On the floor The most common ways of sitting on the floor involve bending the knees. One can also sit with the legs unbent, using something solid as support for the back or leaning on one's arms. Sitting with bent legs can be done with the legs mostly parallel or by crossing them over each other. A common cross-legged position is with the lower part of both legs folded towards the body, crossing each other at the ankle or calf, with both ankles on the floor, sometimes with the feet tucked under the knees or thighs. The position is known in several European languages as
tailor's posture, from the traditional working posture of
tailors . It is also named after various plains-dwelling
nomads: in American English
Indian style, in many European languages "Turkish style", and in Japanese . In yoga it is known as
sukhasana, meaning "easy pose."
On a raised seat Various raised surfaces at the appropriate height can be used as
seats for humans, whether they are made for the purpose, such as
chairs,
stools and
benches, or not. While the buttocks are nearly always rested on the raised surface, there are many differences in how one can hold one's legs and back. There are two major styles of sitting on a raised surface. The first has one or two of the legs in front of the sitting person; in the second, sitting astride something, the legs incline outwards on either side of the body. The feet can rest on the floor or on a
footrest, which can keep them vertical, horizontal, or at an angle in between. They can also dangle if the seat is sufficiently high. Legs can be kept right to the front of the body, spread apart, or one crossed over the other. The upper body can be held upright, recline to either side or backward, or one can lean forward.
Yoga, traditions and spirituality There are many seated positions in various traditions and rituals. Four examples are: • 正座 (zhengzuo) is a
Chinese word which describes the traditional formal way of sitting in Ancient China. A related position is 跪座, which differs in the tops of the feet being raised off the ground. •
Vajrasana (Diamond Pose) is a
yoga posture (
asana) similar to seiza. • The
lotus position involves resting each foot on the opposite thigh so that the soles of the feet face upwards. • The
Burmese position, named so because of its use in
Buddhist sculptures in
Burma, places both feet in front of the pelvis with knees bent and touching the floor to the sides. The heels are pointing toward pelvis or upward, and toes are pointed so that the tops of the feet lie on the ground. This looks similar to the cross-legged position, but the feet are not placed underneath the thigh of the next leg, therefore the legs do not cross. Instead, one foot is placed in front of the other. In various
mythologies and folk magic, sitting is a magical act that connects the person who sits with other persons, states or places. File:Buddhist bronze sculpture NMND.JPG|An
Indian
Buddha, seated with legs crossed File:Tea ceremony performing 2.jpg|The
Japanese tea ceremony is performed sitting in
seiza.
Kneeling chairs The
kneeling chair (often just referred to as "
ergonomic chair") was designed to motivate better posture than the conventional chair. To sit in a kneeling chair, one rests one's buttocks on the upper sloping pad and rests the front of the lower legs atop the lower pad, i.e., the
human position as both sitting and
kneeling at the same time. == Health risks ==