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Sun Salutation, also calledSurya Namaskar orSalute to the Sun[1] (Sanskrit:सूर्यनमस्कार,IAST:Sūryanamaskāra),[2] is a practice inyoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve linkedasanas.[3][4] The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th century, though similar exercises were in use in India before that, for exampleamong wrestlers. The basic sequence involves moving from a standing position intoDownward andUpward Dog poses and then back to the standing position, but many variations are possible. The set of 12 asanas is dedicated to theHindu solar deity,Surya. In some Indian traditions, the positions are each associated with a differentmantra, and with seed sounds orbīja.
The precise origins of the Sun Salutation are uncertain, but the sequence was made popular in the early 20th century byBhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Rajah ofAundh, and adopted into yoga byKrishnamacharya in theMysore Palace, where the Sun Salutation classes, not then considered to be yoga, were held next door to his yogasala. Pioneering yoga teachers taught by Krishnamacharya, includingPattabhi Jois andB. K. S. Iyengar, taughttransitions between asanas derived from the Sun Salutation to their pupils worldwide.
The name Surya Namaskar is from theSanskrit सूर्यSūrya, "Sun" and नमस्कारNamaskāra, "Greeting" or "Salute".[7]Surya is theHindu god of the sun.[8] This identifies the Sun as thesoul and source of all life.[9] Chandra Namaskara is similarly from Sanskrit चन्द्रChandra, "Moon".[10]
The origins of the Sun Salutation are vague; Indian tradition connects the 17th century saintSamarth Ramdas with Surya Namaskara exercises, without defining what movements were involved.[11] In the 1920s,Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Rajah ofAundh, popularized and named the practice, describing it in his 1928 bookThe Ten-Point Way to Health: Surya Namaskars.[5][6][12][13] It has been asserted that Pant Pratinidhi invented it,[14] but Pant stated that it was already a commonplaceMarathi tradition.[15]
Ancient but simpler Sun salutations such asAditya Hridayam, described in the "Yuddha Kaanda" Canto 107 of theRamayana,[16][17][18] are not related to the modern sequence.[19] The anthropologistJoseph Alter states that the Sun Salutation was not recorded in anyHaṭha yoga text before the 19th century.[20] At that time, the Sun Salutation was not considered to be yoga, and its postures were not considered asanas; the pioneer ofyoga as exercise,Yogendra, wrote criticising the "indiscriminate" mixing of sun salutation with yoga as the "ill-informed" were doing.[6]
The yogascholar-practitionerNorman Sjoman suggested thatKrishnamacharya, "the father of modern yoga",[22][23] used the traditional and "very old"[24]Indian wrestlers' exercises calleddandas (Sanskrit: दण्डdaṇḍa, a staff), described in the 1896Vyayama Dipika,[25] as the basis for the sequence and for his transitioningvinyasas.[24] Differentdandas closely resemble the Sun Salutation asanasTadasana,Padahastasana,Caturanga Dandasana, andBhujangasana.[24] Krishnamacharya was aware of the Sun Salutation, since regular classes were held in the hall adjacent to his Yogasala in the Rajah of Mysore's palace.[26] The yoga scholarMark Singleton states that "Krishnamacharya was to make the flowing movements ofsūryanamaskār the basis of hisMysore yoga style".[27] His students,K. Pattabhi Jois,[28] who createdAshtanga (vinyasa) yoga,[29] andB. K. S. Iyengar, who createdIyengar Yoga, both learned Sun Salutation and flowingvinyasa movements between asanas from Krishnamacharya and used them in their styles of yoga.[26]
The historian of modern yogaElliott Goldberg writes thatVishnudevananda's 1960 bookThe Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga "proclaimed in print" a "new utilitarian conception of Surya Namaskara"[21][30] which his guruSivananda had originally promoted as a health cure through sunlight. Goldberg notes that Vishnudevananda modelled the positions of the Sun Salutation for photographs in the book, and that he recognised the sequence "for what it mainly is: nottreatment for a host of diseases but fitness exercise."[21]
The Sun Salutation is a sequence of around twelveyoga asanas connected by jumping or stretching movements, varying somewhat between schools. In Iyengar Yoga, the basic sequence isTadasana,Urdhva Hastasana,Uttanasana, Uttanasana with head up,Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog),Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Dog),Chaturanga Dandasana, and then reversing the sequence to return to Tadasana; other poses can be inserted into the sequence.[7]
InSivananda yoga, the Sun Salutation sequence differs slightly from the Iyengar sequence (poses marked in italics): Tadasana, Urdhva Hastasana, Uttanasana,Anjaneyasana (low lunge),Phalakasana (high plank), Chaturanga Dandasana, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, and then reversing the sequence to return to Tadasana.[31]
The founder ofAshtanga Yoga,K. Pattabhi Jois, stated that "There is no Ashtanga yoga without Surya Namaskara, which is the ultimate salutation to the Sun god."[32] The school has two traditional Sun Salutation sequences, types A and B.[33]
A newer variant, type C, incorporates Ashtanga Namaskara with a mix of the other two types.[34]
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In some traditions, including Pratinidhi's,[36] Ashtanga Namaskara (Knees, Chest, Chin pose) is substituted for Chaturanga Dandasana. A Sun Salutation cycle incorporating this pose is:
 1:Pranamasana |  2:Hasta Uttanasana |  3.Uttanasana | ||
12: Back to 1 | .JPG) 4.Anjaneyasana | |||
11. Hasta Uttanasana |  5.Adho Mukha Svanasana | |||
10. Uttanasana |  6.Ashtanga Namaskara | |||
9. Anjaneyasana, opposite foot | 8. Adho Mukha Svanasana |  7.Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana |
In some yoga traditions, each step of the sequence is associated with amantra. In traditions includingSivananda Yoga, the steps are linked with twelve names of the deity Surya, the Sun:[37]
| Step (Asana) | Mantra (name ofSurya)[37] | Translation: Om, greetings to the one who ...[37] |
|---|---|---|
| Tadasana | ॐ मित्राय नमः Oṃ Mitrāya Namaḥ | is affectionate to all |
| Urdhva Hastasana | ॐ रवये नमः Oṃ Ravaye Namaḥ | is the cause of all changes |
| Padahastasana | ॐ सूर्याय नमः Oṃ Sūryāya Namaḥ | induces all activity |
| Anjaneyasana | ॐ भानवे नमः Oṃ Bhānave Namaḥ | diffuses light |
| Parvatasana | ॐ खगाय नमः Oṃ Khagāya Namaḥ | moves in the sky |
| Ashtanga Namaskara | ॐ पूष्णे नमः Oṃ Pūṣṇe Namaḥ | nourishes all |
| Bhujangasana | ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः Oṃ Hiraṇya Garbhāya Namaḥ | contains the golden rays |
| Parvatasana | ॐ मरीचये नमः Oṃ Marīcaye Namaḥ | possesses raga |
| Ashva Sanchalanasana | ॐ आदित्याय नमः Oṃ Ādityāya Namaḥ | is son ofAditi |
| Padahastasana | ॐ सवित्रे नमः Oṃ Savitre Namaḥ | produces everything |
| Urdhva Hastasana | ॐ अर्काय नमः Oṃ Arkāya Namaḥ | is fit to be worshipped |
| Tadasana | ॐ भास्कराय नमः Oṃ Bhāskarāya Namaḥ | is the cause of lustre |
Indian tradition associates the steps with sixBīja ("seed" sound) mantras and with fivechakras (focal points of thesubtle body).[38][39]
| Step (Asana) | Bīja mantra[39][38][a] | Chakra[39] | Breathing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tadasana | ॐ ह्रां Oṃ Hrāṁ | Anahata | exhale |
| Urdhva Hastasana | ॐ ह्रीं Oṃ Hrīṁ | Vishuddhi | inhale |
| Padahastasana | ॐ ह्रूं Oṃ Hrūṁ | Svadhisthana | exhale |
| Ashva Sanchalanasana | ॐ ह्रैं Oṃ Hraiṁ | Ajna | inhale |
| Parvatasana | ॐ ह्रौं Om Hrauṁ | Vishuddhi | exhale |
| Ashtanga Namaskara | ॐ ह्रः Oṃ Hraḥ | Manipura | suspend |
| Bhujangasana | ॐ ह्रां Oṃ Hrāṁ | Svadhisthana | inhale |
| Parvatasana | ॐ ह्रीं Oṃ Hrīṁ | Vishuddhi | exhale |
| Ashva Sanchalanasana | ॐ ह्रूं Oṃ Hrūṁ | Ajna | inhale |
| Padahastasana | ॐ ह्रैं Oṃ Hraiṁ | Svadhisthana | exhale |
| Urdhva Hastasana | ॐ ह्रौं Oṃ Hrauṁ | Vishuddhi | inhale |
| Tadasana | ॐ ह्रः Oṃ Hraḥ | Anahata | exhale |
Many variations are possible. For example, in Iyengar Yoga the sequence may intentionally be varied to run Tadasana, Urdhva Hastasana, Uttanasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana,Lolasana,Janusirsasana (one side, then the other), and reversing the sequence from Adho Mukha Svanasana to return to Tadasana. Other asanas that may be inserted into the sequence includeNavasana (or Ardha Navasana),Paschimottanasana and its variations, andMarichyasana I.[7]
Variant sequences named Chandra Namaskar, the Moon Salutation, are sometimes practised; these were created late in the 20th century.[41] One such sequence consists of the asanas Tadasana, Urdhva Hastasana,Anjaneyasana (sometimes called Half Moon Pose), a kneeling lunge, Adho Mukha Svanasana,Bitilasana,Balasana, kneeling with thighs, body, and arms pointing straight up, Balasana with elbows on ground, hands together inAnjali Mudra behind the head, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Uttanasana, Urdhva Hastasana, Pranamasana, and Tadasana.[42] Other Moon Salutations with different asanas have been published.[41][43][44]
The energy cost of exercise is measured in units ofmetabolic equivalent of task (MET). Less than 3 METs counts as light exercise; 3 to 6 METs is moderate exercise; 6 or over is vigorous exercise.American College of Sports Medicine andAmerican Heart Association guidelines count periods of at least 10 minutes of moderate MET level activity towards their recommended daily amounts of exercise.[45][46] For healthy adults aged 18 to 65, the guidelines recommend moderate exercise for 30 minutes five days a week, or vigorousaerobic exercise for 20 minutes three days a week.[46]
The Sun Salutation's energy cost ranges widely according to how energetically it is practised, from a light 2.9 to a vigorous 7.4 METs. The higher end of the range requires transition jumps between the poses.[b][45] Practitioners accustomed to this can find performing the sequence an "exhilarating process".[3]
A 2014 study indicated that the muscle groups activated by specific asanas varied with the skill of the practitioners, from beginner to instructor. The eleven asanas in the Sun Salutation sequences A and B ofAshtanga Vinyasa Yoga were performed by beginners, advanced practitioners and instructors. The activation of 14 groups of muscles was measured with electrode on the skin over the muscles. Among the findings, beginners usedpectoral muscles more than instructors, whereas instructors useddeltoid muscles more than other practitioners, as well as thevastus medialis (which stabilises the knee). The yoga instructor Grace Bullock writes that such patterns of activation suggest that asana practice increases awareness of the body and the patterns in which muscles are engaged, making exercise more beneficial and safer.[47][48]
The ten positions of a Namaskar are repeated here and may be detached without damaging the book. The pages are perforated for easy removal.
SriSamarath Ramdas Swami took Surya Namaskar exercises with theMantras as part of hisSadhana.
Traditional Ashtanga practice recognizes two forms of Sun Salutations – Surya Namaskara A and Surya Namaskara B. However, as the Sun Salutation sequence grew more popular within other styles of yoga, it evolved to have more variations. Surya Namaskara C incorporates some of the elements of Sun Salutations A and B while bringing new poses into the mix.
ŚAKTI AS MANTRA intoned in the proper way, according to both sound (Varṇ a) and rhythm (Svara). For these reasons, a Mantra when translated ceases to be such, and becomes a mere word or sentence. By Mantra, the sought-for (Sādhya) Devatb appears, and by Siddhi therein it had vision of the three worlds. As the Mantra is in fact Devatā, by practice thereof this is known. Not merely do the rhythmical vibrations of its sounds regulate the unsteady vibrations of the sheaths of the worshipper, but therefrom the image of the Devatā, appears. As the Bṛ had-Gandharva Tantra says (Ch. V):— Śrinu devi pravakṣ yāmi bījānām deva-rūpatām Mantroccāranamātrena deva-rūpam prajāyate.
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