The document outlines the steps of performing Surya Namaskar (sun salutation) and provides instructions for each pose. It describes the physical movements and body positioning for 12 poses in the sequence, including reaching arms overhead, bending at the waist to touch toes, bringing one knee to the floor while the other leg stretches back, coming into plank and cobra poses, and includes tips for deepening each stretch. The full sequence is described as providing personal benefits when practiced regularly.
2. Pranamasana (Prayer pose)
• Stand at the edge of your mat, keep your feet
together and balance your weight equally on both
the feet.
• Expand your chest and relax your shoulders.
• As you breathe in, lift both arms up from the sides
and as you exhale, bring your palms together in
front of the chest in prayer position.
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3. Hastauttanasana (Raised Arms pose)
• Breathing in, lift the arms up and back,
keeping the biceps close to the ears. In this
pose, the effort is to stretch the whole body
up from the heels to the tips of the fingers
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• You may push the pelvis forward a little
bit. Ensure you're reaching up with the
fingers rather than trying to bend
backwards.
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4. Hasta Padasana (Hand to Foot pose)
• Breathing out, bend forward from the waist,
keeping the spine erect. As you exhale
completely, bring the hands down to the
floor, beside the feet.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• You may bend the knees, if necessary, to
bring the palms down to the floor. Now
make a gentle effort to straighten the
knees.
It's a good idea to keep the hands fixed in
this position and not move them
henceforth until we finish the sequence.
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5. )
Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian pose
• Breathing in, push your right leg back, as far
back as possible. Bring the right knee to the
floor and look up.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• Ensure that the left foot is exactly in
between the palms.
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6. Dandasana (Stick pose)
• As you breathe in, take the left leg back and
bring the whole body in a straight line.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• Keep your arms perpendicular to the
floor.
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7. Ashtanga Namaskara
(Salute With Eight Parts Points)
• Gently bring your knees down to the floor
and exhale. Take the hips back slightly, slide
forward, rest your chest and chin on the floor.
Raise your posterior a little bit.
• The two hands, two feet, two knees, chest and
chin (eight parts of the body touch the floor).
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8. Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)
• Slide forward and raise the chest up into the
Cobra posture.You may keep your elbows
bent in this pose, the shoulders away from the
ears. Look up.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• As you inhale, make a gentle effort to
push the chest forward; as you exhale,
make a gentle effort to push the navel
down. Tuck the toes under. Ensure you're
stretching just as much as you can; do not
force.
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9. Parvatasana (Mountain pose)
.
h
• Breathing out, lift the hips and the tail bone
up, chest downwards in an 'inverted V' (/)
posture.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• If possible, try and keep the heels on the
ground and make a gentle effort to lift the
tailbone up, going deeper into the stretc
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10. Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian pose)
• Breathing in, bring the right foot forward in
between the two hands, left knee down to the
floor, press the hips down and look up.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• Place the right foot exactly between the
two hands and the right calf perpendicular
to the floor. In this position, make a gentle
effort to push the hips down towards the
floor, to deepen the stretch.
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11. Hasta Padasana (Hand to Foot pose)
• Breathing out, bring the left foot forward.
Keep the palms on the floor. You may bend
the knees, if necessary.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• Gently straighten the knees and if you
can, try and touch your nose to the knees.
Keep breathing.
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12. Hastauttanasana (Raised Arms pose)
• Breathing in, roll the spine up, hands go up
and bend backwards a little bit, pushing the
hips slightly outward.
• How to deepen this yoga stretch?
• Ensure that your biceps are beside your
ears. The idea is to stretch up more rather
than stretching backwards
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13. Tadasana (Relaxation of the body)
• As you exhale, first straighten the body, then
bring the arms down. Relax in this position,
observe the sensations in your body.
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How To Do Surya Namaskar
Sun Salutation – The Perfect Yoga Workout
If you are pressed for time and looking for a single mantra to stay fit, here’s the answer. A set of 12 powerful yoga asanas (postures) that provide a good cardiovascular workout in the form of Surya Namaskar. Literally translated to sun salutation, these postures are a good way to keep the body in shape and the mind calm and healthy.
Surya Namaskar is best done early morning on an empty stomach. Let’s begin with these simple yet effective Sun Salutation steps on our way to good health.
Each Sun Salutation round consists of two sets. These 12 yoga poses complete one set of Surya Namaskar. To complete the second half, you need to repeat the same sequence of postures, only moving the left leg instead of the right (in steps 4 and 9 given below). You might find several versions of doing Sun Salutation. However, it is best to stick to one particular sequence and practice it regularly for best results.
Besides good health, Surya Namaskar also provide an opportunity to express gratitude to the sun for sustaining life on this planet, For the next 10 days, start your day with a feeling of grace and gratitude towards the sun energy. Do 12 rounds of Sun Salutation, followed by other yoga poses and then rest deeply in yoga nidra. You might just find that this could be your mantra to stay fit, happy and peaceful. A mantra whose effects last through the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFForlkCE_4#action=share video
To enjoy the full experience of Surya Namaskar, Shiva Rea recommends four things. First, let the breath lead the movement. Each inhalation and exhalation should draw you into and through the next pose, and not be forced to fit a predetermined pace. “When you go into that state of following the breath, you are following the source,” she says. “That is the heart of yoga.” Also, take the time to fully contemplate the meaning of what Surya Namaskar is and to sense your authentic gratitude to the sun. “All of life on Earth depends on the sun,” says Rea. “Contemplating the vitality you receive from the elements allows you to go to a deeper level of participation with the movements of the sequence.”
Rea also recommends adding mantra to the movements. “With mantra, you really start to feel the spiritual activation of Namaskar,” she explains. She integrates traditional mantras into the sequence, but you can use any sacred sound, including Om, on the exhalations. You can also open and close your yoga practice with the Gayatri mantra, the Vedic mantra that honors the Divine as represented by the sun.
http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners-sequences/shine/
One of the means of honoring the sun is through the dynamic asana sequence Surya Namaskar (better known as Sun Salutation). The Sanskrit word namaskar stems from namas, which means “to bow to” or “to adore.” (The familiar phrase we use to close our yoga classes, namaste—te means “you”—also comes from this root.) Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart. This placement is no accident; only the heart can know the truth.
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” (Shiva Samhita, II.1-3). The outer sun, they asserted, is in reality a token of our own “inner sun,” which corresponds to our subtle, or spiritual, heart. Here is the seat of consciousness and higher wisdom (jnana) and, in some traditions, the domicile of the embodied self (jivatman).
It might seem strange to us that the yogis place the seat of wisdom in the heart, which we typically associate with our emotions, and not the brain. But in yoga, the brain is actually symbolized by the moon, which reflects the sun’s light but generates none of its own. This kind of knowledge is worthwhile for dealing with mundane affairs, and is even necessary to a certain extent for the lower stages of spiritual practice. But in the end, the brain is inherently limited in what it can know and is prone to what Patanjali calls misconception (viparyaya) or false knowledge of the self.
