Sun Salutations For Beginners

Sun salutations (Surya Namaskar) are the backbone of most vinyasa-based yoga classes. However, they are rarely broken down into bite-sized pieces for beginners to explore, digest, and learn. This practice will break down the elements of a Sun Salutation and give modifications so you can build the strength and integrity to practice on your own or in a group!

Transcript

Hi,

My name is Sarah and welcome to Sun Salutations for Beginners.

Sun Salutations are often the background vinyasa,

Also known as the flow or the linked together movements in a yoga practice.

And in a traditional yoga practice,

You might hear a few different versions of Sun Salutations for the purpose of teaching you how to move your body in a safe and effective and integrated way.

We'll stick with a modified Sun Salutations today until you build the strength and the confidence and the body awareness to explore maybe other variations.

Come to a comfortable standing place at the top of your mat or the front edge of your mat and bring your feet about hip distance apart so that your ankles are stacked underneath of your knees and your knees are roughly underneath of your hips.

Look down at your toes and be sure that your toes are pointing forward rather than out away from one another.

Lift and spread through your toes and give them a wiggle.

And notice as you lift your toes how that creates a broad quality through the ball of the foot.

Now see if you can maintain that broad quality through the ball of the foot and place the toes back down.

Rock a little bit of weight front and back on your feet so that you feel weight distribute into the heels and then towards the toes and back towards the heels and towards the toes and then find a place somewhere in the middle where your feet feel really grounded and supported.

Now lengthen your legs down into the floor so you really feel the connection between you and the earth.

Straighten through the legs without locking the knees or hyper extending and then start to draw your navel in and up so that you feel your low belly engage.

Tether your front rib cage slightly down so if it feels like you're moving into a back bend try to bring your front rib cage slightly down and towards your belly.

Broaden through your collar bones,

Relax your arms down.

Stand up really tall and lengthen through the crown of your head.

Now reach through your fingertips,

Spread your fingers just a bit and with your inhale lift the arms overhead and with your exhale lower the arms beside you.

And as simple as that,

Repeat that with your own breath so that as the inhale moves in you feel this inspiration to float the arms up and as the exhale flows out maybe that downward movement of the exhale brings the hands back down.

Now set this into motion with your own breath as you inhale lifting the arms and exhale to lower.

And try to keep the breath long and smooth so that your movement slows down and matches the entire length of inhale and exhale.

Now the next time you inhale and your arms rise up put a bend in your knees,

Hinge at the hips and feel as if you were sitting back in a chair.

So moving into chair pose quite literally and as you sit your hips back pull the navel in towards the spine so if it feels like your low back moves into an arch you start to resist that by re-engaging through the core.

Look down at your knees and be sure that they're tracking through the center line of your foot rather than crashing in to touch one another or to move really far out away from another,

Somewhere in between.

And with your next exhale lower the arms and straighten through your legs to come back to stand.

So now setting this into motion as you inhale and your arms rise up bend your knees and sit your hips back into chair pose and exhale stand as the arms lower.

And a few times with your own breath inhale bend the knees lower the hips like you're sitting in an invisible chair and exhale stand and rise back up.

And inhale chair pose and exhale stand.

Now inhale into chair pose also known as Utkatasana in Sanskrit.

Draw your navel in pause.

Broaden through your collar bones.

Relax through your face.

Keep breathing.

Now with your next exhale reach the arms out to the sides fold at your hips and fold all the way forward until your hands reach towards the ground and your head relaxes.

Bring your belly and your rib cage closer towards your thighs so bend the knees deeply enough that that can happen and relax through the head,

The upper back,

The chest,

The shoulders.

So if you feel like you're puffing up through the back and your back is really really rounded and maybe you feel a little bit like a jellyfish here in your forward bend bend the knees even more so that your forward bend is coming directly out of the hips and your belly gets closer towards your thighs and then lift the hips up higher.

Now pause here for a few moments in your forward bend also known as Uttanasana.

Relax through the head.

Pay attention to how you feel.

Try not to be aggressive and grab onto the legs and force yourself towards your thighs.

That's not going to help you in the long run.

Notice how your feet connect to the earth.

Now without actually moving your feet feel as if you're trying to stretch the mat apart between your heels.

Find that engagement maybe you feel it activate through the upper thighs or through the outer edges of the hips.

Keep that engagement through your feet like you're trying to stretch the mat apart between your feet.

Now with that soft bend still in your knees pull the belly in so really scoop your navel in towards your spine and with an inhale lift up just halfway so that you lengthen the spine out as if your back was a table and you lengthen from the tailbone through the crown of the head.

Exhale fold forward again and completely relax through the upper body and as you inhale lift up again halfway and as you exhale fold forward and as you inhale and rise up again into what's called Ardha Uttanasana or this half lift really pull the belly in and think about pressing the crown of your head as far away from your tailbone as you can.

Keep the belly engaged bring the front rib cage slightly in and exhale fold forward.

Now with your next inhale lift up enough that you can bend your knees and plant your hands to the floor and step one foot and then the other foot back into your high plank.

So in your high plank foundation be sure the heels are high enough that you're on your toes or on the balls of the feet and your wrists are underneath of your shoulders.

Commonly we'll see in students the hips start to sink down towards the earth because gravity is really trying to pull your center down.

If this feels like too much for you and you're not able to resist it bend your knees and lower them to the earth.

So from here either knees up or down start to squeeze your glutes just a bit and angle your tailbone towards your heels.

Lengthen through the crown of the head broaden through the collarbones and press into your hands so that you feel the upper back round just a bit.

Keep engaging through your core look beyond your fingers so if you're looking back towards your toes look forward.

From here knees up or down start to bend the elbows wrap them in towards one another so the biceps spin forward and your elbows squeeze in towards your sides.

Reach forward so you start to move your chest forward beyond your fingertips and lower all the way down onto your belly as slowly as you can.

Once you get to your belly untuck your toes press down through the tops of the feet relax your forehead onto the earth.

Bring your hands beside your chest with the elbows pointing directly up towards the ceiling and then squeeze your elbows towards one another.

From here straighten through your knees press down through the tops of the feet firmly.

Press your hip bones into the earth to reactivate through the core and with your inhale peel the head chest and shoulders away from the ground as you engage through the back body or the posterior chain feel like you're leading with the back of the head rather than lifting your chin.

So if you lift your chin really really high you start to pinch off the back of the neck.

See if you can bring the chin back down and lead with the back of the head.

Exhale float your forehead back down.

So as you inhale now press through the tops of the feet straighten the legs and rise back up into this back bend known as Cobra and exhale float back down.

And inhale rise up into your Cobra try to keep the hands really light so that you're not straightening the elbows or pushing yourself from the earth yet so moving really slowly really gradually.

Exhale float back down.

As you inhale next into your Cobra or Bhujangasana keep the tops of the feet connected the knees straight pull the navel in towards the spine lengthen your sternum or your heart forward hug the elbows in towards one another pause.

Use yourself to maybe float the hands away from the ground or just hover breathe take a big inhale maybe curl a tiny bit more up and then exhale lower back down.

Tuck your toes re-engage through your body and with your inhale either press the ground away into your high plank or lift up to your hands and knees.

From here shift your hips up and back press the mat away from you as you shift your chest in your head away from your fingertips and towards your thighs.

Lift the hips up super duper high bend your knees lift the heels up and keep pressing through the hands lengthening the spine as much as you possibly can into your first version of downward facing dog.

Now go really slowly here and it might feel a bit awkward if the hamstrings are tight gradually pedal one heel at a time towards the floor inviting one leg to straighten a tiny bit more.

If it feels like your upper back is rounding or your shoulders are coming forward above your wrists sort of like a really a hybrid between a plank and a down dog bend the knees more lift the hips up higher and press the chest towards your thighs really lock out through the arms so you feel maybe the shoulders get a little bit closer towards your ears that's okay as long as you feel comfortable keep pressing through the hands move in any way that feels okay and then pause in your downward facing dog or Atamukha Svanasana pause relax through your head notice how it feels and any adjustments you might be able to make.

From here lift the heels up look between your hands and walk your feet forward to find yourself in your standing forward bend or your Uttanasana when you get there adjust your feet so your toes point forward find that activation as if you are stretching them out apart between your heels bend your knees enough so you're not in that jellyfish forward bend but rather in a really deep forward bend right at the hip crease and with your inhale rise up just halfway Arta Uttanasana lengthen through the spine hands can stay on the floor or rise up to your shins or even above your knees exhale fold and release inhale bend the knees to lower the hips moving just briefly through chair pose as you rise all the way up to standing bring the hands together in front of your heart or down beside you whichever you feel most comfortable with and pause here for a moment.

So that was your first sun salutation really broken down we took our time with it of course so when you rise up from your forward bend to standing it's often safer for low backs to move through a squat position or a chair pose so think about when you go to lift something heavy from the ground a big box or a piece of furniture you don't lift up with a straight spine or a rounded spine you know you bend your knees so that your hips and your center of gravity lowers re-engage to the core and lift from there so same thing when you're lifting up from a standing forward bend so when you practice with me I'll always cue to stand up through chair pose even if it's just brief so that your hips are lower than your head as you rise to stand.

Now when you're ready we'll link it all together so take a break if you need you can hit pause and come back or get a drink of water and when you're ready release the hands beside you lengthen through the fingertips pull your belly in lengthen through the feet and with your inhale lift your arms up and overhead with your exhale softly bend your knees hinge at the hips and with a strong flat back fold all the way forward towards the earth inhale to rise into your half lift or Ardha Uttanasana bend the knees plant the hands step one foot and then the other back into your high plank now from your high plank pause here for a moment and check in if your hips are sinking towards the earth or you have any sensitivity in the low back lower your knees from here reach into your heels scoop the navel in broaden through the collarbones shift forward bend your elbows hug them in towards your sides and move forward and down slowly to the earth come all the way to your belly and when you arrive untuck the toes press down through the tops of the feet and inhale curl up into your cobra pose activating through the back body exhale fold down with your inhale tuck your toes press the earth away either hands and knees or high plank and with your exhale find your downward facing dog so shift the hips up and back maybe move a little bit pedal through the hips the heels shift and move relax through the head think about finding length from your fingertips to the shoulders from the shoulders to the hips so find as much space and length through the spine as you can which often involves bending the knees and lifting the hips higher or lifting the heels try not to obsess about the shape and drop more into your body's awareness of sensation so let go of that idea of a perfect triangle or getting your heels to the ground just let that go and feel more connected to sensation rather than the thoughts around the poses from here lift your heels look forward step your feet forward into your standing forward bend and when you arrive ground through the feet inhale to rise up halfway exhale fold forward inhale engage through the core bend the knees lower the hips move quickly through chair pose as you come to stand bring the hands together in front of your heart if you wish also known as anjali mudra in front of heart center or release them beside you pause for a moment and when you're ready to keep moving on an inhale lift the arms up with your exhale hinge at the hips fold forward inhale rise halfway bend the knees plant the hands step one foot than the other back high plank either knees up or down your choice shift the shoulders forward towards the fingertips as you bend the elbows hug them in towards your sides maybe hover about halfway with your elbows at 90 degrees try to keep the shoulders up at the same height as your elbows rather than dipping forward into the earth scoop the belly in this halfway point is called chaturanga and it's definitely difficult so if it feels really hard lower the knees and maybe come all the way to your belly again lifting up into cobra or perhaps flip onto the tops of the feet straighten through the legs and with an inhale curl the heart forward as you press through the arms and straighten your elbows so maybe here you move into your upward facing dog and the points of contact there are tops of the feet and hands so straighten the legs squeeze through the legs pull the heart forward and up breathe slowly from here if you're in your upward facing dog re-engage through the core lead with your hips and press up and back into down dog if you're on your belly and cobra continue moving as you have before by lowering your head and then pressing the earth away to either hands and knees or high plank exhale into your downward facing dog if you're not there already notice how you feel if your low back feels sensitive after having explored a deeper back bend like upward facing dog then perhaps skip it next time and move through cobra until your body builds that strength that integrity and that flexibility and know that you don't ever have to do upward facing dog if it doesn't feel good for you it's still a sun salutation it's just within your very true physical limits for right now and that can always change so from your downward facing dog walk your feet forward once you arrive at the front of your mat inhale to rise halfway exhale to fold inhale bend the knees lower the hips lift all the way up to stand and bring the hands together in front of your heart now you can continue moving listening to my voice or going on your own and I really encourage you to feel empowered to take any modifications that feel good and feel right for you and that might even involve skipping the downward vinyasa or that flow towards the ground and then into the back bend altogether so there's always the option that when you step back into your high plank you can lower your knees to the ground inhale to expand through the chest like a cat cow movement and then exhale bring your hips towards your heels into child's pose and know that there's no right or wrong way to do yoga as long as you're connected to the breath to honesty with what you feel to compassion and not treating yourself poorly while you're on your mat and really honoring your own experience thank you for allowing me to be a part of your practice today namaste

Reviews

🙏 thank you!

This is a really great walkthrough for beginners and those who are out on have been out of practice for a while, like myself ☺️ Thank you!

Thank you 🙏🏼 🧘🏻‍♂️🤸🏽

🙏🏼💚🌿

Wonderful, clear instructions. I’ve been doing yoga for years, and after a while you can get sloppy in your attention. This brought me back to really thinking about the engagement with the sun salutation. Thank you.

Wonderful break down of a sun salutation. I appreciate the slowing down and encouragement to really listen to what works today in my body. Thank you 🙏

Excellent presentation. Smooth and articulate. Thank you

Appreciated a lot how often she emphasized checking in to make sure what I'm doing is safe and comfortable, adjusting if necessary. I only had difficulty in the very slow first runthrough, but I don't think it's possible to have too many reminders that we are doing this to be good to our bodies, not to punish them.

Gentle and kind beginner's guidance through sun salutation. It was perfect for gaining confidence in pose posture without feeling rushed. Thank you!

Very nice for someone who hasn’t done yoga for some time. Good queuing for body position. Thank you 🙏🏼💕

Thank you so much for this wonderful lesson!! I’m ready for the day. ❤️☀️

Beautifully broken down sun ☀️ surya namaskar🙏🌹

Excellent instruction.

This is a great tutorial and at a nice pace. Thank you. 😁

Great intro for a beginner. Awesome cues and detail 😀