Surya Namaskar, or Sun Salutation, is the regular practice of 12 Yoga poses that people perform early morning in the mild sunlight from the east. Each round of Surya Namaskar consists of two sets and each set comprises 12 Yogic postures. Yoga is believed to have originated in India during the Vedic period. While Surya Namaskar is considered a disciplined means to improve health, Hindus have traditionally performed it also to express their gratitude to the Sun god for sustaining life on planet Earth.
Regular practice of Surya Namaskar helps an individual attain good health by improving blood circulation and the functioning of the heart and lungs. It also strengthens the muscles of arms and waist. Surya Namaskar can be beneficial in reducing fat around the abdomen and it is also believed to improve digestion and concentration.
The 12-Step Surya Namaskar
Step 1: Pranamasana (Prayer pose)
Keep both your legs together and balance your weight on both legs equally. Now bring your palms in front of your chest and stand in the prayer position by joining the palms together. Relax your body and breathe calmly. Lift your arms up from the sides while inhaling and bring your palm in front of the chest again while exhaling.
Step 2: Hastauttanasana (Raised arms pose)
Lift both your hands and bend your body backwards. Stretch your whole body as much as possible towards the back side, breathing gently. This pose basically focuses on the stretching of the whole body from the head to the heels.
Step 3: Hastapadasana (Standing forward bend)
Stand straight and bend forward from the waist towards your feet by keeping the lower half of your body still. Now, bring your hands forward and keep your hands on the floor, next to your feet.
Step 4: Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian pose)
Breathe in, fold your left leg from the knee, and stretch your right leg behind. Both your hands should remain where they were, on either side of the left leg. Now, try stretching your body and then gently breathe out.
Step 5: Dandasana (Stick pose)
Now, stretch your left leg also towards the back, putting the body weight on your two hands, and bring your face down towards the floor. Straighten your whole body and then gently breathe in and out.
Step 6: Ashtanga Namaskara (Salute with eight parts or points)
In this pose, your body’s eight parts — two knees, two hands, two feet, chin and chest should touch the floor. To get the correct posture, keep both your legs backwards and hands forward and face towards the floor. Now, gently lift your hip upwards, keeping both your hands on the floor beside chest. Your chin should still touch the floor.
Step 7: Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)
Stretch both your legs backwards and lift your body upwards in the cobra pose. Now, keep your hands on the floor beside the chest and look upwards at the ceiling. Then gently breathe in and out.
Step 8: Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing dog pose)
This pose is also called the inverted V-pose. To get the correct posture, one needs to keep both their legs backwards, hands forward and face towards the floor. Now lift your hip upwards to bring your body in the inverted V- pose.
It is now time to repeat the first four steps again in the backward sequence — Step 4 to Step 1 — to complete one round of Surya Namaskar. Accordingly, Step 9 will be similar to Step 4, and Step 11 will be the same as Step 1.
Step 9: Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian pose)
Breathe in, and bring your right leg forward, bent from the knee, while the left leg will stay stretched in the back. Your hands will remain where they were. Stretching your body and then gently breathing out.
Step 10: Hastapadasana (Standing forward bend)
Now, bring your left leg forward and slowly stand up straight. The lower part of the body will stay still.
Step 11: Hastauttanasana (Raised arms pose)
Lift both your hands up and bend your body backwards. Stretch your whole body as much as possible towards the back and breathe slowly.
Step 12: Pranamasana (Prayer pose)
Come back to the standing position, keeping both legs together and balancing your weight on them equally. Now, inhale and lift your arms up from the sides and bring your palms in front of your chest, joining them together in 'namaskar' pose. Stand in the prayer position, relax your body and breathe calmly.