Surya Namaskar A

This first class is a simple Movement Meditation. The flow is called Surya Namaskar A and for many is the quintessential concept or impression of what yoga is. Surya Namaskar translates from sanskrit, the language of yoga, to Sun Salutations and the “A” implies there are more variations based on this basic flow.

This salutation in its original concept is a bowing in reference and praise to the sun god, Surya, which manifests in our 3d world as the Sun, that glowing object which brings life to our planet. Furthermore, it is a bowing in reverence to the inner sun, that light in your heart, which metaphysically embodies the qualities of the Sun as part of the light of the Divine Source, Universal Consciousness, God, Jesus, Allah, or whatever name you may use or believe in.

Beyond the religio-spiritual concept, it is also a basic warm up found in many yoga classes. I use the flow to not only bring inner focus and that meditative spiritual state to the mind, but I use it and variations around flow to warm up the body and facilitate deeper movement patterns.  

In this session I breakdown the flow, having you move through the various options for modification in the movement. Even if you are familiar with Surya Namaskar A and can do a full push up, I encourage you to do the modification I present. It is important for the body and mind to understand it can do a modification or variation in a pose. This helps release some preconceived notions that you “have to do the pose just right” in order for it to be correct or gain the full benefits. In reality, the correctness of a given pose is actually based on your body’s abilities and limitations. So it is better to experience the variation or modification as part of the krama of the pose, and how that affects the class and your personal growth in the program.