Namaste.
Today's practice is going to be Surya Namaskara.
Surya means the sun.
Namaskara means bowing to the essence of.
So Surya Namaskara is bowing to the essence of the sun.
It's one of my favorite body prayers.
And even though you may think of Surya Namaskara as something that they do in almost every Vinyasa class,
Surya Namaskara is something that we really honor for being the foundation of all of yoga.
And it also is a put-together sequence that's got everything you need in it.
And so you don't have to memorize anything.
It's just perfectly put together just for you.
And most importantly,
Surya Namaskara is a devotional practice to the sun.
To the sun that gives us life every single day.
And the sun also represents the power of God or source energy or universal power,
Creative power,
Whatever that is for you.
It really awakens this awe and devotion.
Every morning when you do it,
It's like,
Wow!
You give thanks for another day that the sun appeared so that you can have another beautiful day on earth.
Last thing I'll say about Surya Namaskara is that we think about the sun being in your heart as well.
So your sun,
Your sun is in your heart.
Your heart is your sun.
The sun rises again and again and again every day,
No matter what.
And that's the same power that you have within you.
Your heart has the power to rise again and again and again.
So let's enjoy Surya Namaskara.
This is a classical version of Surya Namaskara.
It comes from the Bihar School of Yoga.
And it's something that we practice in both yoga and classical tantra.
So coming to the top of your mat with your feet together or comfortable distance apart,
Bring your hands together.
And just taking a moment,
If you're able to,
Look at the sun or imagine the sun.
And just taking a moment to give thanks and pray your own personal prayer or intention for how you can honor and activate the sun outside as well as the sun inside of you.
So it's nice to have an intention for every class.
And so when you're ready,
Taking your arms down towards the earth and then spread them out wide like the rays of the sun.
You can arch back just to your own degree,
Just a little bit to open your heart towards the energy of the sun.
And really feel all the rays of the sun and all the energy of the sun pouring down through your hands and through your whole body.
And then as you exhale,
Put your hands together and bow,
Bow to the energy of the sun.
The sun is inside and outside of you.
And you can let your head go for a moment.
As you touch the earth,
Feel free to bend your knees.
Connect with the earth.
And then on your next inhale,
You can sit back with your left leg so that your right leg is forward.
In Anjaneyasana,
Your knee is directly over your ankle.
And feel that strength and that radiating power of the sun through this posture.
As you exhale,
Step back into Downward Facing Dog.
And you know that you can always move your dog,
Your first dog especially.
And then set your heels downwards and really feel the strength of your arms and legs.
Lengthening your spine,
Your ribs pulling back,
Your core active,
Your tailbone nice and long,
Your head relaxed.
And then on the next exhale,
Take your knees down.
You can inhale and open your heart.
And then exhale,
Keep your elbows close to your body and come all the way down your chin,
Chest and knees.
You can activate Mula Bandha here.
And then inhale,
Feel your heart forward as you come into Cobra.
Again,
Lifting your heart.
Exhaling as you tuck your toes back.
Coming again into Downward Facing Dog.
And this is like a counter pose for that Cobra Back Bend.
So really activate Uddiyana Bandha,
Mula Bandha,
Your core.
Lengthening your arms and legs away from each other to get that maximum length.
And the sun,
The sun in your body.
And then take your right foot forward and inhale your left leg slowly up.
So the same leg that stepped back is now the leg that's going to step forward.
So keep your pelvis neutral.
And then exhale,
Look forward.
Step your foot through.
Come back into one breath,
Anjaneyasana.
Give it everything you've got.
We're going to charge it with the energy of the sun.
And then exhale,
Step forward with your right leg.
Fold into Uttanasana.
Feel free to bend your knees if you need to.
And then inhale,
Take your arms out to the side like rays of the sun.
As you inhale and come back up,
You can enjoy a little back arch here.
Feeling the sun filling you up.
And as you exhale,
Pull all that energy of the sun into your heart.
Any parts of your life where you need a little more energy,
Power,
Confidence,
Love.
Feel this yoga body prayer to the sun.
Energizing you,
Awakening you.
Having your intention clear for how this practice can solarize you so that you can shine like the sun.
We'll do this half of one Surya Namaskar.
Now we'll do the other half.
As you inhale,
Reach your arms up and back slightly.
Arch,
Opening your heart to the sun.
Receiving the energy of the sun through your hands.
And then exhale as you bow forward in Uttanasana.
Take your hands to the earth,
Even if you have to bend the knees.
Now on your next inhale,
Step back with your right leg this time.
Anjaneyasana.
Knees over your ankle.
Everything's alive.
And then as you exhale,
Step it back.
Again,
Downward facing dog.
Strong arms and legs.
Put the sun in every part of your body.
And inhale.
Knees come down.
This time you can unfurl your spine at the end.
And inhale.
And exhale.
Shade the side waist with your elbows as you come all the way down into chin,
Chest,
Knees.
And then inhale.
As you come forward into cobra,
Peel your spine off.
Exhale as you tuck your toes.
Come back into downward facing dog.
This is like a counter pose for your spine.
So you really feel your ribs back,
Your tailbone nice and long.
Your heart is open.
Your legs,
Your arms stretching to give that maximum length to your spine.
And then step your left foot to the center line.
Slowly breathe up your right leg.
Take your time.
Keep your pelvis neutral.
Legs internally rotated.
Everything alive.
And then exhale.
Step forward with your right leg.
Move it as you need to so that your knees directly underneath your ankle.
And exhale as you step forward with the left.
You can also take your hands to the backs of your legs.
Give them a little bit of love.
As you fold in uttanasana.
And then inhale your arms up like the rays of the sun.
And reach up and back.
Take an extra moment here to feel the energy of the sun in your whole being.
Imagine all those qualities of the sun and draw them all inside you.
So that you can feel the energy of the sun inside you for the rest of this day.
Just take a moment to pause.
Give thanks to the sun.
Feel,
Notice how you feel just after one round of surya namaskara.
And you can take a few more if you like.
Three to five rounds would be wonderful.
But it's also nice to know that even if you just do one round of surya namaskara every morning.
It will make a big difference in your day.
So enjoy a few more rounds if you like.
Or you can come into any other series of postures.
Sometimes when you do just one round of yoga.
And you tell yourself,
Oh I'm just going to do one surya namaskara.
And that's it for today.
I just have five minutes.
But then what happens is you feel so good afterwards.
That you're like,
Oh I'm just going to do a little bit more.
And maybe you'll do a handstand on the wall.
Or maybe you'll do a back bend.
Or maybe you'll do some warriors.
Maybe you'll pull up another one of the sequences and do one of those.
And so either way,
The important thing is to do a little bit of practice every day.
That's what the power of practice is all about.
Give it a shot.
I'd say try at least 30 days of 10 minutes of yoga a day.
One prayer.
One pranayama.
One yoga sequence.
10,
15 minutes.
You can do it.
See what happens.
And let me know.
Blessings to you.
Om Surya Ye Namaha.
Bowing to the essence of the sun and the sun in you.
