How to stop sleepy feet??

[Plenum]

My feet fall asleep every time, sitting in a chair is the only thing that stops it.

well, I can't answer your question directly, but I get around the issue by doing what you just described; that is, meditating in a non-lotus posture - more specifically, sitting in a comfy sofa

The important thing is to quiet the body, and having a specific posture and mat is something that can train the body to go into quietude.  But that is just the technique.  One can quieten the body using the more conventional sitting in a chair; it's the mental attitude which is of paramount importance.

I tried going the route of painful knees and crushed ankles; at the end of the day, I thought - what's the point of inducing this posture if it only serves to draw the mind more to physical discomfort?  I'm sure part of it was me doing it improperly; I've always been a fail when it comes to physical technique - at least at the start - but it just seemed such a low return-on-investment to train the body that way.  Sit in a chair, comfortable, and explore and quieten the mind.  The body should be really transparent at thet stage - as closing the eyes is the most important aspect of shutting down bodily/sensation based inputs into consciousness.