Surya Namaskara - Salute To The Sun
This is a Satyananda Yoga version of classic Yoga practice. Known as a complete sadhana, Surya Namaskara combines many of the elements of Yoga into one capsule to: loosen, stretch, massage, and tone all the joints, muscles, and internal organs; generate & balance prana; stimulate and balance all the body’s systems including circulatory, reproductive, respiratory and digestive; strengthen the back and balance the metabolism. Pictorial versions of this practice are available online for reference.
Transcript
Preparing now for Surya Namaskar,
Salute to the Sun by coming to the front of your mat or the space that you're using.
Feet are either together or hip width apart,
Whatever is more comfortable for you.
Lift the toes,
Spread them,
Bring them back down,
Maximizing the contact between the feet and the floor.
Closing the eyes,
Gently sway from forward to back,
Right to left,
To find that point of perfect balance between the left and the right foot and the heels and the toes.
Once you feel that perfect balance,
That center of gravity,
Become still,
To help with the stillness,
Visualize the body as a tree,
Extending the roots down through the floor and into the earth beneath.
Begin drawing the breath as though up through the roots of the tree from the earth beneath,
Full length of the tree to the very top and on the exhalation breathing out full length of the tree down through the roots and into the earth beneath.
Beginning to feel the blending of the feet with the floor.
Visualize yourself in your favorite place in the whole world,
Facing the rising sun.
Create all the sensory inputs,
Smells,
Sounds.
Preparing now for the full practice of Surya Namaskar.
Keeping in mind the modifications if you need them.
High blood pressure,
Head stays above the heart,
So no inversion.
And if your back is a little bit tender today,
You might like to continue with the shortened levers,
So sliding the hands up and down the body.
Otherwise beginning with the hands in prayer position once more.
And on the next inhalation,
Raising the arms above the head and this time a slight backward bend as well.
Gluing the arms to the ears,
On the next exhalation folding forward from the hips,
Keeping the arms and torso in one long line,
Bringing the hands down,
Palms next to the feet,
Bending the knees as you need to and head towards the knees if that's right for you.
On the next inhalation,
Big step back with the right leg,
Right knee to the floor,
Left shin vertical,
Strong stretch at the front of the right hip,
Coming up onto the fingertips and looking forward.
On the next exhalation,
Either moving into the cat pose or coming into mountain pose.
So stepping back,
Feet and hands about hip width apart,
Pelvis up towards the ceiling,
Creating a triangular shape with the body.
Now the heels should be just off the floor.
If your heels are miles from the floor,
Bring the feet closer to the hands and if the heels are on the floor,
Move the feet further away from the hands.
Bringing the knees,
Chest and chin to the floor,
Simultaneously or one at a time,
Into the pose of the eight curves.
Elbows are snug against the body.
On the next inhalation,
Coming into cobra,
So sliding through the hands,
Bringing the pubic bone down to the floor,
Relaxing through the shoulders.
On the next exhalation,
Lifting the pelvis up towards the ceiling,
Back into mountain pose.
Nice straight elbows,
Nice straight knees.
Pushing the chest towards the thighs,
So you're deepening your mountain posture,
Pushing the pelvis upwards.
On the next inhalation,
Stepping the left leg forward,
Bringing the left foot next to the left hand,
Either straight through or come down onto the knees first,
Then step the leg forward.
Remember the left shin needs to be vertical,
Right knee on the floor,
Fingertips looking forward.
On the next out-breath,
Curling the right toes under,
Bringing the right foot forward next to the left,
Palms on the floor,
Head to the knees if that's right for you.
On the next inhalation,
Bringing the arms beside the ears first and then lifting the body up,
Keeping the arms and the torso in one long line,
Stretching up towards the ceiling and then slight backward bend.
And then on the out-breath,
Hands to prayer position,
Resting breath here.
On the next inhalation,
Raising the arms up,
Slight backward bend,
Gluing the arms to the ears on the exhalation,
Folding forward from the hips,
Palms flat on the floor next to the feet,
Head to the knees.
The next inhalation,
Big step back with the left leg,
Left knee to the floor,
Right shin vertical,
Come onto the fingertips and look forward.
On the next out-breath,
Take the right foot back up into Mountain Pose,
Creating that triangular shape,
Pelvis towards the ceiling,
Straight arms and legs,
Hands and feet about hip width apart.
Bringing the knees,
Chest and chin to the floor,
Simultaneously or one at a time into the pose of the eight curves.
On the next inhalation,
Sliding through the hands into Cobra Pose,
Pubic bone to the floor,
Shoulders relaxed.
Then on the next exhalation,
Lifting the pelvis up,
Coming back into Mountain Pose.
The inhalation,
Stepping forward with the right leg,
Either straight through or come down onto the knees first,
Right shin vertical,
Left knee to the floor.
The next exhalation,
Curl the left toes under,
Bring the left foot forward,
Next to the right,
Palms on the floor next to the feet and head to the knees.
On the next inhalation,
Bring the arms beside the ears,
Lifting the torso up,
Arms and torso in one long line,
Slight backward bend.
And then on the exhalation,
Hands to prayer once more and resting breath.
Continuing like this,
So inhale,
Arms up,
Slight backward bend.
On the exhalation,
Glue the arms to the ears,
Folding forward,
Palms to the floor next to the feet,
Head to the knees.
Inhale,
Big step back,
Right leg,
Right knee to the floor,
Left shin vertical,
Come onto the fingertips,
Look forward.
On the exhalation,
Stepping the left leg back,
Coming into Mountain Pose.
Hold the exhalation as you bring the knees,
Chest and chin to the floor,
One at a time or simultaneously,
Into the pose of the eight curves.
On the next inhalation,
Thread the body through into Cobra Pose,
Pubic bone to the floor,
Shoulders relaxed.
On the next exhalation,
Lifting the pelvis up into the V shape of the mountain.
The next inhalation,
Stepping through with the left leg,
Either straight through or come down onto the knees first,
Left shin vertical,
Right knee to the floor,
Fingertips look forward.
The next exhalation,
Curling the right toes under,
Stepping forward with the right leg,
Palms are on the floor,
Head to the knees.
The next inhalation,
Bringing the arms beside the ears,
Lifting the arms and the torso to the upright position and then slight backward bend.
Then on the exhalation,
Hands to prayer,
Resting breath.
The next inhalation,
Arms up,
Slight backward bend.
On the exhalation,
Folding forward,
Arms and torso moving as one unit,
Palms flat on the floor,
Next to the feet,
Head to the knees.
Then inhale,
Big step back,
Left leg.
Exhaling,
Stepping back with the right.
Hold the exhalation,
Knees,
Chest and chin to the floor and inhale through into cobra pose.
The exhalation,
Back into mountain,
Lifting the pelvis and then inhale forward right,
Either via the knees or step straight through,
Right shin vertical,
Left knee to the floor,
Fingertips look forward.
The next exhalation,
Curling the left toes under,
Stepping forward,
Bringing the left foot next to the right,
Palms flat on the floor next to the feet,
Head to the knees.
The next inhalation,
Arms beside the ears,
Lifting up,
Slight backward bend and then hands to prayer,
Resting breath.
Now we're looking to get a nice flow.
Inhale up and back,
Exhale folding forward and down.
Inhale back right,
Exhale back left into mountain pose.
Hold the exhalation,
Knees,
Chest and chin to the floor.
Inhale into cobra,
Exhale into mountain.
Inhale forward left,
Exhale forward right,
Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,
Resting breath.
Inhale up and back,
Exhale folding forward and down.
Inhale back left,
Exhale back right into mountain.
Hold the exhalation,
Bringing knees,
Chest and chin to the floor.
Inhale for cobra,
Exhale into mountain.
Inhale forward right,
Exhale forward left,
Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,
Resting breath.
Now you can rest in Shavasana now if you need to,
Visualising the rest of the practice,
Otherwise we'll do two more rounds.
Inhale up and back,
Exhale forward and down.
Inhale back right,
Exhale back left for mountain.
Hold the exhalation,
Knees,
Chest and chin to the floor.
Inhale for cobra,
Exhale for mountain.
Inhale forward left,
Exhale forward right,
Inhale up and back and hands to prayer on the out breath,
Resting breath.
Inhale up and back,
Exhale forward and down.
Inhale back left,
Exhale back right for mountain.
Hold the exhalation,
Knees,
Chest and chin to the floor.
Inhale for cobra,
Exhale for mountain.
Inhale forward right,
Exhale forward left,
Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,
Resting breath.
One more round,
Inhale up and back,
Exhale forward and down.
Inhale back right,
Exhale back left into mountain.
Hold the exhalation,
Knees,
Chest and chin to the floor and then inhale into cobra.
Exhale for mountain,
Inhale forward left,
Exhale forward right,
Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,
Resting breath.
Last half round,
Inhale up and back,
Exhale forward and down.
Inhale back left,
Exhale back right for mountain.
Hold the exhalation,
Knees,
Chest and chin to the floor and then inhale for cobra.
Exhale for mountain,
Inhale forward right,
Exhale forward left,
Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer.
And then coming down into Shavasana,
Lying on your back with your head closest to your device,
Becoming aware of the effects of the practice on the rhythms of the body initially,
Breath and heartbeat.
Then begin scanning all the other layers that we looked at at the beginning of the class,
Noticing any effects there.
And then drawing the awareness back to the breath and the heartbeat to watch them slow.
Surya Namaskar works all the muscles and the joints and the systems in the body,
So lots of changes can occur throughout the practice.
Resting in Shavasana like this at the end allows the body time and space to integrate those changes so you get the most from the practice.
Once the breath and the heartbeat have restored their normal rhythms,
Begin abdominal breathing or if you know full yogic breathing,
Move into that when you're ready.
Allowing the body to reoxygenate and relax a little bit more deeply.
Introducing gentle movement,
Begin wriggling fingers and toes.
Feel what your body needs to get it moving again,
You might want to have a stretch or a bend or a massage.
When you're ready to change positions,
Come to lie on your right side,
Resting there for a moment.
And then when you're ready,
Coming into a comfortable seated position,
I like to do a full body tap or a little bit of palming to wake your body up again and continue on with your day.
Haryom Teth-Sath.
