The Art of Yoga: A guide to Sun Salutation A
The word yoga means ‘unity’ or ‘oneness,’ and is derived from the Sanskrit word YUJ, which mean “to join.
Instructed by Suzzane Tamang, Professional Zumba and Yoga Instructor, Kumaripati Fitness Center
Head: The Art of Yoga
Sub Head: A Guide to Sun Salutation A
Instructed by Suzzane Tamang, Professional Zumba and Yoga Instructor, Kumaripati Fitness Center
Synopsis: The word yoga means ‘unity’ or ‘oneness,’ and is derived from the Sanskrit word YUJ, which mean “to join.
“ The unity or joining is described in spiritual terms as the union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. On a more Practice Level, Yoga is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body,mind and emotions.
The Sanskrit name Surya here refers to the Sun and Namaskara means ‘Sun Salutations.’ Surya namaskara is an complete sadhana practice, in itself. Surya Namaskara A is the first sun salutation- performed in five rounds at the start of practice of ashtanga Yoga. Its nine movements are shown here with pictures and text.
Samasthiti (Tadasana):
Being in samasthiti, is the mountain pose is a way to check in with your body so you can be mindful of your form through the rest of the poses. You will rotate your thighs inward to widen the sit bones. Draw in your stomach while maintaining the natural curves of your spine. Keep your arms natural at your sides with the palms facing forward. Keep your neck long and your chin level.
Raisend Hand Pose - Urdhva Hastasana: Inhale. Bring the arms up over your head with your palms together or facing each other. Keep your shoulder back and down.
Standing Forward Bend - Uttanasana: Exhale. Fold forward over the legs. Your fold should originate in your pelvis, not in your back. Bring your fingertips in line with your toes and press your palms to mat. Engage your quadriceps at the front of your thighs to draw open your hamstrings at the back of your thighs.
Flat Back: Inhale. Come up onto the fingertips with flat back.
Four Limbed Staff Pose - Chaturanga Dandasana: Exhale. Flatten your palms and jump or step back to chaturanga dandasana. This starts as a plank position with arms and legs straight, shoulders over your wrists. You then shift the plank forward, and bend your elbow straight back, hugging them to your body. The toes are still tucked.
Upward Facing Dog - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana: Inhale. Roll over the toes and straighten your arms to upward dog. Try not to bring your thighs to the floor during this transition. Open your chest toward the ceiling. Your shoulders should stay over your wrists.
Downward Facing Dog - Adho Muhka Svanasana: Exhale. Roll back over the toes to down dog. Take five breaths here. Let your head hang and move your shoulder blades towards your hips. If you engage your quadriceps, they will take more of the weight off your arms.
Standing forward Bending - Uttanasnana: Exhale. Jump or step forward. This is back to the third position used. Be sure that you are folding from the pelvis as you don’t want a curved spine here. If you can’t press your palms flat on the mat, you can use blocks under your hand. If you can bring your weight into the balls of your feet, your hips will stay over your ankles.
Raised Hands Pose - Urdhva Hastasana: Inhale. Bring the arms up above head. This is now back to second pose. Your gaze should be up toward your thumbs. Keep a micro bend in your knees to protect your joints.
Samasthiti (Tadasana): Exhale. Return the arms to your side. But this isn’t just returning to the original stance. Ensure every part of your body is in alignment over again, stacking all of your bones and keeping your spine long.
The practice of sun salutation as a whole gives a great number of benefits. It strengthen the back and helps balance the metabolism. It stimulates and balances all the system of the body, including the reproductive, circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems. Its influence on the endocrine glands helps to balance the transition period between childhood and adolescence in growing children.
How many sun salutation should we do?
It is good idea to do at least 12 rounds of surya namaskara daily (one set consists of two round). However, as a beginner to this yoga practice, you could start with four to six rounds and then gradually go up to as many as you can comfortably do (even up to 108 if you can) ideally. The practice is done in sets.
How many calories can we burn in one sun salutation?
Doing one round of sun salutation burns approximately 13. 90 calories. Sun salutation is a great way to burn calories. It also helps to lean muscles mass, which is turn increases your metabolism, further assisting in weight loss.
