Yoga: Sun Salutation

(surya namaskara)

THE WORD yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, “to yoke,” or “to unite” and dates roughly from 5000 BC according to Vedic texts. In the Sun Salutation, as with all flowing or dynamic yoga postures, what is joined is your movement and your breathing. The Sun Salutation—surya namaskara in Sanskrit—is done differently depending on which style of yoga you choose to follow, but in its most basic form, it is a series of 12 or so postures (asanas) linking movement with inhalation and exhalation. Here is the Ashtanga yoga version of the most basic sun salutation.

The most important thing to keep in mind when doing any kind of yoga is your breathing: inhaling with each extension or stretch, and exhaling as you fold or contract. The best way to breathe during this exercise is to first suck in your stomach so that it feels like your belly button is pulled back toward your spine. Now keep it there and breathe—through your nose, with your mouth closed—deeply into your chest. Your chest should rise and fall with your breath as your stomach stays tight, and you should breathe this way through the entire series.

Traditionally, the sun salutation is performed at sunrise—if you’re really hard-core, it’s done just before dawn, facing the east, with mantras and libations in honor of the sun god, but you don’t have to go that far. First thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, is ideal enough. In fact, the sun salutation can be done any time you feel like taking a moment to breathe, move, and become energized. It can be a foundation for your yoga practice, or it can be a practice in and of itself. Either way, the sun salutation is something you can do for the rest of your life.

WHAT YOU NEED

If you have a yoga mat or yoga rug, use that—otherwise, take a large beach towel and lay it on the ground outside, or on the floor inside. (If you’re doing the sun salutation inside and are using a towel, make sure to do it on a non-slippery surface.)

Stand in tadasana, “mountain pose.” Your feet and toes should be firmly on the ground, your arms at your sides, your shoulders back and your neck long. Take a few breaths to prepare yourself (remember to breathe through your nose, with your belly button pulled in towards your spine).

Inhale and raise your arms out to the side, palms up, bringing them up overhead until your palms touch. This is hasta uttanasana, raised arm pose. Raise your gaze so that you look up at your thumbs. Try not to tilt your head back or scrunch up your eyebrows when you look up, and also try to keep your shoulders from creeping up around your ears.

Exhale as you bring your arms down in front of you and move into a forward bend (uttanasana). If you can place your hands on the ground next to your feet, great. If not, place your hands on your ankles or knees. Try to keep your back extended rather than rounded; if it feels like too much on your lower back, you can bend your knees slightly.

Inhale as you look up, your shoulders back and your fingertips still touching the ground (or your ankles/knees). Your back should be flat, and you should feel like a diver just about to dive into the pool.

Place your palms on the mat, fingers spread, and exhale as you jump or walk back into chaturanga dandasana, a low push-up position. Unlike a regular push-up, in this posture your elbows need to stay very close to your body, and your upper arms should be squeezing against your ribcage.

The weight of your body is on your hands and your toes. Take care not to sag your hips down; your body should be a straight line. If this is too much, keep your hands and toes where they are and lower the knees to the ground to help support yourself.

From here, inhale as you push yourself forward into urdhva muhka svanasana (upward-facing dog). Push from your toes as you roll through from a flexed foot position to a pointed-toe position. Your hands and the tops of your toes should be the only parts of your body touching the ground. Look up as you arch your back, and try to keep those shoulders down (and those eyebrows from rising).

Exhale as you lift yourself back into adho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog), rolling back over your toes to the soles of your feet and keeping your palms on the floor. Stay here for five deep breaths. When you look at your feet as you breathe in this posture, you should not be able to see your heels. Move your heels so they are in line with your ankles, and try to think about the soles of your feet moving toward the floor. Looking upward toward your stomach will help keep you from hyperextending around your back and rib cage. Think about moving your chest toward your feet and your head toward the floor.

Look toward your hands as you bend your knees, and either jump or walk your feet to your hands.

Inhale as you look up with a flat back, your fingertips on the floor (uttanasana B)

Exhale as you bend forward into a full forward bend (uttanasana A). Think about having your stomach and chest on your thighs rather than curving over with a rounded back.

Inhale as you lift all the way up into hasta uttanasana, looking up toward your thumbs as your palms touch.

Exhale as you return to tadasana, mountain pose.