What’s so great about sun salutations? And why have folks been doing them for over 5000 years? After all, 5000 years is a long time for anything to survive- especially a form of movement- so sun salutations must have something special about them.
Sun salutations (or Surya Namaskar in Sanskrit) originated in India as a way to greet and honor the Hindu god of the sun. This small collection of powerful movements is common in Hatha Yoga and offers a bit of everything one might seek when looking to become stronger, calmer, more flexible and mobile.
On one end of the spectrum, sun salutations can be challenging enough to induce an intensive cardio and full body workout yet they can also be modified down to a practice done sitting in a chair (in other words, practically anyone, even the most inflexible, can benefit so no excuses!)
Sun salutations stretch and strengthen the full body, front and back. When practicing, we link together the flow of the breath with the movements which provides a very focusing and calming experience. The ancient yogis tell us that yoga also cleanses our organ systems, thus purifying the body of toxins. All these benefits hooked me some 25 years ago when I first walked into a yoga studio and explains why I teach salutations to most all my yoga and personal training clients in some shape or form. While I could never count the amount of salutations I’ve taught or done myself over the last 25 years, I’m guessing it’s well over 10,000!
I hope you enjoy the video I’ve provided in which I teach 4 different ways to do “Surya Namaskar A” - our classic Sun Salutation. I start with the classic salutation and offer two “easier” variations towards the end of the video. Please remember to have the volume ON in the video box. Enjoy and Namaste!
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