A series of 12 flowing movements, the Surya Namaskar is an excellent way to start your day.
It gives a varied range of movement to the spine, helping you attain flexibility, while regulating the breath & focusing the mind. It is one of the best all in one sequence that works on almost all parts of the body.
I suggest, you learn the various movements first, and then, when thoroughly comfortable with the positions, tune them to the breathing. Till then just breathe normally while doing the movements.
Starting Position
Position 1
Exhale & bring your hands together in a prayer position in front of your chest.
Position 2
Inhale & stretch your arms up over your head, arms along the sides of the ears & the hips facing forward; knees & elbows are straight; look up at your thumb.
Position 3
As you exhale, bend forward from the hips bringing the palms flat on the floor next to your feet; fingers & toes are in a straight line and the head is pointed towards the knee; knees are straight. Hands are as flat on the floor as possible.
Variation
If you can’t put the hands down on the floor with straight knees then bend the knees.
Position 4
Inhale & stretch the right leg back as far as possible; drop the right knee to the floor; look up. Hands remain flat on the floor next to the feet as in position 3. Make sure your front knee is behind the toes.
Position 5
Retain the breath while bringing the other leg back in a push up position. Body is in a straight line from head to heels.
Position 6
Exhale & drop the knees, chest & then forehead to the ground; hips remain up.
Position 7
Inhale stretching up & back; legs & hips remain on the ground. Elbows are slightly bent with no tension in the shoulders.
Position 8
Exhale & lift the hips up as high as possible into an inverted V without moving the hands or feet; push the heel towards the floor; hands are flat on the ground; with the head between the arms; look at your feet.
Position 9
Inhale and bring the right foot forward between the hands such that the fingers & toes are in one straight line; drop the left knee to the floor & look up. This position is the same as position 4.
Variation
To move from position 8 to 9, first drop the left foot to ground & then bring the right foot forward between the hands. Take the help of your hands to bring the foot between the hands, in case of any difficulty.
Position 10
Without changing the position of the hands, exhale as you bring the left foot forward next to the right foot. Fingers & toes are in line; forehead is pointed towards the knee. Keep the hips as high as possible. This position is same as position 3.
Position 11
As you inhale, stretch up & back; hips pointing forward. This position is same as position 2.
Position 12
Exhale as you bring your arms down along the side of your body, returning to the starting position.
Relax, take a deep breath, & begin again. This time in position 4, take the left leg back & in position 9, bring the left leg forward. This sequence of 12 moves, once on the right & then on the left completes one round.
You can do about 6 rounds of Surya Namaskar everyday.
For those finding the above 12 sequence of movements difficult to practice, here are a couple of variations -the 'Standing version with chair' & 'The seated chair version'. These are particularly useful for older people. This is from “The Healing path of Yoga” by Nischala Joy Devi.
Standing Version with Chair:
Stand straight facing the seat of a straight-backed chair. Make sure that the chair is placed, with its back against the wall for steadiness.
Position 1
Stand straight with feet together but not touching. Bring the palms together in the prayer position in front of chest.
Position 2
Lock the thumbs; stretch the arms out; follow the hands as you slowly raise the arms up beside the head; stretch up all the way from the feet to the tips of the fingers; look up at the hands.
Position 3
Slowly bend forward from the hips, keeping the knees slightly bent. Place both hands on the seat of the chair & allow the head to relax.
Position 4
Stretch the left foot back, placing it on the floor a few feet back. Keep the left leg straight & the right knee bent. Look up.
Position 5
Keeping both hands on the chair & the right knee bent, lower the left knee to the floor. Arch back & look up.
Bring the right leg back to meet the left. Feet are together with both knees on the floor.
Position 7
Arch back & look up keeping the arms & legs in place.
Position 8
Now, bring the left foot forward. Left knee is bent while the right leg remains stretched back with the foot on the floor. Look up.
Position 9
Lower the right knee to the floor. Arch back & look up.
Position 10
Keep the hands on the chair; straighten both legs as the right leg comes forward to meet the left.
Position 11
Lock the thumbs; raise the arms up towards the ceiling as you straighten the knees and come to a standing position; look up
Position 12
Slowly lower the arms down with palms folded in a prayer position in front of the chest. Relax.
Stand quietly for a moment and become conscious of your heart rate & breathing. When the breathing returns to normal, relax arms, sit down in the chair & relax.
You can repeat this up to 3 times daily.
Seated Chair Version:
Sit straight in a chair with the feet flat on the floor.
Position 1
Sit straight with feet together; bring the palms in front of the chest in a prayer position.
Position 2
Lock the thumbs; raise the arms up overhead while looking at the hands.
Position 3
Bend
forward from the hips; allow the head to relax towards the legs and the arms to relax towards the floor.
Position 4
With both hands grasp the right knee & lift it up towards the chest; bring your abdomen towards the thighs.
Position 5
While continuing to hold the leg, arch back, shoulders are pulled back & down; look up.
Position 6
Bring the head back to center & release the leg; slowly bend forward from the hips, allowing the abdomen to come towards the thighs, relax the head & arms towards the floor.
Position 7
Raise the body up & place the palms on the thighs, fingers pointing forward & elbows bent. Arch back, expand the chest, extend the neck, & allow the head to tip back slightly; look up.
Position 8
Bring the head back to center; grasp the left knee with both hands & raise it up towards the chest; bring the abdomen towards the thigh.
Position 9
Lift the head; arch back; bring the shoulders back & look up.
Position 10
Bring the head back to center and release the leg. Now, slowly bend forward from the hips; allowing the abdomen to come towards the thighs, relax the head & the arms.
Position 11
Lock the thumbs; stretch the arms out; continue to raise the arms towards the ceiling; look up.
Position 12
Slowly lower the arms down bringing them in front of the chest in prayer position.
Relax the arms and be still for a moment, feeling the benefits of the Sun Salutation. You can repeat this up to 3 times daily.
For a video on how to do the Suryanamaskar, visit the following link:
https://youtu.be/SOkkbW9NLV4
For a video on how to do the Suryanamaskar, visit the following link:
https://youtu.be/SOkkbW9NLV4
A wonderful and a usful blog, Purnima!! Congratulations..I hv just started on a weight loss routine and I guess you came out with your blog just in time!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gaya. Nice to know that you've started a weight loss routine. I plan to share a lot of exercises that work on different parts of the body. Will do so in subsequent posts. Hope you find them useful.
DeleteI tried surya namaskaram today.In position 3 I am not able to keep the palm completely straight down as you have shown.and I keep moving my hand when I change position. I am able to inhale and exhale in all position except for position 5 where I have to retain.i kind of take a break and continue. I think the over few days of practice I will be able to do this.It sure makes me tired when I did for 1 full round properly.(rest of the time I was taking a break to follow the sequence) Planing to do this daily from tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteRamya,
DeleteIn position 3, you can bend your knees ( as i have shown in the 'variation' ) so that you are able to place your palms on the floor. Its ok if you are still not able to place it completely down . You will be able to do so with practice. Even when i started out, i could not place the palms flat on floor. But it got possible with time.
Don't do the retention of breath in position 5 as you are just starting out. Do it after a few weeks of practice.
When you complete one round of surya namaskar, just stand straight for a few minutes & let your breathing return to normal. And then begin round 2.
As you practice regularly, your tiredness will reduce & you can do several rounds without taking any breaks.
Really happy to know that you are practising so dedicatedly. Keep it up & you will surely see results.