Surya Namaskara A And B For Beginners

Surya Namaskara A & B (Sun Salutations) are the foundation of Ashtanga Yoga and many other yoga styles. In this 30-minute class, you’ll learn how to practice these essential yoga sequences with proper alignment, breath awareness, and modifications to make them more comfortable for your body. Whether you’re a beginner looking to build a strong foundation or an experienced yogi refining your practice, this class will help you deepen your understanding of Sun Salutations.

Transcript

Welcome! Today we'll have a workshop experience about Sura Namaskara A and B. These sequences are tried and true, And the purpose of Sura Namaskara A and B is to get our heart rate up, Get a little warmth inside our body, And to link our movement with our breath. So as we do this sequence today, I want you to be open minded to different ways that you might be able to move within the sequence. We go to a yoga class and this is often where we start with a vinyasa sequence. We'll be using the Ashtanga model of Sira Namaskara A and B just as a very good classical sense. And then we'll just kind of play around with it from there. Talk about alignment, Talk about modifications. Just be open-minded to the experience. So we're going to start imagining how you might be able to do this sequence without even getting onto the floor. Say you're dealing with balance issues in a yoga class on a given day. Say you're just feeling tired and you don't want to go up and down because the sequence does move you up and down. What can you do to modify it just for standing? So first, Let's talk about where our feet go. Traditionally, We have our big toes together, Heels slightly apart. If this feels really tight and restrictive in your hips, Very simple. Just to move to a hip-width distance, Toes pointed straight forward in this stance. So really easy modification. Now, Sira Namaskara A links every movement with a breath, Either an inhale or an exhale. The inhale happens on the lift. The exhale happens on the release so let's just feel this very simple sequence standing we're not even going to get down on the ground follow along with me just close your eyes for a moment Let's set our breath. Inhale. And exhale. Feel it coming and going. And deepening in our body. Our movement is going to help us create a rhythm where we link breath with the movement. So let's try it. Go ahead and open your eyes. Inhale, Reach your arms up to the sky. Exhale fold all the way down as far as you can go my knees are gonna stay straight, But you can certainly bend your knees Inhale bring your hands to your shins halfway lift Exhale fold back down into the legs knees bent or straight Inhale, Reverse swan dive, Reach up to the sky. Exhale samasthiti we did it we linked breath with movement let's try it again i'm going to turn to my side so you can see some of the structure here Let's do it again. Inhale, Reach up to the sky. Exhale swan dive forward knees bent or straight Inhale, Hands to the shins, Halfway lift. Exhale fold down knees bent or straight Inhale, Reverse one day, Reach it up. Exhale, Samasthiti. Now you say to yourself, If you're in a class, How are you going to do that sequence and still match up time-wise with everyone who's doing a traditional Sera Namaskara A? Well, That sequence you could do twice in the time it takes them to do one. So you would just repeat it twice, And you should be in about the same spot when they finish their one. Kind of fun, Right? Let's try it just one more time. Inhale. This is our warm-up anyway. Exhale, Swan dive forward. Inhale look up halfway lift Exhale fold back down into it inhale reverse swan dive Exhale samasthiti Nice job. Nice job. Now let's move toward more of a traditional Sierra Namaskara. We're going to grab a block. We're going to have it close by us for use of modifications. I have it on the long edge, Just placing it down here, Right about in the middle of the mat, About a foot away from the top. This is going to help us both in reaching with our hands and in alignment with our chaturanga. We'll see when we get there. Ground let's try it inhale reach up Exhale, Swan dive down. Now look the block is right here. We can grab it. I'm a little far. I'm going to scoot a little bit closer. We can grab it if we need to. We don't have to feel like we need to just dangle our arms if our arms don't touch into the ground. So here's a great modification using a block. Look up, Inhale, Halfway lift. We just kind of lengthen our spine, Pull up through our center. See that lift, Feel that lift underneath. Exhale hands down. Just frame that block with your hands and step back to plank. Now chaturanga is one of the most challenging things in the sequence. One, If we're too weak in our core, We're going to sag. So it's going to look kind of like this or it's going to look kind of like this. So if you can't get about straight, I would suggest dropping to the knees. Definitely build up that strength first. Now this block is going to act like a placeholder. As we bend down and our elbows are hugging, We can touch our chest right on that block. That is about right where you want to be every time you chaturanga. Then you can shift to upward facing dog. And then you can shift either through the knees or through your toes, However you want to get there, To downward facing dog. Good. Now let's step back up to our hands. And we'll just come up. Inhale. Reverse swan dive. Reach up. Exhale samasthiti. I want to talk about ways that we can modify these little in-between poses as we go. So first modification is in our standing. You can take your feet hip width distance or you can bring them closer. Toes together, Heels slightly apart. That's one modification. The second modification is we've got this block here ready for us to reach for if we can't bring our hands to the ground. So let's try this. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale swan dive down my hands can come to the block my knees can bend my hands can come to the floor my hands can even come to my shins if i do not have a block readily available to me so you can adjust anywhere along this forward bend, Right? Now as we look up halfway lift, Those of you who are really bendy might be able to keep your hands on the ground. We've got a block for those of us who are not quite as bendy. We can use hands to the shins, Even less bendy but still engaged, Yes? Then we get to this chaturanga part. So we already talked about this a little bit. If we are working on our upper body strength, We can drop our knees and take that chaturanga. I've used this block to stop me right there, But you can also get rid of the block altogether and come all the way to the floor. Then instead of an up dog, It's going to be more like a cobra pose. So I'm keeping my hips on the ground and I'm just reaching through my upper back area, But squeezing in the low back. And from there, It's an easy transition to come onto your knees. And then come onto your toes. And we're in downward facing dog. Easy transitions to get there. Just adding knees, Adding blocks. Any of that now let's step forward And we'll try that flow without a block. Inhale lift up exhale come on down so we're gonna use our our body weight to bring us all the way to the floor we'll try a little Cobra and we'll use our knees to move back into downward facing dog and you can see how it feels in your body so here we go Inhale, Reach up to the sky. Exhale swan dive down Good. Nice. Take your hands to your shins. I'm going to imagine that my hands do not touch the ground and I'm lifting here. Exhale, Hands to the mat. Step back. And let's lower all the way to our stomach. There we're protecting our back and building up our arm strength. Inhale, Lift to cobra. So we're keeping those hips on the floor. Exhale, Roll back. Lift onto the toes. And then to downward facing dog, Adha Mukha Svanasana. Nice. Now we haven't talked about this pose. Sometimes this pose can be challenging. Say you have wrist issues and it's a little too intense. You can drop to your knees and you can reach your arms forward. This is a puppy dog pose. You're still going to get the really great side body stretch. You just won't get as much of the leg engagement. So that's an option. You can also work into downward facing dog. We're just kind of bending the knees and pressing back. Again, That's going to help the wrist. But it is going to take some of that stretch out of your legs. But eventually, Maybe it'll be warm enough that we can drop those heels. They do not have to touch. And be in that downward facing dog. Good. Now inhale, Step forward up to the hands. Exhale, Fold down into the legs. Inhale, Reverse swan dive, Reach up. Exhale, Samastiti. Good, Good. Now let's build on this even more. We haven't talked about getting back and getting forward. So far I've been just stepping back and forward, But traditionally there is a hop. You can do it if you want. So let's try that. Inhale, Reach our arms up to the sky. Exhale swan dive down you figured out now where your hands are going to land Maybe you're using a block or your legs or you're reaching the floor Inhale, Look up halfway, Lift. Exhale, Hands down traditionally. Step back, Chaturanga. Our hop back chaturanga. Now, What if that hop back doesn't work for you? You're here. In this forward bend, You bend, And you can just simply step back, Right? It doesn't have to be that hop back. It can happen just as quickly with a step. Then we move into that chaturanga. We're doing Up Dog this time. If you need to be in Cobra, That's fine. But here we are, Up Dog or Cobra. And shifting back to downward facing da. Now how do we get forward? Getting forward can be one of the most complicated sequences in this whole thing or transition in this whole thing. Some of my clients that I work with find it much easier to come to the back. So you're walking your hands back towards your legs. Inhale, Lift up. Step up to the top. Exhale, Samasthiti. Try that. Maybe that's an easier transition. So that's an option. Sometimes it's okay just to kind of meet in the middle. Lift up Step up. And release right either way you're getting yourself up to the top so it doesn't really matter Another option. It's just a bunch of little steps All the way up. An option could be a big step. Or the final option more traditional is the float up to the top. Mine looks more like a hop than a float. I fall down in. We reach up. And we release. So, We have to stop thinking about if we look the same as everyone else in the yoga class. Clearly, We physically do not look the same, So we're not going to move the same. Just find what works best for you. Let's go through Sera Namaskara Aegis one more time. I'll keep it fairly traditional. You throw in whatever modifications you have found during this little practice that you enjoy. Do your best let's just give it a go here we are inhale reach up to the sky Exhale, Swan dive down. Inhale, Look up halfway, Lift. Exhale hands down step back hop back to plank chaturanga maybe you're going to cobra come next inhale upward facing dog or cobra Exhale, Shift back to downward facing dog. Atta Mukha Svanasana. Remember you can drop to your knees here, Puppy dog is fine. Let's just take a breath. We're going to go forward next, Or maybe you're walking back. Either way, We're bringing our hands and feet toward each other. So inhale, Look forward, Bend your knees, Step, Hop, Or walk your way. Upward. Exhale, Fold down into the legs. Inhale reverse swan dive reach up to the sky Exhale, Samasthiti. Nicely done. All right, That's Sura Namaskara A in a quick little nutshell. I hope you found some modifications. Oh, Thanks for those hearts. Some modifications that you enjoyed. Now let's move on to Sura Namaskara B. Sira Namaskara B is done less often in a non-traditional Ashtanga class. You will always see it in an Ashtanga class. So maybe a more high-intensity vinyasa class, You're going to see Sira Namaskara B. It is some of the same elements as A, But we add a couple of different things that can make it very challenging. But there are ways to modify. There are always ways to modify. So let's start out. Same kind of position. You can either be big toes together, Heels slightly apart, Or hip width distance. That's your first modification, Right? So let's try starting in chair pose. Inhale. Bend your knees. Come up to Utkatasana chair pose. Here we want to feel lots of lift through the center of the body. I find the most challenging thing about this pose is actually the arms and the shoulders. A simple modification is to come to a goal post kind of shape. If this feels challenging on the arms and shoulders, Just simply bend. We do not stay in this position for long. It's just a transition through to the next thing. So you might be able to find something that works for you. Here we go. Let's try it again. Set it up. Inhale, Lift to Utkatasana Chair Pose. Exhale fold forward uttanasana we're back into what we knew from before inhale look up halfway lift Exhale, Hands down. Step or hop back. Maybe you're on your knees here. Chaturanga. Inhale, Urava Mukha Svanasana, Upward facing dog. Exhale, Atta Mukha Svanasana, Downward facing dog. Alright, Here's where it gets challenging. In one inhale, We have to step forward, Drop our heel, And reach up. And then in one exhale, We have to come back down, Step back, And chaturanga. Then comes the next inhale. So as you can see, That's pretty fast. I even did it slower than it normally happens. So what if you can't get your leg all the way up to standing? What if it makes you dizzy? What if you're working on your strength building in your hip flexors? What are you going to do? Here's my suggestion. So you're coming from down dog. On that inhale, Just bring your right foot forward, Drop your left knee, And take your arms up. Inhale. So we're still close to the ground. Exhale, Hands down. Step back. Chaturanga. Inhale, Uravamukha Svanasana. Exhale. Atamukasvanasana. Then we do that left side. Inhale, Left foot forward. Drop the knee. Raise up Virabandrasana A on our knee. Exhale, Hands down. Step back. Chaturanga. Inhale, Uravamukha Svanasana. Exhale, Atamukha Svanasana. Nice. Now, What if that even still feels too fast? That kind of up and down is maybe more than you want to do today or whenever you go to class next. I suggest second modification is to skip the chaturanga. So here's what that would look like. Let's go back into down dog. Inhale step that right foot forward drop that left knee raise up Exhale, Hands down. Step back and hang out in down dog for a couple breaths to catch your breath. Then we come to that left side. Inhale, Left foot forward. Drop the knee. Raise up. Exhale. Hands come back down. Step back. And you're in downward facing dog. You wait for everyone else to catch up. And you get a few extra breaths of stillness to catch that breath as needed. Right? Nice. So those are some options that you can do to modify the Virabhadrasana A and the Chaturanga. Now what if you wanted to kind of make a little hybrid and combine those together? Say you want to move to the Virabhadrasana A, But you don't think you have the time or strength to do that Chaturanga in between. It would look something like this. Again, We've got to start with our down dog. You're going to get used to this position. Good. Then we take an inhale. Step forward. Drop that heel. Raise up. Virabhadrasana A. Exhale. Hands down. Step back. Downward facing dog. Take an extra breath here because everyone else is catching up. And we go into our left side. Inhale, Left foot forward, Right heel down, Raise up. Virabhadrasana A. Exhale, Hands down, Step back, Downward facing dog. So we've saved ourselves a little bit of time. You won't get that extra push-up, Right? But you still get two push-ups in Sarah Namaskara B because you get it at the beginning and then you're going to get it at the end. You're just skipping the part in the middle, Potentially. Now I wonder if you noticed another thing that I took out of the sequence. At least what I see happening in the United States is an extra little flourish of a leg swing through. You have no time for this in Surinamaskara B. Just skip it. So instead, Some people will go inhale, Bring it through. Lift it up. How much time does that take? Too much time. Once you get up, Everyone else is already going to be going down. Skip the leg flourish. Just step that right foot straight through and come up. You do not have time to do it. You'll save yourself time later when everything slows back down and you're getting into the standing poses. That's when you can add. Those little extra hip openers if you'd like. But during Serenal Mascara A and B, It's all about getting right into the movement, Saving your energy so that you're really connecting with the breath. We are building up our warmth. Regardless, You're going to build up your warmth when you're doing the pose. Now let's do the whole Cyrano Mascara B sequence. I've given you a couple of different modifications. I'll do one time on my knee, And then we'll do it one last time, And we'll go up to standing. Follow along as you want. Take out the chaturongas if you want. Stay on your knee if you want. Whatever. Let's see what happens. So here we go. Inhale, We start with Utkatasana Chair Pose. Exhale fold forward uttamasana. Hopefully we're getting a little warmer by now than when we started inhale look up halfway lift exhale hands down step back hop back whatever you choose chaturanga maybe you're coming all the way to your stomach Inhale, Upward dog or cobra. Exhale. Adha Mukha Svanasana. Now we don't pause here. Five breaths. We just keep going. Inhale. Step forward. I'm showing my knee first. Raise up. Exhale, Hands down. Step back. Skip the chaturanga if you want or follow me. Inhale urva mukha swanasana exhale we all meet here in downward facing dog left side inhale left leg forward drop that right knee raise up exhale hands down step back chaturanga or down dog Inhale, Urva Mukha Svanasana. Exhale, Adha Mukha Svanasana. This is where we pause. Feel free to drop to your knees. Even a child's pose is perfectly acceptable because we get five breaths in this down dog to kind of catch our breath. I've probably taken five breaths talking. So let's bend our knees, Look forward, Inhale, Step or hop up to the hands. Exhale fold down into the legs Inhale, Bend your knees, Lift to Utkatasana Chair Pose. Exhale samasthiti okay once more we're gonna do it with the standing leg if you still want to stay on your knee that's totally up to you let's try it Inhale, Lift up. Exhale swan. Oh, I'm sorry. I got to start over. I was doing Sura Namaskara A. Chair pose. Inhale, Lift up. Utkatasana. Exhale, Fold forward. Inhale look up halfway lift exhale hands down step or hop back chaturanga or to your stomach inhale cobra or upward facing dog Exhale, Adha Mukha Svanasana. Now come to standing if you want. Inhale, Right foot forward, Left foot down, Virabhadrasana A. Exhale hands down step back chaturanga or you're skipping this chaturanga inhale urva mukha swanasana Exhale, Adamukha Svanasana. Inhale left foot forward right heel down Exhale, Hands down, Step back, Chaturanga or down dog. Keep breathing either way. Inhale. Exhale. Good. Breath comes and goes. You can see how fast that is when you do standing, And that extra leg flourish will just wear you out and make you lose your breath. Good five breaths here Bend your knees. Look forward. Inhale. Stepper. Hop up to the hands. Exhale. Fold down into your legs. Inhale, Bend your knees. Utkatasana Chair Pose. Exhale. Samasthiti. Nice job we made it through are you warm because i am That's one of the purposes of Cera Namaskara A and B. It's to warm you up. It's to link the body together with your breath. Now just let's cool down for a moment. Have a seat. Just take a simple crisscross Let's breathe together. Inhale reach up all around your body Exhale, Really sit. Inhale, Lift. Exhale release we're slowing our breath down just a little let's do it once more inhale lift Press your palms together at the top. Exhale, Pull to heart center. Thank you so much for practicing with me today, Taking this workshop style format so that you can learn about your body and how you can modify this amazing sequence to be the best for you. Thank you so much. I hope to see you again soon on your mats. Namaste.