Starting with the legs: whether you use the half lotus, full lotus or zero lotus, I recommend alternating - if you have one foot up one time, then next time put the other foot up. This way you keep changing the asymmetry and foster more balance.

Seiza, the kneeling posture, is a symmetrical position. That’s a benefit. I don’t like it very much because my feet get cold sticking out behind me, but I use it when sitting cross-legged is just too uncomfortable. Some people like a sitting bench, either for cross-legged or kneeling. Remember that over time your body will change and you will probably have to adjust your seat accordingly.

If you use a chair or sit on the edge of the tan, sit with a cushion under you so that the thighs slope downward from the hips to the knees as if you were sitting cross-legged. Most people need this to be able to sit for a long period and keep a good spinal alignment.

Moving up from the legs to the spine: when I sit down I try to maintain the same natural curve of the spine that I have when I’m standing, as you can see in the standard anatomical picture of a spine. Study your spine when standing and walking and maintain its normal curves when you sit down.

To find the most supportive position of the sacrum I move my sacrum through its full range by first arching the back forward at the waist, and then slumping the waist back. I find that the best foundation for sitting is having the sacrum slightly back from all the way forward. See what is best for you. Sitting on cushions with the thighs sloping downwards helps set the sacrum in a good position. Simultaneously, the whole pelvis area should allow gravity to pull it down to earth.

The only other thing I do directly in setting the spine’s posture is to stretch up the back of the neck. This pulls the chin slightly down and in, and positions the head level with the floor. And, as you all know, we sit with the eyes open, looking downwards at about a 45 degree angle. Generally sit with a broad focus; when the shoji gets up you see that movement, and when the jikijitsu gets up you see that movement.

If you’re fortunate enough to be able to breath through your nose, then do that with your lips closed and the nostrils flared. Roshi always used to emphasize Flare your nostrils! And through my practice with that I found how it relaxes everything else in the face; the tension of those worry lines ends up in the nostrils. There is a gentle strength in this effort.

There are a lot of details to remember in this posture. It’s like learning to drive a car. At first there are so many different things, especially with a stick shift. But after a while, varoom! without thinking, you just go. Sitting is also like this.

You’ve probably heard about holding the hands, but again: we sit with the left hand resting in the right hand. I generally have the right fingertips at the left knuckles. Hold the palms level with the floor so that if you’re sitting in the rain you will catch the water in your dish. Hold the hand firmly against the abdomen, and the insides of the wrists also touch the belly. The thumb tips touch lightly. As with the nostrils, there is an energy in the hands, and it can be expanding or contracting, as a full moon growing larger or smaller. Sit and walk with a light energy in the hands, either pulling apart or pushing together, but the thumbs still touch lightly.

Instead of me answering the question you asked, What does the Roshi mean by expanding and contracting? I suggest that you do expanding and contraction. Then you will see how it works.

Hold the hands touching the abdomen about two inches below the navel. In our practice we don’t rest the hands on the thighs. All the statues of the Buddha have his hands resting on his feet. Well, he’s enlightened you know, he can take a break! He’s been practicing a long time. We’re putting effort into our practice at this point.

Often at first, people holding their hands like this experience sore shoulders. One suggestions is to raise their hands up a little higher. and if you can’t keep the hands up at first, keep trying and your muscles will grow stronger. I don’t think that anyone here will scold you if you rest your hands, but work towards holding your hands alive as a moon rising up over the mountains. This energy is in the hands; the elbows and shoulders are relaxed. Someone walking by should be able to grasp and freely move your elbows back and forth. Also, there’s room for a fist to go between the ribs and the elbow.

OK, now I get tot he exciting part of the posture! This is important and I hope you will use and enjoy it. In my practice, after hearing about it many times and trying it for years, I finally found it a key to what sitting might feel like. It can change your facial expression from Ugh! to Ahh! First, raise and hold up your sternum, the breastbone. After I get my legs, back, head and hands into position, I take some deep breaths and raise up my sternum and hold it up. So that when I breathe the sternum does not move, but breath moves below the ribs, in the stomach. the image for me is a big circus tent with a big pole in the middle. Lift up your sternum pole and everything else hangs down, your shoulders, arms and stomach are relaxed but the sternum is holding it up. This also helps put the sacrum into good alignment. When you get that so it works well, you will be able to hold the sternum for sitting and walking. This is not a major effort but, as with the hands, there is a liveliness. With the breath, on the inhale raise the sternum. And exhale through the sternum, holding it up. Continue like this. At first I couldn’t distinguish my sternum from my whole chest. But after a while, keeping my attention on the sternum - trying to feel how the sternum could go up, and continuing to work with the breath to do that, both inhaling and exhaling, I finally got the feel of it.

The next thing is push down on your abdominal floor. I found this very difficult. It took me three years to even get the feel of it once and this was doing zazen every morning and evening and dai-sesshins six times a year. I think I’m a slow learner! Anyway I kept after it and think I finally got it. Some people teach that you should push out, but our school says down. Others teach you should suck upwards but this is a contrary motion. Imagine it as rooting in the earth. To practice this, inhale as if your breath goes through the diaphragm down to the bottom of the abdominal cavity, where it pushes and holds down on the abdominal floor. Also on the exhalation, exhale down through the abdominal floor into the earth. At first your whole abdomen may become tight when you try this. But eventually the lower abdomen muscle will learn how to function independently, holding down while everything else in the abdomen can relax. That’s the idea. We are taking away all pressure from the solar plexus so that breathing can go unimpeded and we will become open like the clear, blue sky.

The Roshi often gave us a simple checklist of three items to remember in our posture: nostrils flared, sternum up, lower abdomen down. I added a fourth one because if we don’t have our moon mudra in good shape it indicates our attention has wandered away from what we are doing i.e. sitting or walking.

In this posture, the breath gets shallower and a little quicker than my normal breath. Because the torso is already stretched, there isn’t as much movement when breathing as when I take a big breath to raise up my body from a slouched posture. Even though there is the effort of holding up the sternum and down the abdominal floor, the area in between is relaxed, and when you become accustomed to it you can function in an unimpeded, relaxed manner.

Just breathing is wonderful, simple meditation. It’s easy for anyone; beginners can practice it and old timers really savor it!