The essential yoga sequence to practice daily.
People often ask me about the “best” yoga postures to practice. The answer to this question is often personalized based on the inquiring person’s current or ongoing health concerns. For digestive issues twisting postures may be best and chest opening postures for those maligned with stiffness in the upper body due to stationary jobs at a computer. Although, when asked about the best yoga postures, the words sitting at the tip of my tongue are always, Sun Salutes (Surya Namaskar). If you’re looking for a quick but thorough yoga practice, certainly starting with sun salutes is the best way to go. While there are many variations on sun salutes, here I will be guiding you with classic sun salute A, designed for the beginner.
In Sanskrit Surya means sun and namaskar refers to a greeting or salutation. Sun salutes are a graceful sequence of 12 yoga postures done either quickly for a cardio workout or slowly to obtain deeper stretches. These postures are traditionally done in the early morning and those adhering to tradition will perform the 12 postures an astonishing 108 times often increasing the speed of the sequence with each set. This sequence targets essentially every major muscle in the body making it a wholesome yoga practice. Beginners can start with 3-5 sets with special attention to connecting breath to movement – Inhaling with ascending postures (up and back) and exhaling with descending postures (down and forward). Follow the detailed 12 postures under the video and/or watch my Sun Salute Video to learn how to put them all together for a warming sun salute!
- Urdhva Hastasana/Full salute: Start with feet hip width apart. Inhale/exhale, come to a place of stillness. Bring hands to heart’s center – greeting the sun. Inhale and fully both extend arms up to the sun.
2. Uttanasana/Forward fold: Exhale as you fold forward, hinging at the waist and not slumping forward.
3. Ardha Uttanasana/Half fold: Inhale and hinge back up half way – creating a semi-flat back like a table top.
4. Dandasana/Staff pose: Gently place palms of hands on the earth next to upper chest. Extend body into a plank pose. Upper back is puffed and body is aligned from crown of head, hips to heels.
5. Chattaranga Dandasana/Push up pose: Exhale and perform a push up with elbows tightly pulled to sides of body. Note: a full push up with front of body touching the ground is acceptable. For the advanced option, the goal instead is to hold the body; hover and flow into the next step. This requires core and tri-cep strength and can be performed with patient practice.
6. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana/Upward facing dog: Inhale and push the earth away with both hands by using the strength of upper thigh muscles and pressing tops of the feet into the ground.
7. Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward facing dog: Push back with hands/arms and extend the hips up – gently pulling in the belly in will help with achieving this posture.
8. Anjaneyasana/Low lunge pose: Bring Right foot up to the side of right hand. Here, extend then place back leg on ground until a gentle stretch is felt in the back thigh and hip flexor.
9. Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward facing dog: Exhale here and extend back leg to push back into downward facing dog with hips pulled up and core tightened once more. Take 2-3 breaths here if needing a short rest.
10. Anjaneyasana/Low lunge pose LEFT side: Bring left foot to Left hand. Extend then place back leg on ground until a gentle stretch is felt in back thigh.
11. Uttanasana/Forward fold: Walk back (right) foot up to meet left foot. You will be in a hinging forward fold as in step 3. Exhale deeply.
12. Hastasana/Salute: Inhale and rise up one vertebra at a time and fully extend both arms up to the sun. You can add a gentle back bend by pushing chest and pelvis gently out and pulling arms back.
Practicing this entire sun salute sequence 3-5 times daily and increasing to 10 and so on can be an exceptionally invigorating yoga cardio warm-up or an entire excercise on its own. Sun salutes really are essential yoga sequences designed to open up dark corners of the body. As you practice this sun salute keep in mind the philosophy behind it by trying to draw the sun’s energy into your very cells and feel the connection you have to nature. Also, remember to exude gratefulness for that bright burning orb in our sky that represents awakening. Try this warming sequence and welcome the sun into your life this summer.
