Easy Pose (Sukhasana): Steps, Benefits & How To Do It

Sukhasana, or Easy Pose, is a comfortable cross-legged seat used as a base for breathing and meditation. You simply cross your shins, settle onto your sit bones, and lengthen the spine with hands resting on the knees. It gently opens the hips and encourages upright, steady posture. Many find it the most accessible seat for everyday stillness, women-first, in Kolathur.

How to do it

How to do Easy Pose, step by step

1
Set up
Sit on a mat and cross your shins in front of you, letting each foot rest gently beneath the opposite knee.
↓ Exhale
2
Ground the seat
Settle evenly onto both sit bones and let your knees ease toward the floor, allowing the hips to soften and open.
↓ Exhale
3
Lengthen and rest
Stack your spine tall, drop your shoulders down and back, lift through the crown, and rest your hands on your knees with palms up or down.
↑ Inhale
4
Release
Extend both legs forward to Staff Pose, shake them out gently, and cross your shins the other way on your next round.
↓ Exhale

The breath leads the movement: inhale as you open and lift, exhale as you fold and lower. One full round repeats the sequence leading with the other leg.

Benefits

What Easy Pose is good for

✓Gently opens the hips, knees and ankles
✓Encourages a long, upright spine for meditation and pranayama
✓An accessible, comfortable seat for everyday breathing practice
✓Many find it calms the mind and steadies the breath
✓Builds steadiness and focus during quiet, seated holds

What it works

Muscles and chakrasbody and energy

Muscles worked

Hip external rotators
Adductors (inner thighs)
Erector spinae
Gluteus medius
Core stabilisers

Brighter violet marks the muscles this pose works most.

Chakras activated

RootMuladhara
SacralSvadhisthana

These are traditional energetic associations, not medical claims.

Stay safe

Who should take care

Sit on a lift and keep holds short if you have knee or hip injuries
Switch the cross of the legs regularly to keep the hips even
Avoid slumping; if the lower back rounds, raise the hips higher on a cushion

This is general guidance, not medical advice. If in doubt, check with your doctor.

Keep going

Related poses

Lotus Pose Bound Angle Pose Staff Pose

Learn this at Anand Yoga Centre

Practise it properly with Sailaja, who adjusts each person in a small women-only class in Kolathur.

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Reviewed by Sailaja Anand, yoga instructor at Anand Yoga Centre. Last updated 2026-06-14.

Questions

Easy Pose: common questions

Is Sukhasana good for beginners?

Yes, Sukhasana is one of the most beginner-friendly seated poses, needing no special flexibility or balance. Simply cross the shins and sit tall. If the hips feel tight or the back rounds, sitting on a folded blanket raises the hips and makes the seat comfortable for almost everyone.

How long should I sit in Easy Pose?

Beginners can start with a minute or two and build up as the hips and back grow comfortable. Many practitioners use Easy Pose for five to ten minutes or longer during meditation and pranayama. Switch the leg crossing now and then, and shift if you feel any numbness.

Why should I sit on a cushion in Sukhasana?

A cushion or folded blanket lifts the hips slightly above the knees, which lets the pelvis tilt forward and the spine stack tall without effort. Many people with tight hips find their lower back rounds when sitting flat, and a small lift makes the seat far more comfortable.

What is the difference between Sukhasana and Padmasana?

Sukhasana is a simple cross-legged seat with the shins crossed and feet under the knees, while Padmasana (Lotus) places each foot on the opposite thigh and needs deep hip rotation. Sukhasana is far more accessible and is the ideal everyday meditation seat for most practitioners.

Can Sukhasana help with posture?

Sitting in Easy Pose trains you to stack the spine, ground the sit bones, and relax the shoulders, which many find carries over into better everyday posture. To get the benefit, sit tall on a lift rather than slumping, and keep the chest open and the crown lifting.

Easy PoseSukhasana