I'm a fan of this sitting method and like yourself have digestive problems and aching calves now and again. Swami Satyananda Paramahansa mentions the benefits of this pose in his yoga book.
I'm a practising Vajrayana Buddhist and use a method of listening to the sound of silence or nada (see Ajahn Sumedo). For me who has found formal meditation difficult this method really puts me into a space of easy focus as its always there once heard often mistaken for tinitis.
