Surya Naskar (सूर्यनमस्कार)
The Story Behind the Sun Salutation
Surya Namaskar,
usually translated as Sun Salutation, is one of the most familiar sequences in modern yoga.
We raise the arms, fold forward, move through plank and downward-facing dog, and gradually begin to feel warmer, more awake and more connected to the breath and our body.
But behind this apparently simple sequence is an interesting history.
The words themselves give us a clue.
Surya means sun and also refers to Surya, the solar deity in the Hindu tradition. Namaskar means a greeting, bow or respectful salutation.
So Surya Namaskar can be understood as a salutation to the sun.
An ancient relationship with the sun
The practice of honouring the sun in India is far older than the yoga sequence we practise today.
The sun appears throughout ancient Indian religious and philosophical traditions as a symbol of life, illumination and consciousness.
Vedic traditions contain hymns and prayers directed towards solar deities, including Surya and Savitr.
The rising sun also naturally became a symbol of awakening: moving from darkness towards light, from sleep towards awareness.
This makes the idea of beginning the day by turning towards the sun especially beautiful.
However, there is an important distinction.
Although sun worship and ritual prostrations are ancient, historians do not generally consider the flowing series of yoga postures that we now call Surya Namaskar to be an ancient asana sequence. The familiar physical practice seems to have developed much later.
So where did the modern Sun Salutation come from?
The modern form of Surya Namaskar began to take shape in India during the early decades of the twentieth century.
One particularly important figure was Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Raja of Aundh, who promoted a system of Sun Salutations during the 1920s as a daily form of physical exercise.
At this time India had a rich culture of traditional physical training, including exercises used by wrestlers, alongside growing influences from gymnastics, bodybuilding and other forms of physical culture.
Surya Namaskar appears to have developed within this meeting of worlds: traditional Indian movement, physical conditioning, spiritual symbolism and, eventually, modern postural yoga.
This is one reason its history is so interesting. It is neither simply an ancient ritual preserved unchanged for thousands of years nor merely a modern exercise routine. It is a practice that evolved.
Krishnamacharya and modern yoga
Another important chapter in the story happened in Mysore during the 1930s and 1940s.
The influential yoga teacher T. Krishnamacharya developed a dynamic approach to asana in which movements were linked together and coordinated with breathing.
Yoga historian Mark Singleton describes Krishnamacharya's work during this period as an innovative synthesis of traditional hatha yoga with Indian and international systems of physical culture.
Among Krishnamacharya's students was K. Pattabhi Jois, who later became closely associated with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.
Through this lineage, the familiar Surya Namaskar A and B became opening sequences within Ashtanga practice. As Ashtanga and later Vinyasa yoga spread internationally, Sun Salutations became part of yoga classes throughout the world.
This also explains why there isn't really one definitive Sun Salutation.
Different yoga traditions have developed slightly different versions. Some include lunges, some include knees-chest-chin, some use cobra and others upward-facing dog. Some are slow and devotional; others are strong and flowing.
The underlying principle is more important than performing one historically “correct” sequence.
Movement and breath
One of the qualities that makes Surya Namaskar so powerful is the relationship between breath and movement.
Rather than simply moving through a collection of stretches, we allow the breath to organise the practice.
We inhale as the body opens and rises.
We exhale as we fold or lower.
Gradually, movement and breathing begin to feel like one continuous process, like a moving meditation.
This is where something very ordinary can become meditative.
Instead of thinking about the previous posture or anticipating the next one, we can simply experience:
breathing in — moving breathing out — moving
Again and again.
Why practise Sun Salutations?
Physically, Surya Namaskar moves the body through flexion, extension and weight-bearing positions. Depending on how it is practised, it can help develop mobility, strength, coordination and general physical conditioning. Research has also explored its role as a whole-body form of exercise.
But I think its greatest value is its simplicity.
You do not necessarily need an hour-long yoga practice.
You do not need complicated postures.
You may not even need to unroll a mat.
A few rounds can become a way of checking in with yourself.
How does my body feel today?
How am I breathing?
Where am I holding tension?
Can I move without rushing?
Can I give my full attention to these few breaths?
Chaturanga Cobra Downward dog
A small daily ritual
Traditionally, practising towards the rising sun gives Surya Namaskar an especially lovely quality, but it can of course be practised at any time.
Try standing quietly for a moment before you begin.
Notice your breathing.
Then move through three rounds of Sun Salutation, letting the breath set the pace rather than trying to move quickly.
When you finish, stand still again.
Notice what has changed.
Perhaps your body feels warmer.
Perhaps your breathing feels freer.
Perhaps your mind feels slightly quieter.
Sometimes that is enough.
And perhaps this is where the ancient symbolism of the sun and the modern physical practice meet most beautifully.
The sun rises again each morning.
And each time we practise, we are also given a small opportunity to begin again.
The 12 Steps with variation
Pranamasana (Prayer Pose): Stand straight and join your hands at your chest.
Hasta Uttanasana (Raised Arms): Inhale and lift your arms up and back.
Padahastasana (Forward Bend): Exhale and bend forward to touch the floor.
Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian Pose) or Halfway lift: Inhale, step your right leg back, and look up.
Dandasana (Plank Pose): Hold your breath, step the left leg back into a straight line.
Ashtanga Namaskara (Eight-Limb Salute) or Chaturanga: Exhale and lower your knees, chest, and chin.
Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose): Inhale and lift your chest up.
Adho Mukha Svanasana / Parvatasana (Downward Dog / Mountain): Exhale and lift your hips up.
Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian Pose) or Halfway lift: Inhale, step your right foot forward.
Padahastasana (Forward Bend): Exhale, bring the left foot forward, and bend down.
Hasta Uttanasana (Raised Arms): Inhale, reach up, and lean back.
Pranamasana (Prayer Pose): Exhale and return to a standing rest
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