Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar)
Swami Vishnudevananda says this exercise gets its name because
it is practiced early in the morning while facing the sun. It is a
good exercise to begin a session of Hatha Yoga, regardless of the
sun’s current position. Vishnudevananda goes on about the sun’s
being a deity of physical health and longevity. He suggests that we
repeat the twelve names of this divinity while we perform the
exercises.
I find that the Sun Salutation is of great value even without the
theological twist. I have had times in my life when I didn’t sit down
on a mat to bend, stretch and twist for an hour or so everyday.
During these periods I maintained my flexibility by doing only one
Sun Salutation a day.
Bending and stretching is the essence of Hatha Yoga, with twisting
bringing up a close third. One of the hard-to-ignore features of
aging is the general loss of flexibility. When we were children,
most of us could do incredible contortions. As we get older, this
ability fades away. Touching ones’s head to the knees goes from
easy to difficult to impossible.
The salvation is that, if a person bends and stretches to the
maximum on a regular basis, he or she will stay flexible.
There are many reasons or excuses for not doing this as one
matures. You’re not a kid anymore. You don’t get down and roll
around on the ground and pretend to be an animal. You have
some dignity. You don’t want to get your clothes dirty. You don’t
have time for such silliness.
People grow stiff with age. Sometimes unfortunate accidents or
diseases rob the body of its limberness. In fact, therapies similar
to yoga exercises are commonly used to reverse this effect.
The basic rule is, “Use it or lose it.” More than anything else this
slogan applies to bending and stretching. One of the unfortunate
side effects of success in family, society, livelihood and prosperity
is that other people do your bending and stretching for you.
Eventually the day comes when you have to do it for yourself, and
you discover that you no longer can. You have grown old.
Back to the Sun Salutation: I have found through my own
experience that this one asana, performed once a day, will keep the
brittle demon at bay.
It is suggested that the routine be done twelve times. Doing this
will do more than prevent the creeping rigidity of age from gaining
ground. You will actually become more flexible as time goes by.
One day you will be pleased to find that you can press your head to
your knees once again.
This is a good time to introduce the idea of a gradient. With all of
the Yoga asanas, it is best to start slow and easy. In the case of
the Sun Salutation, do only one at first. During the next session,
do two. Continue to increase one each time until you are doing
twelve Surya Namaskars.
Swami Vishnudevananda says this exercise gets its name because
it is practiced early in the morning while facing the sun. It is a
good exercise to begin a session of Hatha Yoga, regardless of the
sun’s current position. Vishnudevananda goes on about the sun’s
being a deity of physical health and longevity. He suggests that we
repeat the twelve names of this divinity while we perform the
exercises.
I find that the Sun Salutation is of great value even without the
theological twist. I have had times in my life when I didn’t sit down
on a mat to bend, stretch and twist for an hour or so everyday.
During these periods I maintained my flexibility by doing only one
Sun Salutation a day.
Bending and stretching is the essence of Hatha Yoga, with twisting
bringing up a close third. One of the hard-to-ignore features of
aging is the general loss of flexibility. When we were children,
most of us could do incredible contortions. As we get older, this
ability fades away. Touching ones’s head to the knees goes from
easy to difficult to impossible.
The salvation is that, if a person bends and stretches to the
maximum on a regular basis, he or she will stay flexible.
There are many reasons or excuses for not doing this as one
matures. You’re not a kid anymore. You don’t get down and roll
around on the ground and pretend to be an animal. You have
some dignity. You don’t want to get your clothes dirty. You don’t
have time for such silliness.
People grow stiff with age. Sometimes unfortunate accidents or
diseases rob the body of its limberness. In fact, therapies similar
to yoga exercises are commonly used to reverse this effect.
The basic rule is, “Use it or lose it.” More than anything else this
slogan applies to bending and stretching. One of the unfortunate
side effects of success in family, society, livelihood and prosperity
is that other people do your bending and stretching for you.
Eventually the day comes when you have to do it for yourself, and
you discover that you no longer can. You have grown old.
Back to the Sun Salutation: I have found through my own
experience that this one asana, performed once a day, will keep the
brittle demon at bay.
It is suggested that the routine be done twelve times. Doing this
will do more than prevent the creeping rigidity of age from gaining
ground. You will actually become more flexible as time goes by.
One day you will be pleased to find that you can press your head to
your knees once again.
This is a good time to introduce the idea of a gradient. With all of
the Yoga asanas, it is best to start slow and easy. In the case of
the Sun Salutation, do only one at first. During the next session,
do two. Continue to increase one each time until you are doing
twelve Surya Namaskars.
| Yoga for Carnivores by Jay Dyck |
| Asanas |
A part of Hatha Yoga is the practice of a number of physical exercises that involve bending,
stretching and twisting the body to produce strength, flexibility and agility. These positions are
called asanas.
I am only going to refer to the asanas that I do myself. All of my observations I derive from my
own experience. Like you, I can only learn that way. I can learn a workout like Hatha Yoga,
from a book, a video, a life teacher or casual observation. Then I can try it. I can find out the
following:
You will be able to answer each of these questions very soon after you start doing yoga.
The first series of asanas that I wish to present to you is a sequence called the "Sun Salute," "Sun
Salutation," or "Sun Exercise."
stretching and twisting the body to produce strength, flexibility and agility. These positions are
called asanas.
I am only going to refer to the asanas that I do myself. All of my observations I derive from my
own experience. Like you, I can only learn that way. I can learn a workout like Hatha Yoga,
from a book, a video, a life teacher or casual observation. Then I can try it. I can find out the
following:
- Do I want to do this?
- Is this pleasant?'
- Is this challenging?
- Is this rewarding?
- Does it work?
You will be able to answer each of these questions very soon after you start doing yoga.
The first series of asanas that I wish to present to you is a sequence called the "Sun Salute," "Sun
Salutation," or "Sun Exercise."
| Cougar Press PO Box 894 Meadview AZ 86444 |
| As you relax between asanas, observe four cycles of inhalation and exhalation. Following the Sun Exercises, I like to continue with either the |
1. Begin the Sun Salutation by standing with your
feet close together but not touching. Relax. Take
several calm breaths.
feet close together but not touching. Relax. Take
several calm breaths.
| 2. Exhale and bring your hands together in an attitude of prayer, palms together and fingers pointed upward. |
4. As you exhale, raise your arms and torso back to the vertical and continue in a smooth bend until your head, hands and arms are hanging downward. |
| 3. As you inhale, raise your hands until your arms are straight. Arch backward, beginning with your arms and head. |
| 5.As you inhale, bend your left leg at the knee while extending your right leg out behind you. Place your hands flat on the floor as you do this, fingers pointed forward. Raise your head. |
| Keep your balance, and arch only as far as comes easy. |
| Bend only as far as comes easy. |
| 6. As you exhale, extend the other foot and leg. You will now be in the “pushup” position. Slowly lower yourself to the mat. |
| When you come to rest you will be touching the mat with your forehead, chest, hands, knees and the balls of your feet. |
| 7. As you inhale, let your body flatten and point your toes back. Supporting yourself with your hands and arms, begin to arch up and back, starting with your head, neck and upper back. |
| Continue until your arms are straight. |
| 8. As you exhale, lower your head, keep your arms straight, move your feet so that your soles are flat on the mat, and bend your body so that your butt is the highest part. |
| 9. As you inhale, bring your right foot forward, bending your right leg at the knee and raising your head. |
| You will now be in the same position as in step 5, but with your left leg extended. |
| 10. As you exhale, bring your left foot forward and place it beside your right foot. Lower your head as you straighten your legs. |
| If necessary, let your hand lift from the floor. You will now be in the same position as you were at the end of step 4. |
| 11. Beginning with the small of your back, bring yourself slowly back to a vertical position and continue to arch backward as far as comes easy, extending your arms and hands over and behind your head. |
| You will now be in the same position as you were at the end of step 3. |
| 12. As you exhale, return to the vertical position, and bring your hands together, or let your arms drop to your sides. You have now completed one Sun Salutation. |
Beginners may feel that they have had a pretty good
workout after that one sequence. You will have
exercised every joint and muscle in your body.
In your next session, try repeating this asana. In each
subsequent session you may add one repetition until
you are doing twelve Sun Salutations. When doing
repetitions, you may move continuously from step
eleven, where you are arched backward with a full
breath back into step four, where you are bent
forward. You will then be into your second Sun
Salutation.
In any particular session, do not add more repetitions
of the Sun Salutation if you are experiencing pain or
exhaustion. When it is time to rest and relax, do so.
workout after that one sequence. You will have
exercised every joint and muscle in your body.
In your next session, try repeating this asana. In each
subsequent session you may add one repetition until
you are doing twelve Sun Salutations. When doing
repetitions, you may move continuously from step
eleven, where you are arched backward with a full
breath back into step four, where you are bent
forward. You will then be into your second Sun
Salutation.
In any particular session, do not add more repetitions
of the Sun Salutation if you are experiencing pain or
exhaustion. When it is time to rest and relax, do so.
| headstand, plow, shoulderstand or nauli. |
| Photography courtesy of Pat Harvey |
| Photography courtesy of Pat Harvey Studio |