Surya Namaskar

I’m pretty confident that Surya Namaskar is the reason I practice yoga.  The flow of it, the way the asanas perfectly counterbalance one another,  the zen-like state that allows me to come out of my head, really tune in to my breath and just be present in my body – that’s what keeps me coming back to yoga time and time again.  Sun salutations are the only thing that has even moderate success in getting me out of bed at 5 am.  I’m not saying that I’m a regular early morning yoga practitioner, but on the occasions (2 so far this week!) when I am able to drag myself out of bed an hour earlier than would otherwise be necessary, it’s been to practice yoga.  And, on those early mornings (and just about any time I practice at home), I start with sun salutations.  For me, a yoga practice just isn’t a yoga practice without at least a few sun salutations to kick it off and build some heat.   Because of the frequency of surya namaskar in my practice, the words needed to take me or anyone else through a round easily come to mind: 

Start in mountain pose, inhale up, exhale and fold forward, inhale half-way lift, exhale to plank and down to chaturanga, inhale upward dog, exhale downward dog (take a few breaths), at end of next exhale jump or step forward, inhale halfway lift, exhale forward fold, inhale all the way up, exhale hands to heart.  (repeat, repeat, repeat)

I also love that surya namaskar can easily be modified and poses inserted midway through to form the variations.  Add in chair pose (utkatasana) in leiu of mountain (tadasana), add in crescent lunge (anjeleyasana) or Warrior 1 (virabhdrasana 1) for surya namaskar b or add in any mix of standing poses to create a full flow class. 

At the risk of going overboard in my love for surya namaskar, I also appreciate that there are so many variations possible throughout the series.  There’s the potential for jump back to chaturanga and jump forward from downdog, you can add in a little chaturanga push up for an extra kick along the way or make your plank, chaturanga and down-dog all three legged to keep things interesting.  On the flipside, there’s the option to drop your knees in plank, do a baby cobra in lieu of up-dog, take child’s pose instead of downdog.  It truly is a series that can work its magic for all levels of yogis.

By Jen Rinehart, Current Yoga Teacher Trainee