Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation)

In Hindu mythology, the sun god is worshipped as a symbol of health and immortal life. The Rig Veda declares that "Surya is the Soul, both of the moving and unmoving beings". The Sun Salutation originated as a series of prostrations to the sun. Traditionally, it is performed at dawn, facing the rising sun.

The Sun Salutation is a graceful sequence of twelve positions performed as one continuous flow. Each position counteracts the one before, stretching the body in a different way and alternately expanding and contracting the chest to regulate the breathing. The sequence also flexes and stretches the spinal column through their maximum range giving profound stretch to the whole body. Practiced daily it will bring great flexibility to your spine and joints and trim your waist. It limbers up the whole body in preparation for the other Asanas (postures) that are practiced as part of a regular yoga routine.


While practicing the sequence, keep your hands in one place from positions 3 to 10 and try to co-ordinate your movements with your breathing. Start by practicing three rounds and gradually build up to twelve rounds. Take it easy during the first two rounds. As the body limbers up, you may deepen each stretch in the sequence. Please use the picture above as a guide to the postures. The step numbers below correspond to the figures in the pictures from left to right.

Step-by-Step

1. Stand erect with feet together and hands in the prayer position in front of your chest. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed. Exhale.


2. Inhaling, stretch your arms out and up and arch back from the waist, pushing the hips out, legs straight. Relax your neck.


3. Exhaling, fold forward, and press your palms down, fingertips in line with toes. Try to keep the knees straight, bending slightly if necessary.


4. Inhaling, bring the left (or right) leg back and place the knee on the floor. Arch back and look up, lifting your chest and chin.


5. Exhaling, bring the other leg back, curl your toes under, raise your hips and pivot into an inverted "V" shape (Adhomukha Shvanasana or Downward Facing Dog). Try to push your heels and forehead down, tailbone lifted up and keep your shoulders back.


6. Exhaling, lower your knees, then your chest and then your chin to the floor, keeping your hips up.


7. Inhaling, lower your hips to the floor, point your toes and stretch the chin out. Slowly lift your head, neck and chest (Bhujangasana or Cobra pose). Keep legs together and shoulder blades pulled back. Look up and back.


8. Exhaling, curl your toes under, raise your hips and pivot into an inverted "V" shape. Try to push your heels and forehead down and keep your shoulders back (same as position 5).


9. Inhaling, step forward and place the left (or right) foot between your hands. Rest the other knee on the floor and look up, as in position 4.


10. Exhaling, bring the other leg forward and bend down from the waist, keeping your palms as in position 3.


11. Inhaling, stretch your arms forward, then up and back over your head and bend back slowly from the waist, as in position 1.


12. Exhaling, gently come back to an upright position and bring your arms down by your sides. Relax for a few breaths before proceeding with the next round.

Benefits

• The abdominal organs and the stomach are stretched and compressed. This gives a wonderful massage to the internal organs


• Stimulates the peristalsis of the intestines, which helps to remove constipation. It gently massages the kidneys and increases the blood flow through the whole body. It helps to eliminate toxins from the body.


• The lungs are emptied of impurities and stale air, and the body is revitalized by the extra supply of oxygen that it receives. The whole body and brain function much better as a consequence. One can almost feel the extra supercharge of energy. It harmonizes the whole endocrinal system of glands, and helps to remove any irregularities by directly massaging and increasing the blood flow to them.


• The spinal column is bent and stretched in a systematic manner to the maximum extent, thus stimulating the circulation of blood in the whole spinal cord and all the nerve centers. As a consequence, it brings health and vitality to the entire nervous systems.


• All the main muscles and joints in the body are exercised, stretched and squeezed.


• Induces peace of mind, reduces emotional conflicts, neurosis and stress. It is an excellent routine to practice when you get up in the morning as it will prepare you in all ways to face the oncoming day with physical strength and mental poise.

Contraindications

Surya Namaskara is generally safe for people of all age groups as long as one keeps each of the stretches and moves within one’s individual capability. However, if you have any of the conditions given below, please consult your physician or an expert yoga teacher before practicing Surya Namaskara:

Fever, acute inflammation, boils or rashes, High blood pressure (uncontrolled even with medication), Coronary artery diseases, Hernia, Intestinal tuberculosis, Severe back problems, slipped disc, Sciatica, Menstruation, 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Brief Introduction

For most people the word “yoga” brings to mind the image of a yoga model that appears on the cover of a yoga magazine in a pose that is almost impossible to get into for an average practitioner. Yoga is commonly practiced as a routine which helps in improving physical fitness and sometimes as a means to stress management. There is growing awareness that yoga can be effectively used as therapy in treating a variety of ailments, including hypertension, diabetes, heart conditions etc. In India, Baba Ramdev, whose daily TV show is hugely popular, has been very successful in promoting yoga as a therapeutic practice. Those who have been practicing yoga for a while can attest to the physical and physiological benefits that the practice brings.

While all the above mentioned benefits of yoga are certainly desirable, most people are ignorant about the true meaning and purpose of yoga which is “the ability to control the fluctuations of the mind”. This brief and succinct definition was provided to us by Sage Patanjali, more than three thousand years ago, in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali has provided a very scientific and practical exposition of the philosophy and practice of yoga. One very important section of the book describes what is commonly called “ashtanga yoga” or the Eight Limbs of Yoga which provides practical guidelines for achieving the goal of yoga, i.e., controlling the mind.

Most of the yoga as it is practiced today, called Hatha Yoga, includes physical postures (asanas) and some breathing techniques (pranayama). As you can notice from the eight limbs which are listed below, asana and pranayama are only two of these eight limbs and help establish a strong foundation toward achieving the objectives of yoga. However, to develop a fully integrated practice of yoga and achieve the final objectives of yoga, one needs to include in their routine all the eight limbs of yoga in some form.

Overview of Yoga Sutras

Even though yoga has been mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Vedas, Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita etc, the credit for putting together a formal, cohesive philosophy of yoga goes to Sage Patanjali. In his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali has provided the very essence of the philosophy and teachings of yoga in a highly scientific and systematic exposition. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (YSP) are one of the six darshanas of Hindu schools of philosophy and a very important milestone in the history of Yoga. The book is a set of 195 aphorisms (sutras), which are short, terse phrases designed to be easy to memorize. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras is an enormously influential work that is just as relevant for yoga philosophy and practice today as it was when it was written. The sutras are divided into four chapters (pada) as follows:

Samadhi Pada: The first chapter provides a definition and the purpose of yoga. Various approaches that can be used to achieve the objectives of yoga are provided.

Sadhana Pada: The second chapter contains the practical approach to achieving the goals of yoga. In this chapter the author gives a description of the eight limbs of yoga called Ashtanga Yoga, which is how the yoga sutras are sometimes referred to.

Vibhuti Pada: The third chapter focuses on some of the supernatural powers that an adept yogi may be able to attain.

Kaivalya Pada: In the fourth chapter the nature of the mind and mental perceptions, desire, bondage and liberation and what follows it are discussed.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are also sometimes referred to as "Raja Yoga" or the "Royal Yoga".

Definition of Yoga

In sutra 2 of the first chapter, Patanjali has defined yoga as

“yogascitta vritti nirodhah” (Sanskrit)

"Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff"

- translation by Swami Vivekananda

In subsequent sutras, Patanjali explains that once the mind is properly restrained, then the “seer” or the “soul – the true self” can rest in its own true nature. Further, as long as the mind is not under control, it continues to assume the form of the “vrittis” or the perturbations in the mind and these vrittis become the cause of human suffering. In simpler terms, what this definition tells us is that we can be peaceful and happy when we can control the mind; else, the mind continues to control us and we stay in a state of suffering.

Ashtanga Yoga (Eight limbs of Yoga)

The eight limbs of yoga as defined in the second chapter are as follows:

Yamas (self restraints): The yamas are guidelines for how to interact with the outside world at a social level. The five yamas are: Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (abstinence), Aparigraha (non-hoarding).

Niyamas (observances): The niyamas represent guidelines for self-discipline. The five niyamas are: shoucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), swadhyaya (study of the scriptures and self-study), and Ishwara pranidhana (surrender to God). Together, yamas and niyamas provide an ethical and moral code to be followed so the aspiring yogi can establish an adequate moral foundation for his/her spiritual journey.

Asana (posture): Asana refers to the seated posture which should be steady and comfortable so the yogi can sit and meditate for long periods of time.

Pranayama (breath control): Pranayama, which literally means stretching or expansion of prana, the vital life force, involves breath control and helps train and prepare the mind for dharana (concentration).

Pratyahara (sense withdrawal): Through pratyahara one gains the ability to withdraw the senses from their objects thus achieving perfect control over the senses.

Dharana (concentration/focus): Dharana involves focusing the mind on a single object of concentration for long periods of time.

Dhyana (meditation): When there is an uninterrupted flow of the mind toward the object of focus, the yogi enters the state of meditation.

Samadhi (total absorption): Finally when even the self-awareness of the mind disappears and only the object of meditation shines through, it is called the state of samadhi. It is only when the highest stage of “Samadhi”, called the “nirbeeja Samadhi” (seedless Samadhi) when the mind the fully under control and brings the yogi to a state of perpetual peace and tranquility.

The main focus of Patanjali is controlling the mind and subduing the fluctuations of the mind, called 'chitta vrittis'. Once the mind is calm and peaceful, one gets established in his own true nature.