Everything You Need to Know About Sun Salutations
If TikTok has had any effect on you, you already have a rigorous morning routine that includes tongue scrapers, brightening eye patches, green powders, and skin serums. But if you want to reduce stress throughout the day, improve your mobility, and quietly increase your strength, yoga instructors recommend sun salutations, better known as “sun salutations.” Sun salutations (or Surya Namaskar) are a specific sequence of yoga poses that, when combined with breathing, form a yoga flow, says Rachel Hirsch, a yoga instructor and co-founder of Empowered Yoga studio in Los Angeles, California. But what exactly are sun salutations? Below, find a complete guide to incorporating sun salutations into your routine, with tips from certified yoga instructors.
Table of Contents
Sun Salutation Sequence
This sequence served as a poignant prayer in which practitioners gave thanks to the sun, explains Ashley Galvin, a yoga instructor at Alo Moves. “Traditionally, yoga is practiced early in the morning, before breakfast, at sunrise.”
However, over time, as yoga became Westernized, the sequence moved away from its religious roots. Today, sun salutations are commonly used at the beginning of a yoga class to warm up the body or as a main part of the class, Galvin explains.
So, what yoga poses are included in sun salutation sequences? It varies. There are three different sun salutation sequences: A, B, and C, each based on the previous one. Generally, Sun Salutation A is considered the most basic and suitable for beginners, while Sun Salutation C is more advanced.
Below, Chelsea Williams Hofer, RYT, a registered yoga teacher and Hyperice expert, offers a step-by-step guide to Sun Salutation A. Please also note that while each pose is explained separately below, the poses are meant to be linked together in a cohesive flow.
Sun Salutation A
Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
Stand with your feet slightly apart and parallel.
Lower your arms to your sides, palms facing outward and shoulders relaxed.
Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salutation)
Inhale and raise your arms overhead in a wide arch.
Place your palms together, tilt your head back, and gaze at your thumbs.
Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
Exhale and lower your arms, flexing at the hips and bending forward simultaneously.
Lower your neck so that your head hangs heavily from your upper spine.
Bend your knees if you feel pressure in your lower back and place your hands on blocks if they don’t reach the floor.
Ardha Uttanasana (Standing Half Forward Bend)
Inhale and press your fingertips into the floor (or place your weight on your shins if you have tight hamstrings).
Straighten your elbows and lift the front of your torso away from your hips.
Lengthen the front of your torso by arching your spine evenly.
Plank Pose
Exhale and return your legs to a push-up position.
Stand with your shoulders directly over your wrists and your feet hip-width apart.
Lower your knees to the mat if necessary.
Look down and slightly forward, lengthening the back of your neck.
Inhale and lengthen your back.
Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Armed Staff Pose)
Exhale and press your elbows firmly into your body. Bend your nudges and slowly lower your body to the floor.
Continue lowering until your elbows form a 90-degree angle and pause.
Look down and slightly forward.
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose)
Inhale, rolling forward from the balls of your feet to your toes.
Press your toes into the mat, keep your legs tight, and relax your glutes.
Pull your shoulders back and broaden your collarbones.
Look forward or slightly upward.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)
Exhale, lifting your hips up and back to form an inverted V.
With your palms facing down, lengthen your back and lower your heels toward the mat. If your hamstring tendon are tight, bend your knees as much as necessary.
Ardha Uttanasana (Standing Half Bend)
Inhale and press your fingertips into the floor (or rest your weight on your shins if your hamstrings are tight).
Extend your elbows and lift the front of your torso away from your hips.
Extend the front of your torso by evenly arching your entire spine.
Uttanasana (Standing Half Bend)
Exhale, lower your arms, bending forward.
Lower your neck so that your head hangs freely from the top of your spine.
Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute)
Inhale and raise your arms overhead, forming wide arches.
Place your palms together, tilt your head back, and gaze at your thumbs.
Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
Lower your arms to your sides, palms facing outward, shoulders relaxed.
Benefits of Sun Salutations
Incorporating Sun Salutations into your routine, whether you consider yourself a yogi or not, has numerous benefits. These are just a few of the potential mental and physical benefits of Sun Salutations.
It gives you a morning energy boost.
Sun Salutations have long been used to help people start their day energized, says Hirsch. “They can activate the heart and blood circulation, creating warmth in the body that prepares it for deeper postures, as well as the rest of the day.”
A modern practice called “morning exercises” is based on a similar principle. Experts say that activating the heart right after waking up can help keep hormones in balance, relieve stiffness, and get the day off to a good start.
It improves cardiovascular fitness.
Every time you move from lying down to standing, your heart rate increases. And you know what? That’s what happens when you do one or two Sun Salutations, depending on the sequence.
The exact heart rate achieved during a sun salutation depends on several factors, including your current fitness level, the ambient temperature, your hydration status, how quickly you change poses, and how much time you spend resting. Regardless, a sun salutation will raise your heart rate enough to sustain you during the recommended 150 minutes of cardio per week.
Increases Total Body Strength
Sun salutations can also increase strength, says Hirsch. Each sun salutation pose strengthens a different part of the body. For example, cobra pose is excellent for strengthening the chest and shoulders, while downward-facing dog is ideal for strengthening the back.
Improves Muscular Endurance
However, performing sun salutations not only strengthens your muscles but also increases their endurance. The length of each pose will depend on the type of yoga you practice and the instructor, explains Hirsch. Some poses, such as fast vinyasas, require you to hold them for only one or two breaths. Meanwhile, slower postures, like Hatha yoga, require you to hold the pose for more than 10 breaths. Either way, you’ll increase your muscular endurance.
Increases Flexibility
Your connective tissues, especially your muscles, become more elastic when they’re filled with nutrient-rich blood. Therefore, performing a blood-pumping sun salutation sequence can also improve flexibility, says Hofer. “It releases stiffness, increases flexibility, and improves range of motion and mobility.”
Promotes Better Mobility
Mobility is defined as the strength that comes from your flexibility. You can actively move your muscles through a range of motion, rather than passively using someone else’s hand or your own (which is flexibility). Hofer points out that by building strength and flexibility at the same time, you’re also improving your mobility.
Reduce Stress
By rolling out your yoga mat, you have no choice but to disconnect from the outside world and focus on your body and the present moment, says Hirsch. “When postures are challenging, both physically and mentally, like the sun salutation, it provides you with instant clarity and stress relief.”
To overcome any situation, you need to focus, so that your mind naturally shifts away from external stressors and focuses on the task at hand, she explains. When performing an intense sun salutation sequence, you have no choice but to focus on it. “It’s as if the stressors of the outside world recede, and your energy is focused on how to overcome the sequence in the present.”
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Improve the Mind-Body Connection
Each posture in the salutation is linked to breathing, says Galvin. “When you intentionally synchronize your movements with your breathing, as prescribed in the sun salutation, you strengthen the mind-body connection.” Beyond your yoga mat, this strengthened connection can reduce your risk of injury, reduce stress, boost your confidence, and much more.
Variations and Modifications
Sun salutation isn’t a 300-level college class. That means there are no prerequisites to practicing it.
“The great thing about sun salutation, and by extension, yoga in general, is that it requires no prior experience, body type, or physical condition,” says Hirsch. Regardless of your current physical abilities or health, you can perform sun salutation variations, she adds.
Each sun salutation pose can be tailored to each individual on a given day. For example, during downward-facing dog, you can expand your range of motion to a bent-knee variation if you have tight hamstrings or some other functional limitation. Or if your wrists are limiting your range of motion, you can expand your range to a dolphin pose.
During a chaturanga yoga bend, you can reduce the intensity of the movement by lowering yourself onto your knees. Or you can increase the muscle load by doing two push-ups in a row.
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Breathing Techniques
While the specific postures your body assumes during a sun salutation are important, so is your breathing, especially as you progress through the sequence. When starting out with yoga and sun salutations, there’s no wrong way to breathe, says Hirsch.
“There’s a lot of information available that indicates your primary focus should be pain-free movement,” she says. “However, as you progress through the sequence, you can add details (like your breathing) that you can and should focus on.”
Typically, sun salutations are performed with breath and movement, says Hofer. “The beginning of the inhalation initiates the transition from one posture to the next, followed by a pause in both the breath and the body as you settle into the posture. Then, the beginning of the exhalation serves as a cue for the next transition.”
In practice, this means that the fullness of your lungs sets the rhythm for your movement. Once you focus on your breathing, you’ll begin to reap new benefits from sun salutations, including feeling stress drain from your body, says Hofer.
“Deep intentional breathing is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system, and when activated, it reduces stress hormones and produces a feeling of relaxation,” she says.
Practical Tips for Beginners
If you’re new to yoga, a great place to start is by taking a beginner class at your local yoga studio. The lectures and hands-on instruction can be incredibly helpful for those just learning to understand the body’s shapes, says Hofer. Plus, the instructor gives you instant access to scaling recommendations based on your strength, mobility, and limitations, she adds.
Don’t hesitate to inform your trainer about any injuries, pain, or ailments you’re currently experiencing. For example, if your wrist is hurting, ask them to include wrist-friendly exercises. Only do what you can do without pain, advises Hirsch. This will give you plenty of time to progress to more challenging pose variations, she adds.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The biggest mistake people make when practicing yoga is going deeper into poses than their bodies can handle. This can be avoided by setting aside your ego and adopting a beginner’s mindset. Remember, your goal is longevity (not perfection!).
According to Hirsch, in the first few months, your goal is simply to build a foundation of strength and mobility that will allow you to continue adding new elements of intensity and focus.
Just like Maren Morris says in Bones: When your bones are healthy, nothing else matters. Well, little yogis, it’s time to develop strong bones that will last for years.
Conclusion
The Sun Salutation, or Surya Namaskar, is much more than a simple warm-up. It is a dynamic combination of movement, breath, and awareness that can transform your physical health and mental clarity. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced yogi, practicing the Sun Salutation regularly can help you improve flexibility, strengthen muscles, improve circulation, and find inner peace. Understanding the sequence, benefits, variations, and proper alignment allows you to use this ancient practice as a tool for overall well-being. Whether at sunrise, midday, or sunset, each cycle offers an opportunity to reconnect with your body, mind, and breath. Start slowly, be consistent, and allow each Sun Salutation to become a moving meditation that will energize your day and nourish your soul.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is the Sun Salutation?
The Sun Salutation, or Surya Namaskar, is a sequence of yoga postures performed in a flowing order. Traditionally, they are performed to salute the sun and are used to warm the body, improve circulation, and connect breath with movement.
2. How many postures are in a Sun Salutation?
The classic Sun Salutation consists of 12 postures (or steps) that include forward bends, lunges, planks, and backbends. There may be variations in different yoga styles, but the basic structure remains the same.
3. What are the benefits of practicing the Sun Salutation?
Some key benefits include:
Increased flexibility and strength
Improved posture and balance
Improved circulation
Increased lung capacity through breath control
Stress reduction and mental clarity
4. Can beginners do the Sun Salutation?
Yes! Sun Salutations are suitable for beginners and can be adapted to your fitness level. Start slowly, paying special attention to alignment and breathing. Over time, your body will adapt to the rhythm and depth of the postures.
5. How many times a day should you do Sun Salutations?
You can start with 2-4 rounds and gradually increase to 10-12 to warm up or train your entire body. Consistency is more important than quantity: listen to your body and gradually increase the intensity.
6. What is the best time of day to do Sun Salutations?
Traditionally, Sun Salutations are performed at sunrise, but they can be practiced at any time: in the morning to energize, in the afternoon to unwind, or in the evening to relax. Avoid practicing them immediately after meals.
7. Can Sun Salutations help you lose weight?
Yes, when practiced regularly at a moderate or brisk pace, the Sun Salutation can help you lose weight by improving your metabolism, building muscle, and burning calories, especially when combined with a healthy lifestyle.
8. Is flexibility required to practice the Sun Salutation?
No. Flexibility is an outcome, not a requirement. Start where you are, use props if needed, and focus on your breathing and alignment, not on touching your toes or perfecting your posture.
9. Does the Sun Salutation have spiritual significance?
Yes. In traditional yoga, the Sun Salutation is a way to honor the sun, which symbolizes energy, consciousness, and life itself. This practice can be meditative and spiritually inspiring, although it can also be performed for its purely physical benefits.
10. What is the difference between Sun Salutation A and B?
Sun Salutation A (Surya Namaskar A) is a simpler and more basic sequence. Sun Salutation B incorporates postures such as Chair Pose and Warrior I, making it more dynamic and intense. Both are commonly practiced in Vinyasa Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga.
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