Right side always first? Padmasana

hi,

i was always taught to put the right leg first with yoga postures and in particular padmasana.

recently i read about the benefits of alternating sides and do the left side first.

when i tried that it was quite a sensation. now that my left leg was first and the right pressing upon it the left leg was protesting and cramping up. it simply was not used to be first.

have you tried this? what is your experience with it?

thanks,
wim

May is better to put left leg first because left leg is connected with Ida nadi and Ida nadi starting from Mooladhara .

I was reading about padmasana on yoga journal site

I tried to post a link to the yoga journal website (pose 488 ) but I cannot as the forum won’t let me post a link until I have 15 posts…

Step 4 they recommend to do it both sides.

My experience with it is kind of imbalanced like you, I find it easier to place my right foot first. But I still do it both ways with the hope of developing the pose evenly so eventually I’ll be able to spend more time in padmasana with either foot first.

Namaste.

thanks for the replies.

seeker33;

May is better to put left leg first because left leg is connected with Ida nadi and Ida nadi starting from Mooladhara .

why is that a reason to put the left leg up first?

rechaka;

But I still do it both ways with the hope of developing the pose evenly so eventually I’ll be able to spend more time in padmasana with either foot first.

this is what i read in the ‘anatomy of hatha yoga’ by david coulter. and it makes a lot of sense to me.

thanks again,
wim

That is a good book and I refer to it often. I personally don’t know the right or wrong of this- I do both sides to cover my ignorance but I wanted to add what a prominent yogi ,David Williams , who tours giving high dollar asthanga seminars once told me over the phone ,when he was kind enough to let me have his number while visiting here in the States- I don’t know him. He said that his guru-K. Pattabhi Jois told him only to do the right side for some numinous reason affecting the liver if you do the left side. David Williams himself does both sides discounting the aforementioned as superstition or something like. It was about 8 years ago when we had this conversation. I still don’t know how it affects the liver but I have seen on the internet a very few others say the same thing. Namaste

K P Jois said right side first and left leg on top purifies liver and spleen. Left leg first and right leg on top is of no use at all. He taught that padmasana is not a symmetry posture. But, what does he know?

Well that’s good to know, even if he didn’t know what he was doing he might be on to something.

[QUOTE=wim;43919]thanks for the replies.
seeker33;
why is that a reason to put the left leg up first?[/QUOTE]This is my interpretation to connect Ida nadi with left leg, but I don?t think is so important.

Thanks for that, Flex Penguin. It’s such a foreign idea to my rational mind that I had a hard time convincing myself I actually remembered it correctly.

[QUOTE=TonyTamer;43954]Thanks for that, Flex Penguin. It’s such a foreign idea to my rational mind that I had a hard time convincing myself I actually remembered it correctly.[/QUOTE]

I guess we are symmetrical on the outside, but not inside. Our organs are arranged asymmetrically. I used to alternate for balance until I read that and learned there are other postures for symmetry.

Good Point

Do the same principles apply for Tolasana?

[QUOTE=wim;43890]hi,

i was always taught to put the right leg first with yoga postures and in particular padmasana.

recently i read about the benefits of alternating sides and do the left side first.

when i tried that it was quite a sensation. now that my left leg was first and the right pressing upon it the left leg was protesting and cramping up. it simply was not used to be first.

have you tried this? what is your experience with it?

thanks,
wim[/QUOTE]

Dear Wim,

Let me one thing clear to you---- Do exactly what experts say.

According to me [B]Sage Gheranda[/B] is the one to really follow and see the results.

So in my opinion put your right leg first on the left thigh.

Then you should repeat the entire process with the opposite leg, Wim.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Kindest to you,

I doubt it would hurt anything to do both sides. I bet the liver purification thing is more important during pranayama or in longer periods of meditation.

[quote=wim;43890]hi,

i was always taught to put the right leg first with yoga postures and in particular padmasana.

recently i read about the benefits of alternating sides and do the left side first.

when i tried that it was quite a sensation. now that my left leg was first and the right pressing upon it the left leg was protesting and cramping up. it simply was not used to be first.

have you tried this? what is your experience with it?

thanks,
wim[/quote]

I think that it is better to start with the easiest side for demanding postures. It can increase better motivation and it is more in a step by step process (vinyasa krama) so in the spirit of Yoga which must be adapted to the individual needs (viniyoga). One must also respect nonviolence (ahimsa) in the posture and be always in the comfort zone, else it is not Yoga. Else I have been taught also to initiate movement first by the left side more for ritual and traditional reasons. In India pradakshina or clockwise sense is considered auspicious, for instance a devotee will walk clockwise around a temple or a statue. Moreover the left side is considered the lunar side in Yoga, it might have been taken into account by some yogis for energetic reasons too. The predominance of left side first is found also in Hatha Yoga Pradipika from Svatmarama.

Philippe

thank you all for the replies.

manidip;
thanks for bringing my attention to sage gherandha, i got the gherhanda asmita and can’t wait to start reading.

do you happen to have a method to know who is a real expert and who is not?
please share.

philippe;
to practice ahimsa on one self is very good advice, thank you!

the opinion is divided about what side to do first, for me i will continue putting my right leg first. then i will do the posture again and do the left side, briefly.

thanks again,
wim