#11 Surya Namaskar A – Sun Salutation A

(LONDON) por Paula Tooths

# Surya Namaskar is a Prayer in Motion. #

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“Crying is one of the highest devotional songs. One who knows crying, knows spiritual practice. If you can cry with a pure heart, nothing else compares to such a prayer. Crying includes all the principles of Yoga.” ∞ Kripalvanandji

 

Surya Namaskar is an ancient form of yoga. It is the art of solar vitalization. This form of yoga is a complete meditative technique in itself as it includes Asanas, Pranayama, Mantras and Mundras.

Sun Salute A in itself is approximately 10-15 poses (depending on the variation) BUT they are strung together as one long movement to help you warm up your body, get moving, and stretch all the major muscles of the body!

Note that this sequence is a combination of my last posts on Yoga Poses, and it can be remarkable on the quest for Weight Loss.

Many of my clients who have gained unwanted weight created a subconscious disconnect to their physical body; they purposely avoided looking at their bodies because they were disappointed in their appearance.

Through basic yoga poses, you can reconnect to your body in a gentle manner since yoga encourages you to experience the sensations of your body more so than to judge its appearance!

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Surya Namaskar has got three aspects: form, vital energy and rhythm. It is the easiest way for a person to get used to Yoga. It should be done along chanting mantras in every posture. In simple words, Surya Namaskar is a combination of different postures, followed in a particular sequence with a specific breathing pattern. It helps an individual to vitalize and unblock the whole system. It reduces fat from almost all parts of the body as it stretches each and every muscle and tones it.

Steps:

1. Start standing with your feet slightly separated and facing straight forward.
2. As you inhale, raise your arms over your head and as you exhale, fold slowly in half.
3. On the next inhale, press your hands into your shins or thighs depending on the flexibility of your hamstrings until your back is parallel to the floor and the shoulders are energetically pulled down the back.
4. Place your hands on the floor and step back to the top of a push up and slowly lower to the floor when you exhale.
5. With the next inhale, lift your chest off the floor just till the last rib begins to lift. It is important to keep your shoulders pulling away from your ears and your elbows pointing back toward your heels and not out to the sides.
6. From here, lift into down dog which is holding weight on just your hands and feet with the hips up in the air creating an upside down V. Stay here for 3-5 breaths,
7. then walk your feet forward to your hands. Inhale and lift your torso parallel to the floor,
8. exhale and fold back over maintaining the length of your spine.
9. Press your feet firmly into the floor and engage your core muscles as you inhale and reach up to standing.
10.Exhale and lower your hands to your sides.

Once you’ve complete 5 rounds of Sun Salute A (which will only take 5 minutes), you will be ready for the following poses.

Note:

I like to start and finish the sequence with a seal; Namaste Tadasana (Day#9).   paulatooths.com

“The sun salutation is a prayer in motion. It allows us to use the body as an instrument of higher awareness, so that we can receive wisdom and knowledge. The ancient yogis taught that each of us replicates the world at large, embodying rivers, seas, mountains, fields…stars and planets…the sun and moon. The outer sun, they asserted, is in reality a token of our own “inner sun” which corresponds to our subtle, or spiritual, heart.”

Benefits:

Surya Namaskar provides all of the key health benefits of yoga in a very succinct package. It is a holistic exercise that provides physical health benefits, but also mental or emotional as well as spiritual benefits. The obvious advantage of Surya Namaskar is the workout it provides for the muscles, but it also benefits joints, ligaments and the skeletal system by improving posture, flexibility and balance.

In addition to these physical benefits, Surya Namaskar practice stimulates and conditions virtually every system in the body. It is good for the heart and stimulates the cardiovascular system. It oxygenates the blood and helps strengthen the heart. Surya Namaskar is good for the digestive system and the nervous system. It stimulates the lymphatic system and supports respiratory system health, as well.

Practicing Surya Namaskar also benefits the Endocrine system and enables the various endocrinal glands to function properly. These include the thyroid, parathyroid and pituitary glands as well as the adrenal gland, testes and ovaries.

Like most forms of exercise, Surya Namaskar provides mental benefits to regular practitioners. You will feel wonderful after performing the Sun Salutation. It is relaxing and rejuvenating, and tension, stress and anxiety melt away as you perform Surya Namaskar.

Surya Namaskar is an excellent alternative to caffeine and other stimulants. If you suffer from insomnia or sleep disturbances, you will find practicing Surya Namaskar aids in helping you fall asleep without the need for depressants.

With regular practice, Surya Namaskar is an excellent way to manage stress and alleviate depression. You will expend a tremendous amount of energy as you move through the two sets of poses. Surya Namaskar teaches you to concentrate, and learning to achieve the poses is incredibly gratifying.

Interesting:

The Sun Salutation consists of 12 positions, which correlate, with the 12 Sanskrit names of the sun. As one round ends, another one begins, to make a circle. Sun Salutations are often practice to warm-up at the beginning of yoga class or as a practice in itself. Transition from one posture to the next is coordinated with either an inhalation or exhalation.
It can be practiced slowly for a more calming effect or more rapidly to make it more invigorating. There are many varieties of the Surya Namaskar.

Hope you enjoyed!

See you tomorrow!!

Namaste

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