Surya Namaskar A

This second video I created focuses on fundamental technique that anyone learning ashtanga yoga learns first. The asanas that make up Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutation A) serve the purpose of lubricating the spine and opening the nervous channels with the alternating forward bends and back bends. The "breathing with sound" creates heat, or agni, in the body, for the purpose of purification. The breath also helps to calm the mind with its unchanging, meditative rhythm.

Really the Sun Salutations are all you need to know, and can be a wonderful daily practice on their own (add that to The Four Purifications for more benefits). It's common yoga knowledge that it is better to do 10 minutes of yoga a day than 1.5 hours of yoga a week. Sometimes daily life needs to come before getting on your mat, like for those with small children and other such responsibilities. Guruji always believed and taught that most yogis should also be providers and homemakers. This is where learning to set aside at least 15 minutes a day and not being attached to getting 1.5 hours of practice in a day becomes the real yoga. 

Gaze up on an exhale and step or hop to your hands on the inhale :)

Surya Namaskar A is made up of 9 vinyasas, or breaths attached to a movement. In an ashtanga class, it is common that the vinyasas are counted in sanskrit (ekum, dwe, trini...). Sanskrit was used to write many spiritual texts, which pretty much take a PhD to translate. According to the Epics (Shastras), the practice of Surya Namaskar is necessary for spiritual development. It brings happiness, health and sunlight to the spirit. But if that's all too heavy, you can think of it as a warm-up exercise. I won't mind. I also found this fascinating description of the language (Sanskrit Sounds). 

"The word Sanskrit itself means 'refined, well done.' The alphabet is perfectly designed for the human vocal apparatus, and is pronounced phonetically...Ancient India had a very advanced culture intellectually and spiritually. The sciences of yoga, medicine (Ayurveda), astronomy/astrology (Jyotisha), mathematics, botany, etc. developed over thousands of years, and the accumulated knowledge was recorded in Sanskrit, both aurally and in writing. The sounds of the texts being chanted has been carried along with the written even to this day."

This video goes into a lot of detail. It should be used as a reference and not a video to practice to. Memorize the movements of the sun salutation, including when to inhale and exhale, take some pearls of wisdom from the video, and practice it to the sound of your breath. You will quickly feel how this practice of saluting the sun is much more than a warm-up exercise. 

Video Transcript: Surya Namaskar A

Hatha Yoga Nusasanam, that is what your mind should say each time you step onto your mat to begin a practice.  Right here, in this moment, I am so lucky and should be grateful to be alive.  We are receiving an invitation.  We are inviting ourself to the table, to feast on this delicious yoga.  Ah yes, we are so blessed to have this food for the body and soul.  By developing a relationship with the self,, we can access freedom in our bodies, love in our hearts and clarity in our minds.  Yoga is work, there is no doubt about that.  we have to exert effort to find relaxation.  Laziness is our biggest enemy.  We must move energy to maintain and build energy.  We must breathe deeply to enhance the quality of our lives.  We practice yoga to undo our past and unlock our future.  By accepting who we are in this moment, we can truly let go of whatever holds us back and move forward towards contentment.

Samastitih – Big toes and heels together if possible, but inner ankles apart.  Press the big toes forward and down and keep space between all of the toes.  Feel the ball of the foot and heel ground down, and feel the arch of the foot lifting. So much information exists simply in the feet!  The feet give us insight into our pelvis, so pay attention.  Symmetry in the feet will indicate a balanced pelvis, and less lower back pain.

Every pose carries the same patterns, and a lot can be understood in your body by observing your stance in samastihih.  Are your knees locked?  They should be soft.  Engage your quadriceps instead and lift your knee caps up.  Your pelvis should be neutral, not tilted forward or back.  Can you imagine the groins pressing back and the pubic bone lifting? Can you slightly tuck your tailbone so it points downward?  Notice your floating ribs now, keep them in so that the lumbar spine can press back, the kidneys lifting and maintaining just a slight arch in the lower back.   We want the natural curves to our spine to exist, but we don’t want to overarch the spine in any direction either.  Moving up to the chest cavity, your heart is lifted without tension.  You shoulders should relax down the back.  And the head, is it stacked directly on top of the spine, or pushing forward with over-ambition? Keep your chin slightly tucked and the back of the neck long. 

So much to think about!  Now that we’ve aligned our spine, just breathe – fully, freely, long and even, without pause--listening to the sound of the ujayi. 

Chataranga Dandasana– ahhh, such a difficult pose!  It takes such strength and alignment to hover above the floor and honestly take our full exhale before initiating the inhale we need to move to upward dog.  Lets try not to rush chataranga, because there is so much to learn.  Find that perfect 90 degree angle with your arms.  Shoulders remain back and chest lifted.  The head faces forward, not down, and the gaze is at the tip of the nose.  The forearms should be in line with the side of the body, very close to the bottom ribs.  Your upper arm will be inline with the spine.  Of course, we strive to keep our elbows in close to the sides.   As you exhale and lower, your belly should move back towards the spine, engaging uddiyana bandha – this will keep you feeling light, and keep you from sagging in your back as you lower.  Keep the same integrity in your spine as you had in samastitih.  Press back with your heels and keep the legs strong, you will need them for upward dog!

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana - And once the exhale is fully complete, the inhale begins… before you even start pressing into upward dog!  Upward dog, or urdvha mukha svanasana starts at the feet.  You roll over the tops of the toes (symmetrically, not one at a time) keeping your ankles stable.  It is important to not let the feet sickle in our out.  Press evenly into the toe bed, even your pinky should press down.  We have to use the floor as a prop to help combat the gravity, press down to go up!  This pose is much more in the legs than it should be in the arms, although arm strength is necessary to build too.  Again, we don’t want the lower back to sag or overarch, so use that energy in the legs to lift the pelvis up!  Mula bandha is lifting here, again creating lightness.  Press through the inner hands to lift the chest, trying not to lock the elbows or put too much pressure in the base of the hand which will lead to wrist troubles.  Grip with your fingertips.  Check the alignment of the arms-- the shoulders should stack directly above the wrists, not in front or behind.  Bring the shoulders back to open up the heart.  Let the head go back but do not crunch the vertebrae in the neck.  This is more about extending upward than arching the spine.  Your gaze is still at the tip of the nose, although it can be towards the third eye, I find the nose dristi to be more peaceful and inward-seeking.

Adho Mukha Svanasana - Once your inhale is complete, the exhale begins as you transition to downward dog, addho mukha svanasana.  Again, roll over the toes evenly, with stable ankles, we always start at the feet.  Press the hips up and back by extending fully with the arms.  Ahhh, our first inversion, putting our heart above our head.  This pose is essential to yoga, and once you’re able to find the balance of weight between the hands and feet, it becomes such a relaxing, restorative pose that can be held upwards of 5 minutes or more.  Of course, it’s another very detail oriented pose too.  Remember, we go back to samastitih to understand the directions of the spine.  We want to get those natural curves to transfer to all the poses.  Start at the feet.  They should be hips width apart, heels turned slightly out in line with the pinky toes.  You can step the feet up towards the hands a little, but this should not become habitual.  Eventually, you want to keep the spine long, so even if the heels don’t ground, keep your feet where they land after upward dog.  Soften the knees, so you can find the fronts of the legs.  Lift the kneecaps and engage your quads.  The base of the sacrum is the highest point in the pose, imagine a string attached to the sacrum that is pulling you upward.  Bring in your belly without creating tension in the breath and visualize both uddyana and mula bandha engaging.  Sits bones lift, but tailbone points down towards the heels.  The floating ribs stay in and the lumbar spine should puff upward with the breath.  Shoulders roll away from the neck and spine.  Inner elbows face each other and the middle finger points straight ahead.  Other fingers spread even distance from each other, press through the point in the web of the hand between the thumb and index finger, keep the pinky side of the hand light. 

Take 5 breaths or more in downward dog and complete the sun salutation.  As you raise your arms up to the sky reach through your fingers and press your palms, but leave your shoulders down.  Gaze up to the thumbs.   And come back to samastitih.

Modified – If you are still just developing your strength, it’s ok to add in some modifications.  For one, bend your knees as you fold forward, and simply step back to plank.  Come down on your knees first and then all the way to the floor instead of hovering in chataranga.  For  upward dog, just press your chest up, leaving your pelvis down.  In downdog, bend your knees a lot to find length in the spine.  Feel your body first before jumping around in your vinyasas.  Each day will be different than the next.  Some days we need to protect and preserve, other days we need to break down and rebuild.  Yoga is about letting go of your expectations.  Remember abhyasa-vairagyabhyam tan-nirodhah – to succeed in yoga we must take on two things:  consistent practice and non-attachment to the results!