Link to VIDEO tutorials included below...
What you are about to read below goes hand in hand with my article on “How to get started with yoga?” In that article we talked about the many questions raised by a beginner yogi, and why I believe Sun Salutations are a good starting point for beginners.
So, what exactly is a Sun Salutation?
A Sun Salutation is a series of poses performed in a sequence to create a flow of movement. It is a form of moving meditation. Each pose coordinates with your breathing. For example: Inhale to extend, exhale to bend.
Sun Salutations help generate heat in the body and also help to warm-up the body. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity of it’s individual poses. When a sun salutation is repeated several times, it is bound to get your heart pumping and energy rising.
The sun salutations are at the heart of any vinyasa flow practice. In other words, you are bound to repeat them several times in any vinyasa class that you take.
That is why I feel that they are a great way to start your physical yoga journey!
What are some of the benefits of Sun Salutations?
- Increases awareness & energy levels
- Improves blood circulation
- Helps build strength & flexibility
- Helps lengthen & tone muscles
- Unwinds mind & body
How many sun salutations are there?
If you google “Sun Salutations”, you will find many different variations. And that immediately kicks your brain into questioning mode as your confusion arises.
So here’s an explanation in as simple a way as I can present:
First, let me start by explaining why there are different variations of sun salutations. That is because there are different styles of yoga – Ashtanga Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Iyengar Yoga etc. And each of these yoga styles have incorporated the classical sun salutation in their own unique way and come up with their own version of a sun salutation.
As if that wasn’t enough to confuse us, moving across borders and centuries, the sun salutations (under each of these yoga styles) have further evolved into various forms, giving birth to different variations.
These variations are great for those of us who love variety and like to switch things up. But for now, we are going to keep it simple and focus on the three widely used sun salutations across the globe:
- Ashtanga Yoga Sun Salutation A
- Ashtanga Yoga Sun Salutation B (Video Releasing Soon)
- Hatha Yoga Classical Sun Salutation