How to do Padmasana (Lotus Pose)
Description: Lauren sitting in padmasana
How to do Padmasana (Lotus Pose)
Padmasana is the most iconic of yoga asanas.
It’s often synonymous with yoga and meditation.
Despite this, it’s important to remember you don’t have to be able to sit in padmasana to be a yogi.
Equally the ability to sit in padmasana doesn’t in itself make you a yogi. It could just mean you have open hips.
Symbolism of Padmasana
Padmasana is made up of two Sanskrit words.
Padma which means lotus flower and asana which means seat.
The lotus flower is rich in symbolism and is regarded as a sacred symbol. Many Hindu gods, including Lakshmi the goddess of prosperity, are pictured seated on a lotus flower.
The lotus flower starts life as a seed at the bottom of a muddy pond. Gradually as the seed begins to grow it heads towards the light where it blooms into a beautiful flower resting on the surface of the water.
This is symbolic of the search for knowledge or enlightenment and our journey as yoga practitioners.
We come to yoga bogged down by ignorance and misconceptions about our true Self, and gradually through practice, we make our journey towards knowledge.
The Benefits of Padmasana
According to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (1.47), when practised with concentration Padmasana is the destroyer of all diseases.
When practised safely padmasana can open the hips, stretch and strengthen the knee and ankle. It improves posture by creating strength and stability in the spine. It also tones the abdominal area which is said to improve digestion and alleviate menstrual cramps.
Padmasana is often described as the ideal seat for meditation and turning inwards, hence its importance. Sitting with your legs folded in this way supports the spine in its natural curve allowing the upward flow of prana. It also makes it comfortable for the practitioner to sit for long periods of time.
Comfortable I hear you say?…. This is all well and good provided you have the required external rotation in your hip joints.
If not it’s likely to be very uncomfortable and will put you at risk of injuring your knees or ankles. None of which are ideal for going into a state of deep inquiry.
For this reason, it’s recommended that you begin your meditation practice by finding a comfortable way of sitting that avoids compromising your knee and ankle joints. For more help with this check out the video below.
What’s happening in Padmasana?
As with sitting cross-legged (Sukhasana), padmasana requires flexion, abduction and external rotation of the hip joint. Padmasana takes this further by resting each foot on the hip crease of the opposite leg.
In order to practice padmasana safely we need good muscle tone (strength and flexibility) in the hip flexors, abductors, quadriceps, and internal and external rotators. This will create the necessary space and support for the joints involved.
The external rotators of the hip are a group of six muscles that externally rotate our thigh bone in the hip socket. For many of us, these muscles are tight. Sitting on the floor cross-legged (with support if needed) stretches these muscles.
When we’re sitting in padmasana we’re resting on our sit bones and our pelvis is tilting forward slightly. If our hamstrings or glutes are tight this can prevent us from being able to bring our pelvis into this forward tilt. Sitting on a blanket can help obtain the forward tilt of the pelvis.
If your adductor muscles are tight this can prevent your knees from relaxing towards the floor. Squatting in Malasana or practising Baddha Konasana can help release these muscles.
Our quadriceps muscles extend our knee joint and keep it stable while doing so in movements like running and squatting. If this muscle group is tight it can prevent us from being able to flex (close) our knee joint comfortably in lotus. Sitting in Virasana/Supta Virasana using blocks or cushions if necessary can help to stretch the quadricep muscles
Some preparations for Padmasana
The great thing about the Ashtanga sequence is that many of the asanas we practice work on the muscle groups involved in padmasana. This builds strength and flexibility in the muscles and provides support for the joints.
Some asanas that could be particularly helpful are:
Prasarita Padottanasana
Low lunge
Malasana (Squat)
Janu Sirsasana
Sukhasana - sitting on the floor cross-legged
Baddha Konasana
Half Padmasana (half lotus)
Fire log posture
How to know if you’re ready for Padmasana
A good way to think about if you’re ready for padmasana is to sit cross-legged on the floor. If your knees touch the floor or are very close to the floor this is an indicator you might be ready to try padmasana. However, you should still proceed with care, back off if you feel any pain in your knee or ankle joint and seek guidance from a teacher if necessary.
If your knees are a long way off the floor, don’t despair, there are many other ways to find a comfortable seat in meditation and other asanas you can try to prepare yourself for padmasana.
Watch the video below for instructions on how to safely enter padmasana and some alternative ways of sitting on the floor you can try.
Safety and Alignment when practising Padmasana
Externally rotate your hip and keep your knee joint closed as you lift your foot onto your opposite thigh
To protect your knee you can try engaging your hamstrings and pushing the ball of your foot forward. This will activate the muscles that stabilise your knee joint.
To protect your ankle try flexing your foot so it wraps over your thigh and evert your foot to avoid over-stretching the ligaments on the outside of your ankle.
Never push your knee towards the floor.
use a cushion if needed to support underneath your knee.
Practice patience and don’t rush, back off if you feel any pain in your knee or ankle joints
If you have an existing knee injury or pain in the ankles it’s best to avoid padmasana and try a variation instead.
