Seiza or Vajrasana is the best natural posture for meditation, alertness and a healthy gut feeling. In Seiza posture, the lower back is straight effortlessly, knees are below lap, legs are bent in the knees and breathing is effortlessly diaphragmatic.

Children tend to instinctively sit and relax in Seiza or Vajrasana posture on a soft surface while focusing on something interesting.

Sitting instinctively in Seiza posture during infancy and childhood can also improves focus of attention and alertness in the later life. However, sitting in a W posture and lotus posture for a long time is not good, especially for children’s core muscles and hip development.

Seiza or Vajrasana on a soft surface is best posture for meditation, alertness and development of Hara or the seat of gut feeling or gut intelligence.

Healthy Hara for Natural Alertness and Gut Feeling

Hara is a Japanese term for a point in lower belly associated with gut feeling. Hara is in the lower belly somewhere below the navel.

Rich natural upbringing is necessary for healthy development of Hara and gut feeling. Hara can also be developed through exercise.

Well-developed pelvic floor and core muscles are necessary for healthy Hara and gut feeling.

Individual with healthy and well-developed Hara is naturally alert with healthy gut feeling or gut intelligence.

Premature stress due to wrong birthing, wrong upbringing or chronic stress due to wrong lifestyle can affect natural alertness by affecting the Hara and diminishing the gut feeling.

A naturally alert individual is instinctively resistant to tendencies against their gut feeling that deviate from nature and natural uprightness.

A naturally alert individual develops subliminal resistance to anything that is not harmonious with their natural uprightness and gut feeling.

Naturally alert individual tends to live with awareness and sensitivity which is not learned but rather naturally instinctual. Through right meditation such individuals can become highly sensitive, empathetic and compassionate.

With well-developed hara, you are fulfilled like healthy infant. You can remain like a calm center even if your life is in the cyclone of chaos. Though you will not cower, you will be humble.

From Hara to Head While Growing

Healthy baby is naturally relaxed, spinal cord, pelvic floor and core muscles are not depressed, and circulation of vital force is not hindered.

Baby is alert and sensitive. Alert and sensitive without self-conception or notion of the Self, breathing in a healthy baby happens diaphragmatically rather than thoracically. Breath can reach the belly.

During growth, natural processes of life must adapt with the increasing demands of society giving rise to the Self, the subliminal stress of association or identification with known and unknown.

Due to premature or chronic stress of adaptation, process of life can function in stressful mode, breathing can become thoracic, development of hara can get affected and alertness with gut feeling or gut intelligence can get diminished.

The reliance on awareness, alertness, gut intelligence and gut feeling decrease. The reliance on mind, emotions and the Self through association or identification with known or unknown increases in order to adapt in the society.

Through meditation in the right posture, exercise and discipline, you can improve your alertness and gut feeling or gut intelligence.

Seiza Posture or Vajrasana: For Alertness and Gut Feeling

Seiza or Vajrasana is best natural posture for practicing meditation and developing alertness with gut feeling without the Self. A child naturally tends to sit alert in Seiza or Vajrasana posture on a soft flat horizontal surface.

In Seiza posture you completely bend your knees with calf touching hamstrings and place yourself on a soft surface with buttocks supported on inner soles of your feet with level of knees comfortably below the level of lap. Level of knees should be below the level of lap so that lower back is comfortably straight.

In Seiza posture, you can easily breath using full lung capacity and your blood supply to your core and pelvic floor is maximum. This posture streamlines circulation and relieves deeper stress dormant in smooth muscles.

This helps in natural relaxation of pelvic floor and core muscles without losing stability. Practice of vipassana or awareness of breath while sitting in Seiza or Vajrasana posture is amazingly effective if mind is pure without psychological defilements.

Sit stably and comfortably in a Seiza position on a horizontal soft carpeted surface. Do not forcibly hold the lower back straight. Allow it to happen instinctively. After breathing for some time in the posture, your lower back will instinctively become straighter.

Straight lower back is neutral, neither reclining forward nor backward. Keep lower back straight and arched concavely inwards towards belly.

Keep knees comfortably bent and maintain distance between them in order to comfortably maintain a straight and inwardly arched neutral lower back without efforts.

When the lower back is straight, the Sacro-lumbar spine is naturally concave. When lower back is straight, the upper body is optimally aligned, lower belly automatically adjusts by relaxing or withdrawing without trying and breathing happens diaphragmatically without trying.

Your shoulders and neck should be tension-free and naturally relaxed with palms comfortably placed on upper thighs near to the belly. If the lower back is straight with shoulders and neck tension-free, then the upper body and belly can naturally relax.

Whatever the posture for meditation, your knees should not be above the level of your lap, and your bottom should be above the level of your feet. Knees should be comfortably bent. Testicles should not be hanging lose.

Do not wear anything like shoes or stockings in the feet so that your feet fingers remain unrestricted. Keep the heels comfortably near to Achilles tendon.

You can also practice Seiza posture on an appropriate bench that keeps legs maximally bent in the knees and well supported on the feet.

You can also sit in a Lotus posture on a firm yoga block of height equal to any of your hand fingers. Were proper inner garments so that testicles do not hang lose. Loosely hanging testicles prevent natural relaxation and stability of pelvic floor while sitting during meditation.

Relax But Stay Alert In the Posture

Seiza or Vajrasana posture is best for all different types of natural mindfulness meditations except while sleeping.

Rather than deliberately trying to relax in the posture, stay alert to avoid any kind of stress and tension in the body. This way relaxation is natural without falling asleep.

When there is no stress and tension, the body in Seiza posture is naturally relaxed and breathing is diaphragmatic rather than thoracic.

During the practice, continue to breathe slow or fast, shallow or deep and keep your eyes open, closed or half closed while keeping your attention fixed on a static point outside your body or on breath at the entrance of nostrils or in between eyebrows in such a way that you do not get opportunity to think.

Keeping eyes focused on a single point can easily reduce activities in mind and calm the mind. Constant awareness of breath at the entrance of nostrils can also keep you alert and your mind calm. Keeping attention fixed in between eyebrows can stop the activities in mind and help you to get detached from known and unknown including but not limited to experiences of mind.

Without activities in the mind, you remain fully aware without the Self or feeling of being inner self. Fully aware, without activities in mind, feeling of being inner self or the psychological self disappears just like center disappears from circumference.

Fully aware without the Self, you know correctly in the right context without inner knower. Alertness and gut feeling or gut intelligence is one of the benefits of meditation.

Caution While Relaxing

Belly should be relaxed without trying while lower back is straight. Do not relax the belly by deliberately distending it.

Do not relax your belly without keeping your lower back straight and your shoulders relaxed. Keeping belly relaxed along with a sagging lower back can depress the spine.

Do not get up immediately after the exercise because your core is completely relaxed. Just lie down for some time till your body is restored to natural firmness.