(Minghui.org) There aren't many articles on the Minghui website in which people talk about how they were able to put both legs on top of each other and sit in the full lotus position. I would like to share how I was able to do this, and perhaps new practitioners might find it helpful.
I was involved in a car accident before I started to practice Falun Gong. My femur was broken and my legs were no longer aligned. A metal rod was inserted into one of my knee joints and then removed after 11 months. Afterward, I could only bend my knee 90 degrees. After I began practicing I admired other practitioners' ability to easily cross both legs. I decided that no matter how difficult it was, I would continue to try and perhaps one day I would also be able to cross both my legs in the full lotus position.
Whenever I had time, I placed the injured leg on top of the other one, pulled my foot in and pressed my knee down. Gradually I was able to cross one leg (in the half-lotus position) even if it was not perfect.
One day I attempted to cross both legs, and I successfully did it for one second, but the pain was extreme. Throughout the following days, I crossed both legs several times and was able to hold the position longer and longer. Later I set a timer and prepared myself for crossing both legs for 15 minutes. At the last moment when I released both legs, I was trembling and in agony.
It's better to set a high standard for yourself when practicing crossing both legs. For example, when I was able to keep sitting with both legs crossed for 50 minutes, I wanted to break through the milestone of an hour. Although I didn't make it yet, I endured the pain for 55 minutes. Sometimes when I relaxed in the middle I would be deeply remorseful afterwards.
I thought, "Perhaps I needed to pay off more karma than others." It took me nearly a year to cross both legs in the full lotus position. I knew I had eliminated karma through enduring the pain.
After I was finally able to cross both legs on top of each other, my legs recovered completely from the injury and never hurt again due to inclement weather.
One sweltering hot summer day when the temperature was over 40 o C (about 104 o F), I did the fifth exercise in my room with the air conditioning off and no fans on. An amazing thing happened. After several minutes, I felt that I was sitting inside a cool and refreshing world, and each cell of my body seemed to enter into this comfortable and wonderful dimension.
Before I began practicing, the injury from the car accident would have been considered permanent and a handicap. If I was able to cross both legs even after my leg injury, I feel everyone can make it and will surely have similar wonderful experiences.
