Feminine sitting style

i am thinking about visiting Japan and i am worried, since i cannot seem to sit with my legs to one side without falling over. how should i sit, or will i get used to the sitting style eventually? oh, and i'm not going anytime soon.

thank you

Try sitting with your torso erect and your legs (folded at the knees)right under you. In other words you sit on your legs. This is a very natural posture though many Westerners have trouble at first (the legs tend to "fall asleep" and hurt) I am a male over 40 but because I do body building with lots of stretching afterwards I can sit on my legs for quite a long time. It helps to raise from time to time the buttocks a couple of inches above the legs without being too obvious. When you start practicing this posture place a thick cushion between the buttocks and the legs to reduce the pressure from the torso and hips on the legs (of course being of a moderate weight also helps!) then use a thinner cushion and finally no cushion.

thank you, that helps a lot! my nervous jitters have subsided! thank you again!

If you visit Japan as a tourist, it is not likely that you will have to sit on the floor in a formal setting very much, unless you go to a tea ceremony or meditation sessions at a temple. Where are you thinking you will have to sit like this?

Mostly you will be sitting in chairs and if you go to a noodle restaurant or Japanese style pub where you have to sit on the floor, if you are wearing trousers it is quite acceptable to sit cross-legged.

Most Japanese people these days can't sit seiza (the kneeling position mentioned above) for more than about 10 minutes without their legs falling asleep either, so don't worry too much about it.

All aged Japanese people I know request chairs, even at places everyone sits on the floor.

I agree with Sira. Unless at the activities mentioned, there will almost never be an opportunity, let alone a requirement, to sit with your legs under you.