Anyone who has attended my Yoga class in Dubai knows how much I love practicing and teaching sun salutations during my sessions.
A Surya Namaskar or sun salutation is a sequence that is practiced usually at the beginning of an energizing section of a yoga class in order to warm up the body quickly. It is said to strengthen all the major muscle groups of the body. Originally, it was practiced to venerate the sun as our prime giver or source of energy. Hence Surya=sun + namaskar = salute. When was the last time you thanked the sun? It shows up every single morning without fail, like a mother with unconditional love for her children. Can you imagine our life without that big ball of radiance!
During a round of a sun salutation, we can really get creativen by adding a variety of poses like warrior 1 or 2, or even balancing poses etc. which is what we encourage in our yoga class sometimes. This is gaining more & more popularity because of its fun yet challenging style flowing from one pose to another. On the other hand, a traditional Ashtanga surya namaskar A & B has a set sequence which is not to be hampered with otherwise the yoga police is going to get to you 😉
Now, what I’ve talked you through and demonstrated in the below YouTube video is a very basic Hatha sun salutation. This is also the same sequence taught in the Sivananda ashrams worldwide, which by the way I highly recommend.
A lot of students ask me what they should do to keep up their practice while on holiday or if they cant make it to class during a given week. I usually recommend 7 such rounds(7 on left,7 on right) followed by a simple routine which I chalk out for them. And they always come back saying the 7 rounds of sun salutes was more than enough and just as good. When done slower, it can be quite challenging and is best practiced on an empty stomach at least 2 hours after eating.
The sun salutations have breath instructions, mantra & chakra associations. For sake of simplicity, if you are a beginner, focus on the movement first, learn the proper alignments of each pose. After you get comfortable with each movement, add the breath instruction and with practice, it all flows quite easily.
Challenge yourself to just one week of 7 rounds of surya namaskar each day. Be determined and see how you feel at the end of the week. I promise it will not take you more than 20 minutes each time. Be careful though, you just might make it a regular practice 😉
Get your OM on:)