Sun Salutations, also called Surya Namskar in Sanskrit, are a series of yoga postures that are a great place to start when establishing a home yoga practice.
Yogis have been doing Sun Salutations for thousands of years. While the series of postures have changed over the years, the morning greeting of the sun has not. In many cultures the morning light is a symbol of the light shining to see life and truth more clearly.
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/928
Below is a basic description on how to do sun salutations. The Santosha Shop site has a great page that shows the sun salutations in detail.
Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutations)
Stand in upright in Tadasana or Mountain pose. Feet grounded, shoulders rolled onto the back, bandhas engaged.
Inhale as you reach your arms over your head into- Urdva Hastasana.
Exhale folding forward at the hips placing the hands on the floor- forward fold or Uttanasana.
Inhale bringing the chest halfway up flattening the back.
Exhale stepping or jumping back into plank then coming down to the bottom of a push up also called Chattarunga Dandasana (four legged staff pose).
Inhale rolling forward onto the tops of the toes straightening the arms into a back bend called Upward Facing Dog or Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
Exhale pushing the hips up and back into downward facing dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana. Take 5 long breaths here. While in downward facing dog it is important to keep the hips, shoulders and wrists in alignment. It can be helpful to bend the knees slightly to make the pose more manageable. If this pose does not feel restful try child's pose also called balasana.
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/475
After your fifth exhale,
Inhale jumping or stepping forward to the hands.
Exhale into a forward fold called Uttanasana.
Inhale rising upright with the hands over head into Urdva Hastasana.
Exhale bring the hands to heart center. Coming back into mountain pose.
When starting Sun Salutations do three rounds and work your way up to nine.
Tips for doing sun salutations.
- Lead with the heart, not the head. Pull the shoulders up to the ears and then roll the shoulders back, placing the shoulder blades behind the heart.
- Breath. Give each movement your attention and your breath.
- After you do the amount of Sun Salutations that you want to do, rest in Corpse pose for a few minutes.
This version of Sun Salutations is not the only one. There are several versions of Sun Salutations as well as other flowing yoga sequences. This is one of the most basic and once you have this version down go for other more advanced versions to spice things up. Sun Salutations are fun and are a great way to start the day. Now go salute the rising sun!
