19th century
File:Flickr - Nicholas T - Taut.jpg|Baddha Padmasana
File:A scene of Yoga mudra.JPG|Yogamudrasana
File:Padma-shirshasana (cropped).jpg|[[Padma Sirsasana]], lotus headstand
</gallery>

==Effects==

Lotus is one of the yoga poses that most commonly causes injury.<ref name="AcottCramer2013">{{cite journal |last1=Acott |first1=Ted S. |last2=Cramer |first2=Holger |last3=Krucoff |first3=Carol |last4=Dobos |first4=Gustav |title=Adverse Events Associated with Yoga: A Systematic Review of Published Case Reports and Case Series |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=10 |year=2013 |pages=e75515 |issn=1932-6203 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0075515|pmid=24146758 |pmc=3797727 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...875515C |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="PenmanStevens2012">{{cite journal |last1=Penman |first1=Stephen |last2=Stevens |first2=Philip |last3=Cohen |first3=Marc |last4=Jackson |first4=Sue |title=Yoga in Australia: Results of a national survey |journal=International Journal of Yoga |volume=5 |issue=2 |year=2012 |pages=92–101 |issn=0973-6131 |doi=10.4103/0973-6131.98217|pmid=22869991 |pmc=3410203 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Attempts to force the legs into lotus pose can [[knee injury|injure the knees]] by squeezing and damaging the [[medial meniscus]] cartilage; this is painful and takes a long time to heal. The [[hip joint]]s must rotate outwards approximately 115 degrees to permit full lotus. Students who cannot achieve this much hip rotation may try to compensate by bending the knee joint sideways, risking injury. Rather than bending the knee, the thighs can be encouraged to rotate outwards (using hand pressure or a strap).<ref name="Cole 2019">{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Roger |title=How to Protect the Knees in Lotus and Related Postures |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/protect-the-knees-in-lotus-and-related-postures |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=5 February 2019 |orig-year=2007}}</ref>

The [[Modern yoga gurus|yoga guru]] [[B. K. S. Iyengar]] notes that people unused to sitting on the floor will initially feel "excruciating" pain in the knees, but that this subsides with practice, until the pose becomes relaxing, both restful and alert and hence ideal for [[pranayama]].{{sfn|Iyengar|1991|p=131}}

Twentieth century advocates of some schools of yoga, such as Iyengar, made [[Yoga as therapy#Biomedical claims|claims for the effects of yoga]] on specific organs, without adducing any evidence.{{sfn|Newcombe|2019|pp=203-227, Chapter "Yoga as Therapy"}}{{sfn|Jain|2015|pp=82–83}}
Iyengar claimed that Padmasana encourages blood circulation in the abdomen and lumbar region, toning the spine and abdominal organs.{{sfn|Iyengar|1991|pp=131-132}}

== In art and culture ==

===Asian art===
{{further|Lotus throne}}

In [[Buddhism]], statues of the founder, [[Gautama Buddha]], sometimes depict him seated in lotus position and enthroned on a lotus flower.<ref>{{cite web |title=Buddhas Crossed Legged Position - Lotus Position |url=https://www.burmese-art.com/blog/buddha-crossed-legged-position |publisher=Asian Art |access-date=11 April 2020 |quote=One of the most popular seated positions of Lord Buddha is crossed legged position. In various Buddhism traditions like Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, Lord Buddha is often shown with his ankles tucked and different hand and fingers position. The seated Crossed legged position is known as Lotus position.}}</ref><ref name="MMA buddha">{{cite web |title=Lotus-Enthroned Buddha Akshobhya, the Transcendent Buddha,8th–early 9th century |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38940 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="BM">{{cite web |title=Representation of: Buddha (Śākyamuni/Gotama/Shaka) |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=261567&partId=1&searchText=sakyamuni&place=42791&from=ad&fromDate=1400&to=ad&toDate=1450&matcult=15718&page=1 |publisher=[[British Museum]] |access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref>
In [[Hinduism]], statues often depict gods, especially [[Shiva]], meditating in Padmasana.<ref name="MMA gods">{{cite web |last=Dehejia |first=Vidya |title=Recognizing the Gods |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gods/hd_gods.htm |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |date=February 2007}}</ref>
In [[Jainism]], seated [[Tirthankara]]s are represented in Lotus posture.<ref name="Wiley2004">{{cite book |last=Wiley |first=Kristi L. |title=Historical Dictionary of Jainism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QCT-CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |year=2004 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6558-7 |page=98 |quote=Tirthankaras are depicted in only two postures: seated in the classic lotus position (padmasana), which represents the Tirthankara preaching in the assembly hall (samavasarana), and standing in the kayotsarga posture, which represents abandoning the body.}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Monkey gives honey to Buddha Shakyamuni, India, Bihar, probably Kurkihar, Pala dynasty, c. 1000 AD, black stone - Östasiatiska museet, Stockholm - DSC09270.JPG|[[Gautama Buddha]]
File:Sivakempfort.jpg|[[Shiva]]
File:Mahavir.jpg|[[Mahavira]]
</gallery>

===Western culture===

The scholar of religion Thomas Tweed wrote in 2008 that "the prevailing image of Buddhist practice has been the solitary meditator, eyes half closed, sitting in the lotus position."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tweed |first=Thomas A. |title=Why are Buddhists so nice? Media representations of Buddhism and Islam in the United States since 1945 |journal=Material Religion |date=2008 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=91–93 |doi=10.2752/175183408X288168|s2cid=192174202 }}</ref> [[Ian Fleming]]'s 1964 novel ''[[You Only Live Twice (novel)|You Only Live Twice]]'' has the action hero [[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]] visiting Japan, where he "assiduously practised sitting in the lotus position."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleming |first1=Ian |author-link=Ian Fleming |title=You Only Live Twice |date=2012|orig-year=1964 |page=10 |isbn=9781448139361 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25FINpIYV-AC}}</ref> The critic Lisa M. Dresner notes that Bond is mirroring Fleming's own struggles with the pose.<ref name="Dresner2016">{{cite journal |last=Dresner |first=Lisa M. |title="Barbary Apes Wrecking a Boudoir": Reaffirmations of and Challenges to Western Masculinity in Ian Fleming's Japan Narratives |journal=The Journal of Popular Culture |volume=49 |issue=3 |year=2016 |pages=627–645 |issn=0022-3840 |doi=10.1111/jpcu.12422}}</ref> The BBC journalist Megan Lane commented in 2003 that since [[yoga as exercise]] had become mainstream, lotus position (like [[Vriksasana|tree pose]]) had been used by advertisers to sell "all manner of goods and services."<ref name="Lane 2003">{{cite web |last1=Lane |first1=Mega |title=The tyranny of yoga |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3174356.stm |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=9 October 2003}}</ref> She noted that both "healthy living"<ref name="Lane 2003"/> goods such as vitamins, fitness clubs, water filter and [[probiotic]] yogurt, and unrelated items such as cars, airlines, financial services "and even beer"<ref name="Lane 2003"/> have made use of images of yoga to convey a message of well-being.<ref name="Lane 2003"/> Poland's Obory Dairy gave its advertising agency the goal of creating awareness of their "Jogi" yogurt as exclusive and with a positive image. The agency responded with a photograph of two young women meditating in lotus pose at dawn under the heading "Start your day with Jogi", the brand name also meaning "yoga" in Polish.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Monle |last2=Johnson |first2=Carla |title=Principles of Advertising: A Global Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TjXcAKGKUIC&pg=PA213 |year=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-7890-2300-1 |pages=213–215}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Kukkutasana]], cockerel pose, a balancing asana with the hands threaded through the folded legs of Padmasana
* [[List of asanas]]
* [[Maravijaya]]
* [[Padmasana (shrine)]]
* [[Zazen]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Sources ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Iyengar |first=B. K. S. |author-link=B. K. S. Iyengar |title=[[Light on Yoga]] |date=1991 |orig-year=1966 |publisher=Unwin Paperbacks |isbn=978-1855381667 }}
* {{cite book | last=Jain | first=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Jain | title=[[Selling Yoga]] : from Counterculture to Pop culture | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-19-939024-3 | oclc=878953765 }}
* {{cite book | last1=Mallinson | first1=James |author1-link=James Mallinson (author) |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Singleton (yoga researcher) | title=[[Roots of Yoga]] | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104 }}
* {{cite book |last=Newcombe |first=Suzanne |author-link=Suzanne Newcombe |year=2019 |title=Yoga in Britain: Stretching Spirituality and Educating Yogis |location=Bristol, England |publisher=Equinox Publishing |isbn=978-1-78179-661-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Saraswati |first=Satyananda |author-link=Satyananda Saraswati |title=A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWOrAAAACAAJ |date=January 2004 |publisher=Nesma Books India |isbn=978-81-85787-08-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Temple |first=Anton |title=Becoming the lotus: a systematic course of stretching and posture leading to the safe and comfortable adoption of the lotus posture, including a guide to the symbolism and spiritual meaning behind the lotus flower |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ZRuPgAACAAJ |year=2007 |publisher=Merkur |isbn=978-1-885928-18-4 }}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Lotus position}}
* [https://upashanayoga.com/steps-and-benefits-of-padmasana-yoga/ Benefits Of Padmasana]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110721184541/http://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/asana-vinyasa-series/the-finishing-sequence/item/padmasana/ Padmāsana (पद्मासन) with detailed explanation]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151118034717/http://dharma.hostoi.com/index.php?p=1_12 How to sit in Ardha Padmasana]

{{Asana}}
{{Hatha yoga}}
{{Yoga}}
{{Yoga as exercise}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotus Position}}
[[Category:Buddhist meditation]]
[[Category:Sitting asanas]]
[[Category:Meditation asanas]]
[[Category:Medieval Hatha Yoga asanas]]
[[Category:Asymmetric asanas]]

Lotus position - Revision history

ImportMaster at 06:01, 13 April 2022