What Is A Sun Salutation In Yoga

Inhale: Step Back Into Low Lunge

Lets Try It:

• On your inhale, step your right leg back into a Low Lunge
• Lower your right knee to the mat
• All your hips to sink forward and down
• Keep your left foot steady on the mat between your hands and your left knee stacked over your heel
• Keep your palms on the mat or reach your arms overhead
• Bring your gaze forward and relax the shoulders away from your ears

Sun Salutation Breath Awareness

When the body moves in a flow like in Surya Namaskar , the coordination of the breathing process plays an important role to ensure for easy movements as well as proper use of the lungs and chest to encourage deep breathing. Given below is the detailed breathing information for each step forming part of the short mini sequence, Sun Salutation:

Mantras Of Sun Salutation :

Chanting these mantras as you perform the Sun Salutation poses helps your body in attracting the Sun’s vibration more effectively.

These vibrations along with the individual asana’s benefits offer you a lot of health advantage which I will cover later.

Now as we prepared ourselves for performing Sun Salutation and we have the Mantras in hand, Let’s jump to the interesting section of the article – How to do Sun Salutation.

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Perform Sun Salutation During Sunrise Or Sunset:

Surya Namaskar must be done early in the morning during the sunrise to reap the full benefits from the Suns vibration.

Some might ask Can it be done during the evening times?

The answer is YES. But it must be done before the sunset.

However, If you are doing it after the sunset as the moon rises, it becomes Chandra Namaskar or Moon Salutation.

There isnt much of a difference except for two extra asanas for Moon Salutation.

Who Should Refrain From Practicing Sun Salutation

Though Sun Salutation is easier to perform, as it involves stretching and bending, some must refrain from doing it.

If you are someone with a hip injury, knee injury or a spine injury, either take caution while doing Sun Salutation or kindly stay away from it. Injury as here refers to a small ailment to a major surgery.

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How To Use Your Sun Salutation Toward Different Goals

Its one thing to know the movementsand breathing for your Sun Salutation, yet theres so much more to it thanthat. You can gain a wide variety ofresults depending on how you apply your breathing and how you pay attention tothe movements.

So my upcoming posts willfocus on how to approach your Sun Salutation to achieve different outcomes. Im going to start with a general discussionon some of the strategies well be exploring.

But first, your SunSalutation will bring you the best, deepest results if you keep a singularfocus for any given session. Thatpurpose will be met by choosing a breathing strategy. So, before you begin your Sun Salutation,decide what purpose you are going to give that session, and, therefore, whatbreathing strategy youre going to use. In the long run, this will work better than trying to have each sessionmean all things at all times. So:

• Start by choosing your purpose.
• Then chose a breathingstrategy hat supports that purpose.
• Once you are in yourmovements, let the pose take care of itself. Focus on your breathing strategy its what is going to take you whereyou want to go.

Over the coming posts wellbe exploring several breathing strategies and where they can take you when youcombine them with your Sun Salutation, including using them for:

• Inner Calm

Benefits Of Sun Salutations

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Is Sun Salutation Itself Hatha Yoga

Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar is one of the major forms of Hatha Yoga, but it is not all about it. Yoga is exactly what its name denotes. Saluting the sun has a process. The process is very profound and scientific for ages. There is a very strong connection between Sun Salutation and hatha yoga. These are two are not significantly different.

What Is Sun Salutation

Suryanamaskara or Sun salutation helps the entire body become disease-free, gain strength and energy. It recharge your body and erases all kinds of deformities from it. It re-activates all the body parts and enables regulation of hormonal secretions of all the internal glands. The best time to perform it is during sunrise. It works like a miracle when the tiny sun rays whispers to your body and starts the flow of energy. It should be performed according to the capacity of an individual. It takes 2-5 minutes for all the 12 steps to be performed. One can perform it 10-12 times or can exceed it. The 12 steps has got different titles which are given as follows.

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What Is Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga also has the literal meaning of its name. Ha is Sun and Tha is the moon. So the Hatha Yoga is aligning our body with sun and moon movements. These 2 factors from the universe, directly affect us and are present in us.

These are not some set of yoga asanas but are actually simple stretching exercises. These yogas, if practiced every day, will give you amazing results. You will know by yourself how well you are improving your lifestyle and body language.

With the right hatha yoga practice, you will also stay energetic throughout the day. Also, all the benefits of the yoga that you desire both physically and mentally, will be gained just within a month. Hatha yoga is a very basic and rooted science of the body. If you perform it daily, you will lead a healthy life.

Lengthen And Tone Your Muscles

A continuous practice of Sun Salutations will bring more strength, flexibility, and tone to the body. It will open the hamstrings, shoulders, and the chest, as well as release tension. As you move through the poses, you are also lubricating the joints, in turn aiding in keeping the full range of motion in the body.

Sun Salutations offer a great release of tension on the spine, which creates length and increases flexibility. Forward Bends and the slight back bend of Cobra Pose help us add space and breathe into areas of tightness. The health of the spine is especially important to our overall wellbeing. We are as young as our spine is supple!

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The Downward Dog Pose

The downward facing dog pose is one of the best-known yoga poses throughout the western world and helps strengthen the glutes , stomach muscles, thighs, knees, and ankles. It also helps build up strength and agility in the upper body, shoulders, elbows and wrists.

To perform the standing mountain pose, begin with placing your hands and knees on the floor. Place your hands directly under your shoulder location and your knees beneath your hip area. Point and extend your middle fingers out in front of you.

Then gently suck your belly button towards your spine and start to lift your buttocks into the air, straight up. Keep your arms and legs straight, do not bend at the knees or elbows. The body should now resemble an upside down V with your buttocks being the highest point. Breath in deeply and hold the pose for up to 30 seconds before reversing the position back to the starting pose.

When performing this pose, make sure to breathe throughout, taking deep yet gentle breaths in a natural rhythm.

In What Physical Conditions It Shouldnt Be Done

Bodily strength a healthy person normally has is a very must to perform sun salutation without any restrictions. Therefore sun salutation practice should be avoided in the case of any ailments which bring weakness in the body or an injury in a certain part of the body.

Some contraindications of sun salutations practice are acute inflammation, high blood pressure, coronary artery diseases, Hernia, Intestinal tuberculosis, Severe back problems, slipped disc, Sciatica, Menstruation, 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

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Benefits Of Sun Salutation:

• Surya namaskara is the complete exercise. It tones up muscles and all the body parts, joints become strong and disease free.
• It makes the stomach, intestines, heart and lungs healthy.
• Surya namaskara is an exercises itself which makes the entire body disease-free.
• One suffering from diabetes, should perform it regularly. It is the best cure for them.
• It increases mental peace, strength, energy, vitality and longevity of the body.
• It makes the spinal cord and waist flexible and cures their deformities.
• It regulates the blood circulation in the entire body and in this way it removes the impurities of blood and also cures skin diseases.
• The muscles of hands, legs, shoulders and thighs becomes stronger and toned up.
• It massages the heart automatically and is as such beneficial for heart patients.
• Its regular practice cures the ailments related to intestines, stomach, liver or can be said it treats the whole body.

In this way, we came to know that Sun salutation is nothing else but a complete workout. After doing this, you no need to go through any other asanas or exercises. In the present world, the key to stay well and fit is Surya namakara itself. Dont perform it physically, feel that positivity and wellness is entering to your body and see the miracle! Take care and live well!

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When Is The Best Time To Practice The Sun Salutation

Traditionally the ancients practised 12 rounds of the Sun Salutation at the break of dawn to greet the sun and welcome in a new day.

Coupled with this, ancient yogis saw this practice as a way to harness and draw in the suns energy into your body thus increasing your sense of energy and vitality levels.

Nowadays, most yoga teachers suggest to their students to do a few rounds every day when you wake up, as a way to energise and prepare your body and mind for the day ahead.

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What Is Sup Yoga

Standup paddleboard Yoga, originating in the US around 2013, is the practice of modern Yoga as a form of exercise, and sometimes specific transitions between asanas, while paddleboarding is standing, usually with a Board in calm water such as a lake, bay or slow river.

SUP Yoga is the practice of Yoga in the middle of a body of water while on a SUP Board. Any SUP Board can be used However, an inflatable SUP is said to be more forgiving for Yoga practice. The SUP Yoga inflatable paddle Board is a mostly stable, sturdy all-around stand-up paddleboard with a few important additional features:

• Slightly wider than usual
• Paddle holder to fix the pedals during yoga session
• Sup yoga board 10 to 12-foot enlarged, soft and smooth.

Sometimes a small anchor is attached to the end of the Board to hold the Board in place during a SUP Yoga session.

New to the Yoga scene, SUP Yoga is gaining popularity among the outdoor crowd. If youre having trouble picturing it, basically take a Hatha or a vinyasa class, put it on a paddleboard in the middle of the water, and thats super Yoga.

Its really fantastic for developing balance more than any other type of Yoga, plus it gets you outside.

In fact, practicing SUP Yoga is not as difficult as it seems. However, this style of Yoga requires intense focus as concentration is required to keep the Board steady.

Sun Salutation A: How To

Before you begin, spend a few breaths in Tadasana . Notice how your feet feel in contact with the earth is there more weight on one foot than other? On the front of the foot or the back? Continue to scan your attention all the way up the body, observing the sensations that arise.

Let this inward drawn attention help you start to deepen your breath. Do a total of five rounds of Sun Salutations, syncing each movement to your breath and staying in Downward-Dog for five breaths.

On days when you dont have time for a long practice, this powerful package of poses can quiet your mind while boosting your energy and give you just the amount of stretch and activation you need to have a calm, productive day. Its a great morning yoga sequence or try it later in the day when you need an energy boost.

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A Basic Sun Salutation

• Adho Mukha Svanasana

The transition from posture to posture is facilitated by either an inhalation or an exhalation. As you move through the sequence, watch your breath closely. Slow your pace or stop and rest entirely if your breathing becomes labored or shuts down altogether. Always breathe through your nose, not your mouth: Nasal breathing filters and warms incoming air and slows your breathing down, thereby lending the sequence a meditative quality and reducing the risk of hyperventilation.

To perform the sequence, start in Tadasana, with your hands together at your heart. Inhale and lift your arms overhead to Urdhva Hastasana, then exhale while lowering the arms down and fold your torso into Uttanasana. Then inhale, arch your torso into a slight backbend with the fingertips or palms pressed to the floor or blocks, and exhale while bringing your left foot back into a lunge. Inhale forward to Plank, then exhale and lower yourself into Chaturanga Dandasana. On an inhalation, arch your torso up as you straighten your arms into Upward Dog. Exhale back to Downward Dog step the left foot forward on an inhalation into Lunge. Swing the right leg forward to Uttanasana on an exhalation, then lift your torso and reach your arms overhead on an inhalation to Urdhva Hastasana. Finally, lower your arms on an exhalation and return to your starting point, Tadasana.

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+ Sun Salutation Yoga Routine

12+ Sun Salutation Yoga Routine. Www.slyoga.com a yoga sun salutation that just about anyone can do. More images for sun salutation yoga routine »

Join adriene on day 10 of the 30 days of yoga journey! Why is sun salutation a major practice of yoga? Apr 08, 2021 · sun salutations, is also known as the ultimate asana.

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Why Practice Sun Salutations

CLIQUE IMAGES / Stocksy

Aside from being a great way to ease yourself into a yoga practice, the range of asanas involved in a sun salutation sequence is designed to open up all areas of the body and leave you feeling more balanced by the time you reach the final stretch. From forward folds to upward-facing dog, the combination of poses is also more than enough to give you a challenging cardio workout if you perform them at pace and repeat several roundsjust think of the sweat you can work up in a Vinyasa class, and youll get the idea.

You also cant get much more naturally energizing than a sequence of poses that honors the sunthe provider of all energy on Earth. A sun salutation can be done as one movement, one breath, really ramping up the energy, says Howe. However, it can also be performed in as many breaths as you need, with the same results. She says to listen to your body, and on any given day, your pace and needs may vary.

The Sun Salutation Sequence: Know

Surya Namaskar is a graceful sequence of twelve poses linked by a continuous flowing motion and accompanied by deep breaths. Each pose counteracts the one before, stretching the body in a different way and alternately expanding and contracting the chest to regulate and harmonize the breathing. One round of Sun Salutation consists of two sets/sequences, the first leading with the right leg, and the second leading with the left in the 4th and 9th positions. Start by doing two to four rounds and gradually build up to twelve rounds.

This sequence of movements and asana can be practiced on varying levels of awareness, ranging from that of physical exercise in various styles to a complete sadhana which incorporates asana, breathwork, mantraand chakra awareness. The latter form is practiced slowly, gracefully, gently, rhythmically, with a lot of involvement and conscious breathing by focusing on a particular chakra for each posture and a chanting particular mantra that consists of a Sanskrit name of the sun for each pose, as per details given in the chart below. When done as physical exercise with more number of rounds at a faster pace serves as excellent cardio work out with physical benefits like weight reduction, etc.

It is recommended that you systematically learn the Surya Namaskara under the supervision and guidance of a certified yoga teacher. In the meantime, the following instructions could help you understand the sequence in much detail.

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