How to do Surya Namaskar - a cool morning yoga complex

What is Surya Namaskar

Surya Namaskar (Sun salutation) is a set of 10-12 yoga poses that are repeated1. M. v. Bhutkar, P. M. Bhutkar, G. b. Taware. How Effective Is Sun Salutation in Improving Muscle Strength, General Body Endurance and Body Composition? / Asian journal of sports medicine
2. A. b. Bhavanani, K. Udupa, Madanmohan. A comparative study of slow and fast suryanamaskar on physiological function / International journal of yoga in strict sequence and include not only movement, but also control over breathing.

Surya Namaskar is built in a cyclical order: it begins and ends with the same posture and can be performed many times without pauses between circles.

The complex does not include complex asanas, does not require preliminary preparation and warming up. You can do it in the morning as an exercise or at any other time of the day.

Why Do Surya Namaskar

This complex can provide several advantages at once:

• Development of flexibility. Asanas increase the mobility of the thoracic spine, shoulder, hip and ankle joints. In the morning, the implementation of the complex will help relieve the feeling of stiffness and stiffness.
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• Muscle strengthening. In the process of performing Surya Namaskar, the muscles of the press, arms and shoulders, hips and shins work. In one experimentM. v. Bhutkar, P. M. Bhutkar, G. b. Taware. How Effective Is Sun Salutation in Improving Muscle Strength, General Body Endurance and Body Composition? / Asian journal of sports medicine Regularly doing Sun Salutation for six months significantly increased the strength and endurance of the muscles of both the upper and lower body.
• Increase in awareness. Attention to the position of your body and breathing helps you stay in the present moment, without being distracted by your thoughts and experiences. It can be called a kind of meditation in motion.

Who should not do Surya Namaskar

Some asanas of the complex are contraindicated in diseases associated with the lower back and neck, and emphasis on the hands can aggravate problems with the wrists and elbows.

If you are not sure about the health of your joints and spine, it is better to start mastering the complex under the supervision of an experienced yoga teacher who can change the asanas to suit your particularities and limitations.

How to perform a simple version of Surya Namaskar

Depending on the school of yoga, the execution of the complex may differ. We will show two common options. The first one is a little easier, so if you are trying yoga for the first time or are not sure about your flexibility and strength, it is worth starting with it.

The whole complex is performed continuously - one movement flows into another as you inhale and exhale.

1. Straight stance (Samasthiti)

Stand straight, place your feet hip-width apart, stretch your spine from your tailbone to your neck, and stretch your crown to the ceiling. Join your palms in front of your chest. Inhale and exhale, tighten your gluteal muscles and tilt your pelvis back - imagine that you are stretching your pubic bone towards your navel.

2.Intense traction (Hasta Uttanasana)

Keeping your pelvis tilted, inhale as you extend your arms above your head and arch your upper back, bringing your chest up to the ceiling. Do not relax your buttocks to keep your lower back in a neutral position - this is a very important point that will save you from back pain.

Don't tilt your head back, look up at the ceiling. Strive to bend more in the thoracic spine and do not lift your shoulders to your ears.

After the bend, return to the starting position with a straight back, but do not lower your arms - leave them above your head.

3. Bent over with touching the feet (Padahasana)

With an exhalation, bend at the hip joints and gently tilt the body forward until the hands touch the feet. Relax your neck and allow your head to hang freely on the top of your head.

It is important here that the tilt starts from the hip joints, and the spine remains as straight as possible.

If at the bottom of the pose you have a strong pull in the muscles on the back of the thigh, slightly bend your knees.

4. Rider Pose (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)

With an inhalation, bend your left leg at the knee, and put your right leg back, going into a deep lunge. Place your palms on the mat on either side of your left foot, lower your right knee and the back of your foot to the floor.

Check that the left leg is bent at the knee at a right angle, and the lower leg is perpendicular to the floor. Point your tailbone down and your pubic bone up. Look forward.

5. plank

Hold your breath and, leaning on your palms, place your right foot next to your left, going into an emphasis lying down. Check that the hands are under the shoulders, and the body is extended in one straight line from the heels to the top of the head. Tighten your abs and buttocks.

6. Eight Pillar Pose (Ashtanga Namaskara)

As you exhale, bend your knees and lower them to the floor, tuck your toes in and place them on the mat.

Bend your elbows and gently lower your chest to the floor. Put your head on your chin and look forward. Do not spread your elbows to the sides, keep them closer to the body.

At the bottom of the pose, rest on the floor with your toes, knees, chest, palms and chin, and leave the pelvis and stomach on weight.

7.Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Inhale as you lower your pelvis and hips to the floor. Leaning on your palms, lift your chest and shoulders, arching at the top of your back. Straighten your shoulders, lower your shoulder blades, bend your elbows slightly and stretch your chest up. Look at the ceiling.

8. Downward facing dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

With an exhalation, lift your hips off the floor, bend at the hips and point your tailbone up towards the ceiling. Straighten your arms and legs so that your body resembles an inverted V and place your heels on the floor.

If you have a strong pull on the back of your thigh and your back arches like a wheel, lift your heels off the floor and bend your knees slightly. Bend at the thoracic spine and pull the stomach towards the hips.

9.Rider Pose (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)

With an inhale, bend your right leg at the knee and place it between your hands. Lower your left knee to the floor, press the back of your foot to the mat.

10.Bent over with touching the feet (Padahasana)

As you exhale, lift your left knee off the floor and place your left foot next to your right. Raise your pelvis towards the ceiling, and bring your stomach close to your hips. Place your palms on either side of your feet, or place them on top of them.

11. Intense traction (Hasta Uttanasana)

With an inhalation, lift the body, stretch your arms above your head and bend at the back. Remember to tighten your buttocks and pull your pubic bone up - this is important for the health of your lower back.

12.Straight stance (Samasthiti)

With an exhalation, return the body to a straight position, lower your arms down and fold your palms in front of your chest.

Perform 2-3 breath cycles and repeat the whole complex from the beginning, but this time in the first position of the rider (step 4) put the left leg back, and in the second (step 9) put it in front.

How to perform a difficult version of Surya Namaskar

This is not to say that this variation is particularly difficult, but since it has a four-legged staff and an upward facing dog, it may seem a little harder than the previous one. Try it and compare the effect. Perhaps you will like it more.

1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Put your feet together, straighten your back, pull in your stomach and buttocks, and tilt your pelvis back. Leave your arms at your sides and turn your palms towards your body.

2. Mountain pose with arms up

With an inhalation, raise your arms up through your sides and join your palms. Look up.

3. Forward bend (Uttanasana)

As you exhale, open your arms out to the sides, bend at the hips and lean forward with a straight back. Place your palms on either side of your feet and press your stomach against your thighs. Let your head hang down freely, relax your neck.

If pulling on the back of the thigh, bend your knees and continue to lengthen your back from your tailbone to the top of your head.

4.Bent Over Stretch (Ardha Uttanasana)

With an inhalation, tear your stomach away from your hips and fully straighten your back and legs at the knees. If you can, touch the floor with your fingertips; if not, keep your hands in the air.

5. plank

With an exhalation, place your palms on the floor and with a jump go to the lying position. You can also put your legs in the plank one at a time, as in the video. Make sure your shoulders are above your wrists and that your lower back is not arched.

6.Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)

On the same exhale, bend your elbows to a right angle. Make sure that the body is straight, without deflection in the lower back. Point your elbows back, do not place them to the sides.

7. Upward facing dog pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)

With an inhale, curl your toes to place your feet on the mat, push your chest forward and up, and straighten your arms. In this position, the pelvis and hips are on weight, and the weight of the body is distributed between the feet and palms.

Arch your back, lower your shoulder blades and stretch your neck, stretch your chest forward. If you feel discomfort and pain in your lower back, replace this asana with the Cobra Pose.

8.Downward facing dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

With an exhalation, return the feet to the fingers, lift the pelvis up and straighten the arms and legs. Stretch your stomach to your hips, bend in the thoracic spine. If pulling on the back of your thigh, lift your heels off the floor and bend your knees, but try to keep your back straight.

9. Bent Over Stretch (Ardha Uttanasana)

With an inhale, jump your feet between your arms and straighten your back. If it's hard, rearrange them one at a time.

10.Forward bend (Uttanasana)

With an exhalation, deepen the slope, pulling the stomach closer to the knees. You can leave your hands next to your feet or move your palms further beyond the line of the body.

11.Mountain pose with arms up

With an inhalation, lift the body, moving your hands through the sides up.

12.Tadasana

Exhale as you lower your arms, returning to the starting position.

How often to perform Surya Namaskar

In Indian researchM. v. Bhutkar, P. M. Bhutkar, G. b. Taware. How Effective Is Sun Salutation in Improving Muscle Strength, General Body Endurance and Body Composition? / Asian journal of sports medicine, dedicated to the influence of Surya Namaskar on strength and endurance, at first they performed a complex of 6 circles, and in 15 weeks they brought the number of cycles to 24.

If you are madly in love with the "sun salutation", you can try this challenge. Just make sure you do all the asanas correctly so you don't end up with back or neck pain.

In my opinion, it would be more rational and safe to leave Surya Namaskar for morning exercises, and endurance and develop muscle strength with more suitable exercises, such as push-ups, squats and pull-ups.

Perform 4-8 circles of the complex after waking up. One circle takes about 60 seconds, so Surya Namaskar will take no more than 10 minutes, even if you get confused in the exercises and stop to look at the next movement.

You can also use the "greeting" as a small warm-up during the day or do the complex as a warm-up before a yoga class.