For example, in many classes - after a few unadulterated sun salutations - you will find yourself in down dog again. Often times instructors use this 12 step sequence to help them flow into new poses (two times - one on each side) outside the sun salutation format. If you’ve ever heard that fateful word: “chaturanga”, you are in the middle of a sun salutation.įor many instructors, the sun salutation sequence is used as the backbone to their asana sequencing. Vinyasa, Power, Ashtanga), you are probably familiar with the 12-step sequencing of the sun salutation ( Surya Namaskar), even if you didn’t know it by name. It’s best if you can practice them around the time when the sun is rising, and you shouldn’t do as many of them if you’re practicing at night.Unless you are a yin-ish yogi who has never taken a flow-based class (i.e. Sun salutations make a great warm up, or you can do a lot of rounds and make them a complete practice. Before doing a variation, complete a round or two of the classical sequence. We do classical sun salutations in many of our Akhanda classes, and then we might choose to include variations by adding in great beautiful warrior ( mahavirabhadrasana, often called warrior II) or triangle ( trikonasana) along with high lunge ( virasana) and caturanga. ![]() ![]() That’s half of one round! Do the second half by stepping back to cetakasana with your left leg first. Inhale as you stand up, keeping your spine long as you go, and reach the arms overhead with a slight backbend.Įxhale as you bring your palms together over your heart, standing in tadasana. Again, let your head and shoulders relax down, and keep a little bend in your knees to take care of your back and tight hamstrings if that feels best. Long spine.Įxhale to step the left foot forward beside the right in a forward fold. The right knee should be on top of the right ankle, right foot flat on the ground. Inhale to step your right foot forward between your hands, letting your left knee rest down on the ground. We want to shape our bodies like an upside-down V direct your heart toward your knees to help you keep a straight line from your wrists to your tailbone. We’re working toward straight legs, but it’s okay to keep a little bend in your knees if your hamstrings are tight. Let your heels move toward the floor, even if they don’t touch yet. Keep your fingers spread wide, middle fingers pointing forward, and press your palms flat, allowing your entire hand (all the way to the fingertips!) to support your weight. (This is often called downward dog, but keep in mind that downward dog is a little different than mountain pose). We don’t want to feel any pain or pinching in the low back.Ĭurl your toes into the mat and exhale to lift to mountain pose. Think about directing your heart forward to stay long through the spine. Keep your elbows close to your body and your shoulders away from your ears. Note that this is different from upward dog, where only the tops of your feet and your palms are contacting the floor. Lift as high as you comfortably can (the elbows can stay bent) while your lower body rests on the floor. Palms are flat on the floor, and there is a straight line from your head to your heels - take care that your hips are along that line, not above nor below.Įxhale to bring your knees, chest, and chin to the floor (eight-limbed salutation pose). Keep your elbows close to your sides. Hold the breath just long enough to step the left foot back to the plank position. Let your hips move down and forward, keeping the back long. Inhale as you take a big step back with the right foot, resting the right knee on the ground. If your hands don’t reach the floor, rest them on your shins. Let your knees bend if that feels better. Relax your head and shoulders, and keep your spine long. Think about lifting your heart up to avoid straining your low back.Īs you exhale, fold forward. Take care that you’re keeping the front of your body strong to support the backbend. Place your palms together over your heart in namaskar mudra (fingers together!).Īs you inhale, reach your arms overhead, backbending slightly. Start standing with your big toes together (heels slightly apart) or, as I prefer, with my feet as wide as my hips. ![]() Remember to use your ujjayi breath as you go, and to time those breaths to match each movement. Sometimes, when you’re trying to follow along with a class online, it can be hard to touch on all the fine points of each pose in the sequence because there’s just not enough time between breaths! Here, we’ll take a closer look at each pose to help you get strong, graceful, and consistent with the sequence. In Akhanda yoga, we start with the classical sun salutations. You might have noticed that they vary a lot, depending on who is teaching. Sun salutations ( surya namaskarasana) are a classic yoga sequence.
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