What's one of my favorite ways to start my day?
With yoga, of course! But more specifically, with Sun Salutations.
Sun Salutations (also known as Surya Namaskars) are one of the more recognized sequences in yoga, but why do we do them?
We often do them at the beginning of our practice to "greet the sun", begin to bring movement into our bodies and build prana (life-force) to raise our energy level and awareness.
Sun Salutation A is one of my favorite sequences and I almost always do it early on in my practice. Occasionally when I'm short on time or just need a quick full body stretch, I'll just do a handful of these because they're that effective.
And I must say, there's something about this sequence that I just love. It almost always puts a smile on my face, and gets me laser-focused and energized in a matter of minutes.
So here's the how-to breakdown of Sun Salutation A...
Begin with your hands at heart center. Take a moment to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths & set an intention, or at least use this pause to bring your awareness to the present moment.
On an inhale, rise your arms up to the sky with strength & intention reaching out through your finger tips, gaze up.
Exhale forward fold. Feel free to keep a bend in your knees, especially for the first few rounds. Let your head hang heavy, no tension in the neck or arms.
Inhale half-way lift, flat back, shoulder blades glide down your back, gaze slightly forward. Hands can rest on your thighs, shins or ground -- whichever keeps the integrity of the flat back.
Exhale step back to a high plank & pause. Check in with your alignment: gaze slightly forward, shoulders over wrists, strong arms with triceps squeezing in towards each other, core engaged by drawing your ribs in towards each other (rather than a sucking in of the stomach) back & legs straight in one long line, energy pressing out your heels.
On the same exhale, lower only halfway, elbows grazing at your ribs. Core still strong.
Inhale flip your toes, press into your hands into upward dog, just hands & tops of feet should be in contact with the ground, thighs lifted (try cobra for the first few by keeping your legs & hips on the ground & just lifting chest slightly). Roll shoulders down away from your ears.
Exhale rise your hips up to the sky, flip your toes, downward dog. Hands shoulder-width apart, press firmly into all 10 fingers & knuckles, triceps squeezing in towards each other. Feet hip-width apart reaching your heels towards the ground, slight bend in knees if needed.
Inhale step to the front of your mat (after a few maybe hop forward). Half-way lift, flat back, shoulder blades glide down your back, gaze slightly forward. Hands can rest on your thighs, shins or ground -- whichever keeps the integrity of the flat back.
Exhale forward fold. Feel free to keep a bend in your knees, especially for the first few rounds. Let your head hang heavy, no tension in the neck or arms.
Inhale, rise your arms up to the sky with strength & intention reaching out through your finger tips, gaze up and perhaps slightly back to open the chest & heart.
Exhale draw your hands back to heart center. Continue this loop as many times as you like (maybe 5-15 times in a row). On the last one, pause here. Notice your strong breath & energy flowing through your body. Harness that energy by bringing your awareness back to your intention, or simply taking this moment as an offer of gratitude for cultivating this radical time & space for yourself.