Energize Your Day With Surya Namaskara (Salute To The Sun)

Preparing now for Surya Namaskar,

Salute to the sun by coming to the front of your mat or the space that you're using.

Feet are either together or hip width apart,

Whatever is more comfortable for you.

Lift the toes,

Spread them,

Bring them back down,

Maximising the contact between the feet and the floor.

Closing the eyes,

Gently sway from forward to back,

Right to left,

To find that point of perfect balance between the left and the right foot and the heels and the toes.

Once you feel that perfect balance,

That centre of gravity,

Become still.

To help with the stillness,

Visualise the body as a tree,

Extending the roots down through the floor and into the earth beneath.

Begin drawing the breath as though up through the roots of the tree from the earth beneath,

Full length of the tree to the very top and on the exhalation breathing out full length of the tree down through the roots and into the earth beneath,

Beginning to feel the blending of the feet with the floor.

Visualise yourself in your favourite place in the whole world,

Facing the rising sun,

Create all the sensory inputs,

Smells,

Sound,

Beginning with the modified version,

Taking a deep breath in and on the exhalation bringing the hands to prayer position,

Palms in full contact,

Thumbs at the sternum.

On the next inhalation,

Stretching straight up,

Up towards the ceiling,

Tall as you can.

The next exhalation,

Sliding the hands down the body,

If you have high blood pressure,

Keep the head above the heart,

Otherwise palms flat on the floor next to the feet,

Bending the knees if you need to,

To get into this position and take the head towards the knees if that's right for you.

On the next inhalation,

Taking a big step back with the right leg,

Right knee goes to the floor,

Left shin is vertical,

Making sure that the left knee doesn't go beyond the toes and you have a strong stretch at the front of the right hip.

Come onto the fingertips and look forward.

The next exhalation,

Bringing the left leg back,

Coming onto all fours,

Into the cat pose,

So knees under the hips,

Hands under the shoulders.

On the next inhalation,

Head up,

Tail up,

Arching the back,

Taking the navel towards the floor.

Then on the exhalation,

Head down,

Tuck the tail under,

Pushing the spine towards the ceiling,

Drawing on the pelvic floor muscles and the abdominal muscles if that's right for you,

And then sliding the hands forward,

Bending the elbows,

Keeping them snug against the body,

Lower the pubic bone down towards the floor,

Into the cobra pose,

Shoulders relaxed.

On the next exhalation,

Lifting the pelvis,

Bringing the hands back into the cat pose,

Downward cat first this time,

Head down,

Tuck the tail under,

Spine towards the ceiling.

On the inhalation,

Head up,

Tail up,

Arching the back so the navel goes towards the floor,

And then stepping forward with the left leg.

Left shin is vertical,

Strong stretch at the front of the right hip,

Coming onto the fingertips and look forward,

Curling the right toes under,

Stepping forward with the right leg,

Bringing the right foot next to the left,

Palms flat on the floor next to the feet,

Bending your knees if you need to to get there,

And head towards the knees if that's right for you.

And on the next inhalation,

Sliding the hands up,

Reaching up towards the ceiling once more,

And on the exhalation,

Hands to prayer,

Palms in full contact,

Thumbs at the sternum,

And take a resting breath.

That completes one half round.

Now same to the other side.

On the next inhalation,

Stretching the hands up towards the ceiling.

On the next exhalation,

Sliding the hands down the body,

Hands on the floor next to the feet,

That's right for you,

Otherwise head above the heart for high blood pressure.

On the next inhalation,

Stepping back with the left leg,

Left knee to the floor,

Right shin is vertical,

Fingertips to the floor,

And look forward.

On the next exhalation,

Bringing the right leg back,

Preparing for the cat pose,

Coming onto all fours,

Knees under the hips,

Hands under the shoulders,

Inhaling into upward cat,

Head up,

Tail up,

Exhale into downward cat,

Head down,

Tail under,

Spine to the ceiling,

And then sliding the hands forward,

Bending the elbows,

Keeping them snug against the body,

And lower the pubic bone down to the floor for the cobra pose,

Relaxing into the shoulders.

Then on the out breath,

Lifting the pelvis,

Bringing the hands back underneath the shoulders,

Coming onto all fours,

Downward cat first,

So spine to the ceiling,

Head down,

Tail tucked under.

On the inhalation,

Moving into upward cat,

Head up,

Tail up,

Arching the spine so the navel goes towards the floor,

Stepping forward with the right leg,

Right shin vertical,

Strong stretch at the front of the left hip,

Fingertips,

And look forward.

Curling the left toes under,

And on the out breath,

Stepping forward with the left foot,

Bringing it next to the right,

Hands on the floor next to the feet if that's right for you,

Otherwise head above the heart.

And on the next inhalation,

Sliding the hands up the body,

Reaching towards the ceiling,

Tall as you can,

And then on the out breath,

Hands to prayer,

And take a resting breath.

Preparing now for the full practice of Surya Namaskar.

Keeping in mind the modifications if you need them,

High blood pressure,

Head stays above the heart,

So no inversion,

And if your back is a little bit tender today,

You might like to continue with shortened levers,

So sliding the hands up and down the body.

Otherwise beginning with the hands in prayer position once more,

And on the next inhalation,

Raising the arms above the head,

And this time a slight backward bend as well,

And gluing the arms to the ears.

On the next exhalation,

Folding forward from the hips,

Keeping the arms and torso in one long line,

Bringing the hands down,

Palms next to the feet,

Bending the knees as you need to,

And head towards the knees if that's right for you.

On the next inhalation,

Big step back with the right leg,

Right knee to the floor,

Left shin vertical,

Strong stretch at the front of the right hip,

Coming up onto the fingertips and looking forward.

On the next exhalation,

Either moving into the cat pose or coming into mountain pose,

So stepping back,

Feet and hands about hip width apart,

Pelvis up towards the ceiling,

Creating a triangular shape with the body.

Now the heels should be just off the floor.

If your heels are miles from the floor,

Bring the feet closer to the hands,

And if the heels are on the floor,

Move the feet further away from the hands,

Bringing the knees,

Chest and chin to the floor,

Simultaneously or one at a time,

Into the pose of the eight curves.

Elbows are snug against the body.

On the next inhalation,

Coming into cobra,

So sliding through the hands,

Bringing the pubic bone down to the floor,

Relaxing through the shoulders.

On the next exhalation,

Lifting the pelvis up towards the ceiling,

Back into mountain pose.

Nice straight elbows,

Nice straight knees,

Pushing the chest towards the thighs,

So you're deepening your mountain posture,

Pushing the pelvis upwards.

On the next inhalation,

Stepping the left leg forward,

Bringing the left foot next to the left hand,

Either straight through or come down onto the knees first,

Then step the leg forward.

Remember the left shin needs to be vertical,

Right knee on the floor,

Fingertips looking forward.

On the next out breath,

Curling the right toes under,

Bringing the right foot forward next to the left,

Palms on the floor,

Head to the knees if that's right for you.

On the next inhalation,

Bringing the arms beside the ears first,

And then lifting the body up,

Keeping the arms and the torso in one long line,

Stretching up towards the ceiling and then slight backward bend,

And then on the out breath,

Hands to prayer position,

Resting breath here.

On the next inhalation,

Raising the arms up,

Slight backward bend,

Gluing the arms to the ears on the exhalation,

Folding forward from the hips,

Palms flat on the floor next to the feet,

Head to the knees.

The next inhalation,

Big step back with the left leg,

Left knee to the floor,

Right shin vertical,

Come onto the fingertips and look forward.

On the next out breath,

Take the right foot back,

Up into mountain pose,

Creating that triangular shape,

Pelvis towards the ceiling,

Straight arms and legs,

Hands and feet about hip width apart,

Bringing the knees,

Chest and chin to the floor,

Simultaneously or one at a time,

Into the pose of the eight curves.

On the next inhalation,

Sliding through the hands into cobra pose,

Pubic bone to the floor,

Shoulders relaxed.

Then on the next exhalation,

Lifting the pelvis up,

Coming back into mountain pose,

On the inhalation,

Stepping forward with the right leg,

Either straight through or come down onto the knees first,

Right shin vertical,

Left knee to the floor.

The next exhalation,

Curl the left toes under,

Bring the left foot forward,

Next to the right,

Palms on the floor next to the feet and head to the knees.

On the next inhalation,

Bring the arms beside the ears,

Lifting the torso up,

Arms and torso in one long line,

Slight backward bend and then on the exhalation,

Hands to prayer once more and resting breath,

Continuing like this.

So inhale,

Arms up,

Slight backward bend,

On the exhalation,

Glue the arms to the ears,

Folding forward,

Palms to the floor next to the feet,

Head to the knees.

Inhale,

Big step back,

Right leg,

Right knee to the floor,

Left shin vertical,

Come onto the fingertips,

Look forward.

On the exhalation,

Stepping the left leg back,

Coming into mountain pose.

Hold the exhalation as you bring the knees,

Chest and chin to the floor,

One at a time or simultaneously,

Into the pose of the eight curves.

On the next inhalation,

Thread the body through,

Into cobra pose,

Pubic bone to the floor,

Shoulders relaxed.

On the next exhalation,

Lifting the pelvis up into the V shape of the mountain.

The next inhalation,

Stepping through with the left leg,

Either straight through or come down onto the knees first,

Left shin vertical,

Right knee to the floor,

Fingertips look forward.

The next exhalation,

Curling the right toes under,

Stepping forward with the right leg,

Palms are on the floor,

Head to the knees.

The next inhalation,

Bringing the arms beside the ears,

Lifting the arms and the torso to the upright position and then slight backward bend.

Then on the exhalation,

Hands to prayer,

Resting breath.

The next inhalation,

Arms up,

Slight backward bend.

On the exhalation,

Folding forward,

Arms and torso moving as one unit,

Palms flat on the floor next to the feet,

Head to the knees.

Then inhale,

Big step back,

Left leg,

Exhaling,

Stepping back with the right.

Hold the exhalation,

Knees,

Chest and chin to the floor and inhale through into cobra pose.

On the exhalation,

Back into mountain,

Lifting the pelvis and then inhale forward right,

Either via the knees or step straight through,

Right shin vertical,

Left knee to the floor,

Fingertips look forward.

The next exhalation,

Curling the left toes under,

Stepping forward,

Bringing the left foot next to the right,

Palms flat on the floor next to the feet,

Head to the knees.

On the next inhalation,

Arms beside the ears,

Lifting up,

Slight backward bend and then hands to prayer,

Resting breath.

Now we're looking to get a nice flow.

Inhale up and back,

Exhale,

Folding forward and down.

Inhale back right,

Exhale back left into mountain pose.

Hold the exhalation,

Knees,

Chest and chin to the floor.

Inhale into cobra,

Exhale into mountain,

Inhale forward left,

Exhale forward right,

Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,

Resting breath.

Inhale up and back,

Exhale folding forward and down,

Inhale back left,

Exhale back right into mountain.

Hold the exhalation,

Bringing knees,

Chest and chin to the floor,

Inhale for cobra,

Exhale into mountain,

Inhale forward right,

Exhale forward left,

Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,

Resting breath.

Now you can rest in Shavasana now if you need to,

Visualizing the rest of the practice.

Otherwise we'll do two more rounds.

Inhale up and back,

Exhale forward and down,

Inhale back right,

Exhale back left for mountain.

Hold the exhalation,

Knees,

Chest and chin to the floor,

Inhale for cobra,

Exhale for mountain,

Inhale forward left,

Exhale forward right,

Inhale up and back and hands to prayer on the out breath,

Resting breath.

Inhale up and back,

Exhale forward and down,

Inhale back left,

Exhale back right for mountain.

Hold the exhalation,

Knees,

Chest and chin to the floor,

Inhale for cobra,

Exhale for mountain,

Inhale forward right,

Exhale forward left,

Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,

Resting breath.

One more round,

Inhale up and back,

Exhale forward and down,

Inhale back right,

Exhale back left into mountain,

Hold the exhalation,

Knees,

Chest and chin to the floor and then inhale into cobra,

Exhale for mountain,

Inhale forward left,

Exhale forward right,

Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer,

Resting breath.

Last half round,

Inhale up and back,

Exhale forward and down,

Inhale back left,

Exhale back right for mountain,

Hold the exhalation,

Knees,

Chest and chin to the floor and then inhale for cobra,

Exhale for mountain,

Inhale forward right,

Exhale forward left,

Inhale up and back and exhale hands to prayer and then coming down into Shavasana,

Lying on your back with your head closest to your device,

Becoming aware of the effects of the practice on the rhythms of the body initially,

Breath and heartbeat and then begin scanning all the other layers that we looked at at the beginning of the class,

Noticing any effects there and then drawing the awareness back to the breath and the heartbeat to watch them slow.

Surya Namaskar works all the muscles and the joints and the systems in the body,

So lots of changes can occur throughout the practice.

Resting in Shavasana like this at the end allows the body time and space to integrate those changes,

So you get the most from the practice.

Once the breath and the heartbeat have restored their normal rhythms,

Begin abdominal breathing or if you know full yogic breathing,

Move into that when you're ready,

Allowing the body to re-oxygenate and relax a little bit more deeply.