The Base Other Postures Are Built On

Padmasana does more work in the classical corpus than any other posture, because several entries are defined as things done from it. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes kukkutasana as the lotus lifted onto the hands, and uttana kurmasana as that lift rolled back onto the spine. The Gheranda Samhita enters matsyasana from the bound lotus. In each case the entry assumes a reader who already has the lotus and is being told what to do with it.

That dependency has a consequence the manuals never state: a practitioner who cannot take padmasana cannot take any of them as the texts describe them. The classical repertoire is not a flat list of independent options. It has a small number of load bearing seats, and the lotus carries more weight than the rest.

Padmasana is also one of the four postures Svatmarama singles out from the eighty four, with siddhasana, simhasana and bhadrasana, and the corpus treats it as the seat for the breath practices that occupy the later chapters. Mallinson and Singleton's Roots of Yoga traces the early history of asana across the primary literature and shows the seated postures dominating the material until comparatively late; Mark Singleton's Yoga Body follows what happened afterwards, when the balance of the practice shifted decisively away from sitting. The lotus is where the older centre of gravity is most visible.