Surya Namaskar Explained
Please Read Before Going Further
Surya Namaskar is known as “Sun Salutations”. A direct translation is "laying prostrate to worship the Sun." Surya Namaskar is a Sanskrit term. The process was originally used to worship the Hindu Sun god and therefore, the most auspicious time to practice Sun Salutations is in the morning, usually between 5 and 6 o’clock, as that is when the sun is rising. However, I find Sun Salutations at the beginning of a practice heating and limbering and often do them to lift my vibration when I can not fit in a whole 1-2 hour practice. They are also a great tool to promote focus during meditation helping to work the movement out of your body in order to allow sitting for a length of time.
These salutations generally consist of 10-12 poses. Here, I have varied a beginners sequence to not only get us familiar with the poses but also to make this sequence fun for all. If you are interested in the more formal beginning sequence and would rather learn that first, watch the video to see the poses and then follow the still pics, as they are laid out in a more standard Sun Salutation form.
This is an opportunity for you to build to harder sequences, acclimate your body, move, and it is most fitting to introduce at the beginning of our learning. Surya Namaskar should be done on a daily basis. Be sure to do both sides, which means that you should step back with the right foot, for example, and step back with the other foot on the second round. This evens the energies in the body and will prevent you from feeling lopsided, overly aggressive or too sensitive, among other things. For further verification, when you watch the video, I step back with the right foot to a lunge. I go through the sequence hitting both legs for a lunge in the middle and then at the end, I step up with my left foot. So at the beginning and at the end, I end with my left foot forward. When you do the other side, start by stepping back with the left foot and then at the end stepping forward with the right.
One last thing you must know about Sun Salutations before I let you try, they are most importantly done with the breath and the breath should dictate the movement. This is hard for many to understand in their bodies, but it is possible. You inhale and move. Then, you exhale with the next pose, with only one exception. This exception is when the breath is held between Plank and Chataranga (push up position). The rest of the poses are flow efficient, meaning you should breathe (inhale/ exhale) with each pose.
I believe that all people can do Sun Salutations. I had read that pregnant women should not partake, but movement is good for the pregnant body, so use your awareness. If you are pregnant and your doctor has told you not to lay on your stomach, do not do cobra pose. If you are familiar with Upward facing Dog, feel free to go there (depending on your trimester) or skip it all together coming to a table top position and pressing back to down dog, as shown in the video.
I will post some other variations of Sun Salutations later, but let’s start here. Have fun building movement and heat in the body.
Sat Ra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTfdKEwrQcY
Surya Namaskar is known as “Sun Salutations”. A direct translation is "laying prostrate to worship the Sun." Surya Namaskar is a Sanskrit term. The process was originally used to worship the Hindu Sun god and therefore, the most auspicious time to practice Sun Salutations is in the morning, usually between 5 and 6 o’clock, as that is when the sun is rising. However, I find Sun Salutations at the beginning of a practice heating and limbering and often do them to lift my vibration when I can not fit in a whole 1-2 hour practice. They are also a great tool to promote focus during meditation helping to work the movement out of your body in order to allow sitting for a length of time.
These salutations generally consist of 10-12 poses. Here, I have varied a beginners sequence to not only get us familiar with the poses but also to make this sequence fun for all. If you are interested in the more formal beginning sequence and would rather learn that first, watch the video to see the poses and then follow the still pics, as they are laid out in a more standard Sun Salutation form.
This is an opportunity for you to build to harder sequences, acclimate your body, move, and it is most fitting to introduce at the beginning of our learning. Surya Namaskar should be done on a daily basis. Be sure to do both sides, which means that you should step back with the right foot, for example, and step back with the other foot on the second round. This evens the energies in the body and will prevent you from feeling lopsided, overly aggressive or too sensitive, among other things. For further verification, when you watch the video, I step back with the right foot to a lunge. I go through the sequence hitting both legs for a lunge in the middle and then at the end, I step up with my left foot. So at the beginning and at the end, I end with my left foot forward. When you do the other side, start by stepping back with the left foot and then at the end stepping forward with the right.
One last thing you must know about Sun Salutations before I let you try, they are most importantly done with the breath and the breath should dictate the movement. This is hard for many to understand in their bodies, but it is possible. You inhale and move. Then, you exhale with the next pose, with only one exception. This exception is when the breath is held between Plank and Chataranga (push up position). The rest of the poses are flow efficient, meaning you should breathe (inhale/ exhale) with each pose.
I believe that all people can do Sun Salutations. I had read that pregnant women should not partake, but movement is good for the pregnant body, so use your awareness. If you are pregnant and your doctor has told you not to lay on your stomach, do not do cobra pose. If you are familiar with Upward facing Dog, feel free to go there (depending on your trimester) or skip it all together coming to a table top position and pressing back to down dog, as shown in the video.
I will post some other variations of Sun Salutations later, but let’s start here. Have fun building movement and heat in the body.
Sat Ra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTfdKEwrQcY
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