Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

2. Exercises to Facilitate Lotus Sitting
"We should," said the yogi rising from his seat,
"now give some practical instructions." To the
writer he said, "You must describe my actions in
your own words."
First a Tibetan rug was spread over the concrete
floor and upon this Mr. Chen stood barefoot to show
some exercises for loosening up the joints and
muscles in the leg:
a. Standing erect and balanced upon one leg with the
other knee bent and the leg held in front, rotate the foot
from the ankle (keeping the rest of the leg still). Rotate
in both directions and change from one leg to the other.
Stiffness of the ankles and pain in the muscles there will
be lessened, if this exercise is practiced.
b. The same position but circling the leg from the knee.
The writer noticed that Mr. Chen's knee joints were
remarkably free and, as he swung the lower half of
his leg around, that he moved it in a much wider
circle than would be possible with most people.
c. Again standing on the leg, this time revolve the leg
from the thigh. Thus the three joints of the leg one after
the other have been exercised—and flexibility of all of
them is essential for comfortable lotus sitting.
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