This is from my blog at Families Online where we are investigating the Sun Salute! Please stay in touch to get the full sequence explained...
In the last two blogs we discussed the Cobra and Upward Facing Dog. These two poses are fantastic practised on their own but they are also part of The Sun Saluation, Surya Namaskar. So I thought we would start to discuss the sun salute pose by pose...
I welcome you to visit www.yogaembodied.com to download, listen and practise with the audio classes including a FREE 15 minutes Sun salutation. And if you feel like exploring some more yoga then join us for a class or workshop (I teach a Backbend workshop on Sunday the 26th of June!) in Streatham, Chelsea or Parsons Green.
Best way to start is from the foundation - standing up tall and steady. Here we go:
Standing up straight - that is Tadasana and the base and foundation for all other poses. It sounds so easy and simple but it is not always necessarily so. Standing up tall with a good posture is actually a challenge for most of us.
So as we stand, keep your feet parallel either hip distance or together. Can you keep the little toe side of your feet parallel with each other and the outer edges of your mat? This way your toes, knees and hips all point directly forward as will your hip points and shoulders.
Maybe soften your knees and draw your tailbone down as you lift your pubic bone gently in the direction of your navel. Now you can work towards straightening the legs. Lift the crown of your head as you press your feet to the Earth - it will feel like you are growing an inch or two taller! Imagine a line from the crown of your head, down to the middle of the heart, your pelvis, between the knees and then to your heels.
Really feel this pose from the inside. Close your eyes and feel your body. Where do you put your weight on the feet? Are you thrusting your pelvis forward, rounding your back, collapsing the shoulder or maybe arching the spine? Try to find this imaginary centre line and align your body and your breath.
In tadasana your arms are relaxed by your side. But in the sun salutation we start by pressing the palms together in a prayer position (anjali mudra) in front of the heart. Let that be a gesture to remind you that you move with your breathe and from your heart - not from your mind or your ego. As you raise your prayer towards the sky relax your shoulder blades down your back. If you want more space across your shoulders then keep your hands shoulder-width apart.
Avoid arching your lower back. Keep the tailbone pointing towards your heels. Lift your heart but let your lower front ribs in and down. Enjoy this spaciousness from the soles of your feet on the Earth to your head and hands reaching to the Sky.
Start practising the Vinyasa (moving with the breath) between these two poses.
- Hands by your side in traditional Tadasana - breathe in.
- As you exhale bring your palms to your heart in a prayer position.
- Inhale as you raise your prayer to the Sky. Either out in front of you or if you have plenty of space spread your arms to the side and above your head.
- Exhale take your hands to your heart.
- Then repeat: inhale raise your arms - exhale palms to the middle of your chest.
Enjoy the flow and start to notice that your breath is initiating your movements. In the next blog we take the next step into the Sun Salute.
Have fun and enjoy the flow, the breath, prana, life!
Anja is yoga teacher specialising in Vinyasa Flow (all levels), Pregnancy Yoga and Postnatal Yoga.
She has several qualifications including teacher training programs with Barbara Harding (Cambridge School of Yoga), Sivananda and Seane Corn (Vinyasa Flow). She also had the pleasure of attending teacher workshops with prana flow teacher Shiva Rea. Her pregnancy, postnatal and perinatal yoga training has been inspired by many teachers including Françoise Barbira Freedman, founder of Birthlight, Uma Dinsmore Tuli from the SitaRam partnership/YogaCampus (Satyananda inspired) and Claire Missingham’s (Vinyasa Flow) specialist Teacher Training courses.
She has a BSc and PGDip in Ayurveda from Middlesex university. This qualifies her to practice as an Ayurvedic practitioner, advising on herbs, lifestyle, diet as well as giving body treatments including massage. She already have background in aromatherapy and pregnancy massage as well.
Visit www.yogaembodied.com for further detail and to sign up for her newsletter. You can also find her info@yogaembodied.com, Twitter (twitter.com/anjayogini) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/yogaembodied)
