Surya Namaskar or Salutation to the Sun - step by step

I wrote about the benefits of Surya Namaskar and why we should all do this set of asanas in the morning in the article “Perfect Exercise”. There is also important information about Surya Namaskar for beginners - please read! Now - Salutation to the sun step by step, with a detailed description and in pictures.

And let me remind you that there are 2 classic types and hundreds of variations of Surya Namaskar. Each of them can differ only in a minor detail.

Therefore, I offer the flow that I got from my main yoga teacher and which I myself have been using for many years - such a kind of symbiosis of the two main types. And I think it's great for everyone, from beginners (see "Beginner" variations) to advanced (see "Yogi tip" variations).

So, let's start))

Sun salutation - step by step

Step 1: IN + EXHAUST - Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

1. Stand on the edge of the mat, keep your feet together and evenly distribute your weight on both feet.
2. Open your chest and just relax your shoulders.
3. Inhale and open up the palms of the lowered hands.
4. Try to stretch the entire spine through the crown up.
5. Take a few slow breaths to get ready for the practice.

Yogi tip: imagine how pure and bright prana enters you through your open palms, and all the negativity comes out through your feet.

Step 2. INHALE - Arms Outstretched Pose (Hasta Uttanasana)

1. Through the sides, raise your hands up and take them as far as possible behind your head (behind your ears). The palms can be joined together or simply facing each other. At the same time, strive to connect the shoulder blades and lower the shoulders to open the chest.
2. Slightly bend the body in the chest and take your head back in line with the curve of the spine.
3. At the same time, the buttocks and abs are tense, the legs are actively supported by the entire foot.

For beginners: if it is difficult to bend, then you can limit yourself to only stretching up, without tilting back (as in the picture).

Yogi tip: raise your hands up with open palms, collecting all the strength and power of the sun along the way, imagine how pure and bright prana enters you through open palms.
And by joining your palms above your head, feel how all the light and energy that you have collected descends on you and envelops you in a sunny soft stream.

Step 3. EXHALE - Tilt to the legs while standing (Uttanasana)

1. With an exhalation, slowly bend down, spreading the spine over the hips: first the stomach touches the hips, then the chest.
2. Hands hang freely or touch the floor (palms are parallel to the stop line).
3. The neck is relaxed, the head hangs down freely.
4. The body leans under its own weight.

For beginners, the asana can be performed with slightly bent knees.
The main focus is on stretching the spine down. If your hands do not reach the floor, then you can simply hang them down.

Step 4. INHALE - Standing Half Bend to Legs (Ardha Uttanasana)

1. Place your fingers on the floor (or on your shins or thighs if you can't reach the floor).
2. With an inhalation, lift the body and head up, aligning the spine. DO NOT arch your back!
3. Pull your shoulders back, stretching your neck forward.

For beginners: If your hands do not reach the floor, then you can put them on your shins or thighs (but NOT on your knees!)

Step 5. EXHAUST + INHALE - Warrior Pose I (Virabhadrasana I)

1. As you exhale, step your left foot wide back into Warrior I. Keep your hands on the floor.
2. The legs should be a little more than a meter wide, the right foot should be parallel to the length of the mat, and the left should be turned in the same direction by 60 °. The bent knee of the right leg should not extend beyond the ankle, but should be in line with the heel.
3. While inhaling, raise the body and arms up, palms facing each other.
4. Make sure that the pelvis does not turn to the right and is parallel to the line of the shoulders.
5. Point the shoulder blades down, the chest up, and the tailbone towards the left (back) heel. Look either forward, or slightly tilt your head back and look up between your palms.

Yogi tip: Warrior pose can be changed to Moon Crescent Pose (or deep lunge), backbend can be added.

Step 6. EXHAUST – Four-Staff Pose (Chaturagna Dandasana)

1. With an exhalation, place both hands on the floor at the level of the front right foot and take the right leg back into the plank.
2. Rely only on the palms of your hands and the tips of your toes. The hands should be directly under the shoulders. Keep the body as straight as possible, the abdominal muscles are tense. The body should form a straight line from the top of the head to the heels of the feet.
3. As you continue to exhale, bend your elbows and lower yourself into Chaturanga Dandasana.
4. The lower back should be kept straight - do not round or bend the spine.
5. The forearms should be parallel to the line of the body, the elbows should not stick out to the sides!

For beginners: If it is difficult to be in this position, then you can lower your knees and chest to the floor.

Step 7. INHALE - Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)

1. As you inhale, straighten your arms and lower your toes to the floor, stretch your torso forward and up.
2. Arch your back and pull your shoulders back.
3. Raise your buttocks, leaning on straight legs.
4. Open your chest up, moving your shoulders away from your ears - back and down, try to bring your shoulder blades together behind your back.

For beginners: If you can’t tilt your head back and look back, then look straight ahead, but the crown always stretches up.
If in general this pose is still difficult to give, then it can be replaced with the cobra pose, when the legs and stomach lie on the floor, the arms are half-bent, and the back repeats the deflection as in the original.

Step 8. EXHALE + INHALE - Downward Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

1. As you exhale, lean on your knees and move into a downward dog (if you can, move into a dog without support on your knees due to the strength of your arms and abs).
2. Stand so that your body forms an inverted V.
3. Push firmly with your palms and turn your elbows towards each other (the palms do not move). The neck and head are a continuation of the straight line of the back (in no case do not lift your head up).
4. Inhale slowly.

For beginners: If you feel tension under the kneecaps, then your knees can be slightly bent.

Yogi tip: On an inhalation, you can lift your left leg back into a down-facing dog with your leg up, as if swinging to move into the next asana.

Step 9. EXHAUST + INHALE - Warrior Pose I on the OTHER Leg (Virabhadrasana I)

1. We repeat the pose of a warrior, but on the DIFFERENT leg.
2. As you exhale, step your left foot wide forward into Warrior I pose. Keep your hands on the floor.
3. The feet should be a little more than a meter wide, the left foot should be parallel to the length of the mat, and the right foot should be turned in the same direction by 60 °. The bent knee of the left leg should not extend beyond the ankle, but should be in line with the heel.
4. While inhaling, raise the body and arms up, palms facing each other.
5. Make sure that the pelvis does not turn to the left and is parallel to the line of the shoulders.
6. Point your shoulder blades down, your chest up, and your tailbone toward your right heel. Look either forward, or slightly tilt your head back and look up between your palms.

Yogi tip: Warrior pose can be changed to Moon Crescent Pose (or deep lunge), backbend can be added.

Step 10. EXHAUST - Tilt to the legs while standing (Uttanasana)

1. With an exhalation, put your back (right) foot to the front, put them side by side.
2. Bend down, spreading the spine over the hips: first the stomach touches the hips, then the chest.
3. Hands hang freely or touch the floor (palms are parallel to the stop line).
4. The neck is relaxed, the head hangs down freely.
5. The body leans under its own weight.

For beginners, the asana can be performed with slightly bent knees.
The main focus is on stretching the spine down. If your hands do not reach the floor, then you can simply hang them down.

Step 11. INHALE - Extended Arm Pose WITHOUT Backbend (Hasta Uttanasana)

1. With an inhalation, slowly raise the body to a vertical position.
2. At the same time, raise your hands up through the sides and take them as far as possible behind your head (behind your ears). The palms can be joined together or simply facing each other. At the same time, strive to connect the shoulder blades and lower the shoulders to open the chest.
3. At the same time, the buttocks and abs are tense, the legs are actively supported by the entire foot.

For beginners: while lifting the body, the knees can be slightly bent.

Yogi tip: raise your hands up with open palms, collecting all the strength and power of the sun along the way, imagine how pure and bright prana enters you through open palms.
And by joining your palms above your head, feel how all the light and energy that you have collected descends on you and envelops you in a sunny soft stream.

Step 12. EXHAUST - Prayer Pose (Pranamasana)

1. With an exhalation, slowly lower your joined hands into a pose as in prayer (namaste).
2. Try to stretch the entire spine through the crown up.
3. The legs are actively supported by the entire foot.

Yogi tip: feel how the collected energy of the sun as a scanner cleans you parallel to the movement of the hands (from top to bottom).

Now the turn has come to repeat the whole complex, only ON THE OTHER SIDE.

This means that in STEP 5 the right foot steps back, and the left foot remains in front, respectively, in STEP 9 the front foot is the right one.

That is why Surya Namaskar needs to be done an even number of times - for the symmetry of using our sides and the correct distribution of energy throughout the body. And this is exactly what we are doing, remember - we are energized!

And it is for this purpose - to preserve in our body the energy that we have accumulated during the lesson - it is highly recommended to rest in Shavasana after Surya Namaskar. How and why to accumulate energy after yoga practice

I really hope that I could not scare you with complex descriptions - in fact, everything is much simpler than it seems!

Just try! And feel for yourself all the charm of this morning exercise.

Or maybe you already know and practice Surya Namaskar? Or are you not familiar with it yet, but want to try it? Please share in the comments - it will be very interesting for me and other readers of the blog!

This article and all information contained therein is not medical advice, does not treat and/or diagnoses. Please consult your physician for any health related issues.

Thank you in advance!

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