Sitting: Encyclopedia - Sitting

Sitting

There are several ways for humans to sit.

Sitting - Floor sitting positions

Sitting - Tailor Indian style Crisscross applesauce

To sit in the Tailor style:

1. sit on floor any way
2. bend one knee so that heel moves toward buttocks.
3. bend other knee in same fashion, but place leg over other bent leg.

Sitting - Lotus position

To sit in the lotus position:

1. Start in the Tailor style described above
2. Take one foot and bring it around to rest in the crook of your knee, bottom facing upwards (This is the Half-lotus position)
3. Take the other foot and bring it up to rest on the other knee, bottom also facing upwards.

This position is common in yoga.

Sitting - Half-lotus position

Half Lotus is sitting in a style similar to Indian Style, but with one leg ontop of the other. To sit in Half Lotus:

1. Sit down
2. Cross your legs like you're sitting Indian Style
3. Raise one leg still folded, and places ontop of the other leg.

Sitting - Burmese position

Sitting - Zazen positions

Zazen meditation is called zazen. Zazen translates approximately to "sitting meditation", although it can be applied to practice in any posture. During zazen, practitioners usually assume a lotus, half-lotus, burmese, or seiza position.

Sitting - Seiza position

Seiza (正座, literally "correct sitting") is a Japanese word which describes the traditional formal way of sitting in that country.

Sitting - Chair sitting positions

Sitting - Standard

The standard way to sit in a chair is to:

• put one's buttocks on the seat of the chair
• rest one's legs forward
  • with feet down
  • with legs horizontal, resting on a special footrest, another chair, a table, etc., or in a chair, usually adjustable, that is specially made to allow this position, such as some deckchairs.
    • In trains it is often allowed to put one's feet on the opposite seat, provided that one takes one's shoes off or put them on a newspaper, piece of clothing, bag, etc., to avoid possible dirtying of the seat. Rules tend to be more strict in metros, trams, and buses than in non-metro trains. See also shoe etiquette.
• squatting (may be considered as a special kind of sitting);

Variations of the above, such as an aside variant with the legs resting above and beside the armrests (example), or the typically "cool" way of reversing the chair and one's legs rest around the body of the chair.

Sitting - Kneeling chairs

Kneeling chairs (often just referred to as "ergonomic chairs"), are shaped to allow the seater's posture to be optimal, by kneeling. However, they do not look like a normal chair. To sit properly in a kneeling chair:

1. rest one's buttocks on the above, upper sloping pad
2. simultaneously wrap one's legs around and resting atop the lower pad

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Sitting", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki