Hi,

I must have over looked this post, sorry about the delay. Have you looked into doing yoga classes or learning different types of stretching as it is all about conditioning the muscles and joints to allow this to happen.

Thanks,
Brett.

Hi,
have you considered lying down meditation? Even the buddha considered it to be one of the postures, and if you have flexibility issues (or medical) then you could try it. There are a few hazards (mainly falling asleep) but having sat cross legged for years I now do most of my meditation lying down - partly for physical reasons and partly because it helps me to go deeper.
The only thing I would suggest is not using your bed, as the body automatically thinks you want to sleep - at least in my case.
I was at a monastery in Thailand a few years ago where they alternated 45 minutes walking, 45 minutes sitting, 45 minutes lying down, so maybe you could experiment.
Bear in mind that for many Asians sitting cross legged is very comfortable, so it may be that the original posture was seen as a comfortable one, which unfortunately for many of us (if we are westerners) it is not. I know of one westerner that was told in a thai monastery that he had a western deformity i.e. his knees stuck up when he sat cross legged.
If you decide sitting cross legged is your preference, then take it slowly in small bursts, and let your body become accustomed to it. Back when I was a hard core cross legged sitter I think it took me about six months to be comfortable - but listen to your body, as I also know of many meditators who now have knee problems.
As mentioned, maybe try some basic yoga, and it can also be helpful to place something under your knees to stop the pressure through your groin - which causes the lack of circulation and pins and needles.