Easy Pose!

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Sukha translates to “ease” or “bliss” and asana translates to “posture” or “seat.” Thus, sukhasana translates to “easy seat pose” or just "easy pose." My first experience with sukhasana was one of excitement. I can recall thinking, “YUP, I got this!” I sat down on my mat in a cross-legged position. I allowed my hands to rest gently on my thighs. I lengthened through my back body, looped my shoulders, tucked my chin in slightly, felt my sit bones sink into the earth, and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath in and a long exhale out. An intense feeling of ease and calm washed over me.

After a minute or so of being in this pose, I started to feel uncomfortable. My back and shoulders wanted to round forward, and my lower back was experiencing some discomfort. I also found that my mental mind was racing and wandering. I was thinking about my to-do list, recounting my day, thinking about my career, worrying about my health, and so on. I noticed that my breathing was slowly becoming erratic to the point where I started to feel lightheaded. I decided to stop the practice. This was when I realized that although this pose looks easy on the outside, there is actually A LOT of internal work going on! I was hesitant to give this posture another try as I wasn’t sure if I truly enjoyed it.

Before further exploration, I decided to consider some useful strategies and tools that I could use to help create more ease in both the posture and meditation practice. The following is what I have tried:

• Playing relaxation music in the background

• Breathing in lavender scents

• Acknowledging the thoughts that come up, and then remind myself to return back to the breath

• Using the mantra “put it down” as a reminder that some thoughts and old stories are not useful

• Sitting on a blanket or a yoga block, as this creates more space in my body

• Using a mudra by pressing my index finger to my thumb to keep me grounded in my physical body

• Different breathing techniques, such as ocean breath (ujjayi pranayama)

• Giving myself permission to open my eyes when I need to reorient myself in my physical space

• Engaging in a meditative practice just before bed as my to-do list has already been accomplished

• Trying out different meditative postures and locations, such as kneeling on the floor, sitting on a chair or on my bed

• Demonstrating compassion towards myself by acknowledging that this is a PRACTICE

I would like to say that all of these strategies and tools worked well for me each and every time. However, this was not the case as each day was different. Nonetheless, what I did notice was that the more I engaged in meditative practices, the more at ease I felt.

For those of you who would like to deepen your meditation practice or find more ease in sukhasana, try the above-mentioned strategies. Perhaps you will find one or more helpful.

I would LOVE to hear from you! What works well for you? What do you find challenging about this posture? Do you enjoy engaging in meditative practices? Feel free to tell me about your experiences and explorations in “easy pose.”