Just be sure that your knees, hips, and neck are all in a straight line. If it’s too much for you, you can drop your knees to the floor. It’s probably best to alternate which foot you lead with in your yoga practice! I always tend to lead with my left foot when I do this, but you can choose whichever foot you’d like to lead with. Step 5: Plank Pose/ Staff Pose (Dandasana)įrom the flat back, step back into plank pose. Imagine someone gently pulling your shoulder blade back towards your tailbone and another person gently pulling your skull out in front of you. The point is to allow your spine to lengthen forward. Place your hands on the upper part of your shins or even your knees, if needed. On the in-breath, come up to a flat back. Step 4: Standing Half Forward Bend (Ardha Uttanasana) If you need to, allow for a slight bend in the knees just so that your spine can hang towards the floor. You could even just hold opposite elbows as you hang down. Step 3: Standing Forward Bend (Hasta Padasana) To prevent that from happening, simply keep your arms and hands separated. So on the in-breath, because everything in yoga is related to the breath, reach the arms up over your head.Īnd then I would suggest just taking the arms about 45 degrees instead of taking the palms of the hands to touch because that can squish the shoulders up towards the ears. Step 2: Raised Arms Pose (Hastottanasana) Though some videos might say that the toes are meant to touch, I think it’s better to have the feet hip-width apart and parallel, spreading through the toes. You don’t even need to have the toes touching. So the first thing I suggest is to stand with your feet hip-width apart, especially if you’re new to yoga. Step 1: Prayer Pose (Pranamasana) – With Feet Hip Width Apart Unlike CrossFit groupies, this dynamic flow is not likely to put you at risk for injury but it definitely is likely to kick your butt (and arms and shoulders) into serious shape. It’s like my own personal prep for a seated meditation or mantra practice.Īnd let’s not forget that burpee-esque quality. With each inhalation and exhalation, I’m given the opportunity to direct my energy and focus on the yoga poses that I’m moving through. It’s like a powerful moving, breathing meditation.

Enhanced cognitive functioning, thanks to the meditative qualitiesīut those are just the touted benefits of the namaskar yoga flow where each of the yoga poses offers its own set of benefits, as well.

Heat building cardio exercise that supports healthy weight loss.

Dynamic movements that stretch and strengthen the muscles.

Strengthened immune system (as with any physical exercise).

Increased blood circulation, which supports cardiovascular health.

Some of the most notable benefits include Just like with any physical exercise, there are tremendous health benefits that come with practicing namaskar yoga. Whatever the origin, it has since found its way into every hatha yoga and ashtanga vinyasa yoga class the world over. Others say that it was only invented in the early 20th century as a yoga sequence to increase blood circulation during an invigorating asana practice. Some say that namaskar yoga served as an important ritual that was complete with bija mantras, mudras, and offerings. That’s why the sun symbolizes the heart and the moon, which only shows a reflection of the sun’s light, symbolizes the mind.īecause the mind is only a reflection of what’s in the heart.Īs for the actual date of origin for Surya Namaskar, it’s a bit uncertain when it was first incorporated into traditional hatha yoga. While in western philosophies a lot of our knowledge and sense of self comes from the brain, the brain is only secondary to the heart in ancient yogic philosophy. In yoga, our truth and knowledge come from the heart, where our light resides.

In fact, that’s why each sequence ends with prayer pose with our hands at the heart, where we honor the light and truth within ourselves. …but this asana sequence nods to the all-knowing sun within us, as well. It’s super easy to attribute this bowing down to the sun to the life-giving energy that the sun brings to us and all other living organisms on this planet… Namaskar is Sanskrit for ‘bowing down to the sun’, which is where we get the term Sun Salutation.

While Surya Namaskar yoga isn’t necessarily mentioned in ancient texts, it has long been practiced in ashtanga vinyasa yoga styles. Where Does Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) Come From?

Hatha yoga sequence for happiness