Sun Salutation, called Surya namaskar in Sanskrit language, is a series of yoga poses practiced in a continuous flowing movement. There are many versions from different yoga traditions. It can be practiced early in the morning to greet the sun, at the end of the day during sunset, as a physical exercise any time of day, or at the beginning of practice as a full-body warm-up.

A Sun Salute each day, keeps the doctor away:

Like the old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, sun salutes can be practiced each day to maintain and improve your health.
My first yoga training was in Integral Yoga. Swami Satchidananda was the founder of Integral Yoga. He taught how sun salutes benefit the entire person. The complete combination of poses and breathing strengthens the body and the mind. When restless, he recommended practicing the poses slowly to quiet the mind. When feeling dull, lazy or drowsy practice quite rapidly, almost like a drill. This will bring alertness to the mind. He said, “Hence, Surya Namaskar is a general tonic.”
Satchidananda also told a story about the king of Oundh, India (formerly Ayodhya). The king learned the benefits of Surya Namaskar and taught it to his queen. Together they taught it to people living in their state. The king added it to physical education programs in the schools. It is said the entire state enjoyed perfect health and harmony!
“Modern life is exceedingly wearing; the noise, the excitement, the hurry, the competition, irregular hours, hard study, anxieties, worry, lack of proper food and exercise make a heavy tax on the constitution soon resulting in a breakdown of health. One can, however, be unaffected by these evils of modern civilization, if one should perform the Surya Namaskar exercise daily and take care of the diet and make proper use of sunshine and open air.”-
The King of Anudh (India1940)

Sun Salutation the poses:

I teach 10-12 poses in a flowing sequence. To ensure that all my students are able to practice and receive the benefits I add modifications to the sequence ranging from a chair version to a fast-moving version for energy and strength. The movements stretch the entire body, the spine forward and back, lengthen arms and legs, open the shoulders, chest and heart.

To work with anxiety, I teach poses at a slow flowing pace to warm and stretch the body and breathing to calm the nervous system. To energize and uplift the mood I alter the pace and breath practice. I guide students to listen to how they are feeling. My intention is to teach students to experience the process of moving through the poses and breath, while listening to their minds and bodies. Then their bodies begin to adapt and become stronger. This helps build focus and patience, skills we all need to handle daily life. Yoga helps open us to practice and learn new ways to live a balanced healthy life. Yoga is a way to learn how to be still with what is happening within you and around you. When we practice, we see the need to be compassionate with ourselves and others without judging.

That is yoga… and the reason to practice daily.

Yoga takes discipline and practice. For more information on how to practice Sun Salutations link to my site to watch a free video. I will talk to you about the benefits and how to do the poses in a short video titled “Sun Salutations”.

Also come back each week to this blog for more information about yoga and how to enjoy the benefits for yourself.

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