"My favorite sitting position ever is where both legs are crossed with the feet close to the pelvis, like a butterfly. The closer to the pelvis, the better. I have been sitting like this for a very long time. If I have to sit normally, I immediately feel the need for this position. It helps me to have the lower back straight and it’s so comfortable to have the bones of the hips open. Most, or maybe all, of my dancer friends back home sit like this"
"I like to sit in a laidback position - with legs spread out. It is my favorite sitting pose because it is a very comfortable posture for me as a man, if you know what I mean. Sitting like this makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. Most men I notice sit like this if they have more room to spread their legs. I cannot remember when I started sitting like this exactly, it just seems natural"
"I think my way of usually sitting is not conventionally lady-like. I come from a background with raw manners, where comfort and usefulness are more important than looks. Although I was introduced to how a woman should sit and behave, as I learnt about the world, nothing beats a comfortable position.
Probably my favourite way of sitting is the goddess pose. Although I don’t actually sit like that normally, whenever I have a chance during warm-up, cool-down or a yoga class, I love getting into it. The name and the feel of it connect me to my body, femininity, and it makes me feel at home - connected, rooted"
"This position is more ideal for sitting on the floor, which I like. And when I have to sit on chairs or sofas I sometimes switch to the position in picture 3. I can switch my legs for overlapping so each of them can relax a bit. Also when sitting on the floor, this position allows me the stability as well as flexibility for eating, drinking, and talking. I see many people sit like 1 & 2 when sitting on the floor, but fewer sitting like 3 when in a chair. Maybe the chair has implanted a code in us of how to sit "properly". This position probably started since enfance before I had memory. Sometimes I sit like this in front of my close family members , but if there are more people normally I was never supposed to sit like either of these two"
"My favourite ways of sitting on the floor is with one leg stretched out and the other leg bent in. This is my default sitting position for all situations: social, academic; anytime where I have to sit in a chair for a very long time - I hate this! Adopting this position makes me feel in charge of my own body. As I am recovering from injury, being forced to sit in a chair for long periods is painful and uncomfortable for me, so this allows me to concentrate on what I am doing without being distracted by pain signals from my leg and back. I don't know anyone else who regularly sits like this, but, being in Choreomundus, around fellow dancers, we all tend to sit / lounge on the floor a lot! I have always sat on the floor though, and prefer this, even in a social situation, such as gathering with friends or family. I have yet to find a couch or chair that I feel comfortable sitting straight with legs together! It is a position which you have to be careful, however.... I tried it in a crowded business meeting once, and my boss wasn't very impressed! If I ever have my own business, everyone can sit however makes them feel comfortable"
"My favourite seated position is on the floor with my legs crossed. I like this position because it allows me to sit comfortably and it’s a good position for different places and situations. It also helps me to keep my body young. It really makes me feel aligned. My fellow yoga practitioners usually love this position too"
"This cross-legged way of sitting was taken from my grandmother. I grew up with my grandparents away from my parents, always moving from one place to another for school. Things around me were changing all the time except for my grandparents. My grandmother was the one who cooked the most, she also eats in a very free, unlimited manner as I now do - with one leg up on the chair. I used to dislike how “rude” this sometimes seems but somehow I picked it up and liked it so much that it remained as part of me. My grandfather does the same, but he puts both legs up, sometimes even without a chair, simply squatting with a bowl in his hands. They were farmers before they took the job of raising me. No matter which city we were in, they behaved like they’re still exposed to nature everyday. They are real, honest... they observe. I dont think I will ever learn how to deal with nature and land, but I learnt how to sit like them, which is always a reminder for me to stay real and honest. But it’s funny that my mom hates it when I sit like this hahaha, especially now that she sees me more. But I can’t change it for 'better manners', this is who I am and I think this is better for my circulation"
"I find myself adapting my sitting positions according to the spatial environments, the amount of space I am ‘allowed’ to occupy, the kind of seat I am on. It is common to see me sitting in the ‘butterfly’ pose (do we call it that?) because it is a chance for me to stretch my back instead of hunching it, while also stretching my legs. I like to have my legs and feet on chairs because it makes me feel like I have a clearer sense of the room. I am challenging myself to sit like this even in places I wouldn’t dare before, say at Greek family dinners or when I’m having coffee with someone for the first time. Why should it be limited to only specific times and why would it make other people uncomfortable? I believe it’s not about the actual sitting but what your body language communicates to the one in front of you"
"It feels good, comfy, and natural. At some point in my life, it became a way of being in the space, to just be me, and allow to take the space my long legs needed. It’s reaffirming. The way you sit, for me, can translate as the way you are in the world. I just want to sit freely. This type of sitting is common in men. I have seen it on public transport. They take the space of even two seats. For them, it’s natural to be big and dominant in the space. I think, for women, it has to be a conscious choice at the beginning. In my culture, I was taught to cross my legs, to behave, to be a lady. Thus, this way of sitting became a political choice. I want to reject the way society dictates how our female bodies should move and use the space. I want to un-learn and oppose the expected and restrictive sitting behaviour imposed on women. My dance teacher sits like this. I was 18, I think. She shook my world with this way of sitting. She was purposefully taking all of her space. Opening her legs was a way of saying “I am here, I am present.” I had never sat like this before but seeing that changed me. Also, I started dancing at that time and dance made me larger in the space I occupy. It was a way of reclaiming my original capacity of movement. When you are a child you do not know those boundaries, you just go for it. So, dancing did that for me. It made me conscious about my space, to take it, re-appropriate it, and use it at its full capacity"
"It makes me feel very comfortable. Some people tell me that if I cross my legs, it makes my body look ugly because, when you sit in this way, the weight of your body inclines to one side and has long-term effects on the shape of your legs. I love it because it is a very elegant and proper sitting position for women. I guess it is because of the images I was exposed to as a child but I always considered this to be a serious and important pose"
"Upon closer inspection, it appears to me that I enjoy poses that provide some sense of inherent security (clasped hands) while giving off an air of being confidently carefree (open posture). This provides my body with a balanced feel leaving me feeling completely comfortable in these poses. I see this pose in a couple of my friends and I think that our similarity in posture feeds off of our similarity in disposition - a posture gives a view into the current mood of a person. I've sat in this way for as long as I remember being consciously responsible for my posture. My favourite pose puts me in my most mentally and physically comfortable place making it perfect to adopt around family"
"I feel very relaxed. I think it is socially acceptable to sit like this, but mostly for men. My family doesn’t care about my sitting, but they do care about my sisters’. In our culture, it is impolite to spread your legs like so. When women wear skirts, they are required to occupy as little space as possible"
"For me, this pose is everything between comfort and calm. It expresses relaxation but without complete aloofness. A position that allows me to engage in present company or experience without falling too deeply into the undemanding nature of casual events and situations. I probably started sitting like this during my varsity days - around the time the pressure of doing well at school and the allowance to ask big questions in life overlapped. I'm sure I saw some of my peers sitting the same way and must have picked it up as a result. Sitting this way makes me feel unencumbered by the weight of demand and expectation"
"I also like to sometimes put my chin on my knee while sitting like this. It makes me feel small and safe. I think this pose comes from my dance childhood when I was forced to stretch my hips open in a butterfly position. This served as an escape position. I can sit like this on any type of surface - chair, floor, sofa. I’d sit like this in class, but I get into trouble for sitting like this in front of my mom in the kitchen. It feels like most of my friends sit like that while chilling as well"