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Strike a Yoga Pose: Sun Salutation A

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 08:45:00 PDT

We've finally learned all the poses that make up Sun Salutation A, so we can link them all together.

The Sanskrit word for Sun Salutation is Surya Namaskar. Surya means "Sun," and "Namaskar" is a greeting of honor and respect to the divinity present in each one of us. In case you were curious, the word "Namaste" comes from the word "Namaskar," and is used as a greeting and a way to give praise. When you go to a yoga class, at the end the teacher often says "Namaste," as a way to say "thank you," "be well," and "goodbye."

Doing Sun Salutations is a way of respecting the Sun and the Earth, and all it has offered us. It's also a way to warm up the body and get your muscles ready to do deeper stretching and more difficult yoga postures. You'll work every part of your body doing Sun Salutation A - your arms, shoulders, neck, spine, hamstrings, calves, and feet.

When you take an Ashtanga yoga class, it always begins with the opening chant, and then 5 Sun Salutation As in a row. In other types of yoga, they usually do variations on a sun salutation, so parts of this series may look familiar to you.

Do you want to see what Sun Salutation A looks like? Then

Start at the front of your mat in Mountain pose, bringing your awareness inward, and following your breath. This is the pose you're in when you do the opening chant. It's a prep pose for Sun Salutation A.
Release you arms to the sides of the body. This is a variation of Mountain pose, and the 1st pose in Sun Salutation A.
Inhale as you raise your arms up overhead and gaze at your palms.
Exhale as you dive out and come into a Standing Forward Bend.
Inhale to look up and lengthen your spine.
As you exhale, step or jump back and come into 4 Limbed Staff pose.
Inhale as you scoop your chest forward into Upward Facing Dog pose.
Exhale into Downward Facing Dog. Stay here for 5 complete breaths. Inhale...Exhale...1, Inhale...Exhale...2, etc.
After 5 breaths, on your next inhale, step or hop the feet forward between your hands.
Exhale into Standing Forward Bend.
Inhale and raise your arms up overhead, looking at your hands.
Exhale your arms down. Sun Salutation A begins and ends with this pose. To do another one, inhale your arms up and continue through the entire sequence again. In an Ashtanga yoga class, they do it 5 times, but you can do Sun Salutation A as many times as you like.

Fit's Tips: In the mornings when I have time, I love to do a few Sun Salutation As to help me wake up. Each pose feels better than the next. I'll hold each pose for a few breaths since my muscles feel stiff from not moving them for 8 hours.

Strike a Yoga Pose: Standing Forward Bend

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:15:00 PST

You can't get through a yoga class without doing a Standing Forward Bend. This is the second pose in Sun Salutation A, a series of poses you do at the beginning of class to warm up.

Begin in Mountain pose at the front of your mat. After you create your intention, center your mind, and concentrate on your breath, inhale and reach your arms straight above you. If it's comfortable for your neck, gaze up towards your thumbs, keeping your tail bone tucked under (this will protect your lower back from straining).

As you exhale, draw your navel towards your spine and dive out, keeping your back straight and strong.

When you end your exhale, you fold completely in half into a standing forward bend. The most important thing is to keep lengthening through the spine. Tuck your chin in towards your chest and relax your shoulders and as you work on straightening through your legs, try to shift your weight forward into your toes. If it feels right, place your hands on the ground, fingertips lining up with the toes.

This pose is great for stretching out the hamstrings, the lower back, and the back of the neck. During Sun Salutation A, you only stay in this pose for 1 exhale. So before class, I love to do this pose and hang out in it for a while, to warm up for the warm up.

Strike a Yoga Pose: 4-Limbed Staff

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:00:00 PST

4-Limbed Staff pose, also called Chaturanga Dandasana in Sanskrit, is one of the toughest yoga poses to hold. It works yours abs, your back, and your upper arms and shoulders intensively. The thing about doing this pose, is once you get the right technique and you practice it a lot, it'll get easier.

We always do this pose in Sun Salutation A and B, and in between poses, so you'll get to do it a lot during a yoga class.

From Standing Forward Bend pose, you're going to inhale, straighten your arms and back, and look up. You can bend your knees so that you can place your palms flat on the ground.
Bend your knees slightly and step your right foot all the way back and then your left, so that your body is in one straight line. (You can also jump both feet back together). You want your shoulders directly above your wrists. This is called Plank pose. It's like the top of a push-up.
As you exhale, bend your elbows straight behind you so they brush against the sides of your body. You want to try to keep your body parallel to the ground. Draw your belly button up towards your spine to protect your lower back. Work on keeping your shoulders parallel with your elbows. This is called 4-Limbed Staff pose

Eventually the three moves all flow together with no breaks or holds in between, so you go from looking up in the the Standing Forward Bend (1st photo), straight into 4-Limbed Staff pose (3rd photo). Practice bending your knees and jumping both feet back at the same time, and lowering your body, all in one exhale.

Strike a Yoga Pose: Upward Facing Dog

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:30:00 PST

I couldn't live without Upward Facing Dog pose, or Updog as I like to call it. This back bending pose is part of the Sun Salutations. Not only does it elongate and increase flexibility in your spine, but it's a great pose for opening your chest, throat, shoulders, and the front of your thighs.

When you're in this pose, try not to tense your glutes or crunch your lower back. Also, this pose can be tough on the wrists for some people, so make sure to activate your fingertips by pressing them into the mat - try not to put all your weight into the heel of your palms.

Here's how to get into Updog from standing.

You begin at the front of your mat in Mountain pose. Inhale as you lift your arms up and gaze towards your palms.
As you exhale, dive out, lengthening your spine as you fold forward, coming into a Standing Forward Bend. If you can, your legs are straight and your forehead is pressing towards your shins.
Inhale as you look up and plant your palms flat on the ground. As you exhale, jump your feet back and bend your elbows, lowering with control into 4-Limbed Staff pose.
As you inhale a breath, you scoop your chest forward, balancing on the tops of your feet and your hands. If it's too much on your lower back, you can drop your hips and thighs down. If it feels comfortable, you're going to drop you head back between your shoulder blades. Roll your shoulders open and down away from your ears, stretching through your chest and throat. This is called Upward Facing Dog Pose.

Well there you have it. With practice, you'll be able to flow from one pose to the next, letting your breath guide your movements.

Strike a Yoga Pose: Downward Facing Dog

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:00:00 PST

We've reached the last pose in the Sun Salutation A. Downward facing Dog, or Down Dog as I usually call it is one of the toughest poses to hold in yoga. It works every part of your body, and when you first begin to do yoga, you have a hard time holding this pose for more than 2 breaths. After you practice for a while, you'll build up the muscles and strength in your arms to hold yourself up, and then Down Dog actually becomes somewhat of a resting, relaxing pose.

This pose strengthens all the muscles in your arms, but could put strain on your wrists. You can prevent wrist pain by shifting weight into your fingertips, to take the weight off the heels of your palms.

You can also work your core muscles in this pose, by pulling your navel to your spine, and breathing into your ribs. You'll really feel a stretching in your hamstrings, calves and Achilles tendon. It's an all-around total body pose, which is why it's one of my favorites.

Here's how to get into it.

When you are in Sun Salutation A, once you get to the Standing Forward Bend pose, as you exhale, step or jump both feet back and come into 4-Limbed Staff pose. Eventually your body will be in one straight line.
From here, inhale and scoop your chest forward between your arms, coming into Upward Facing Dog pose. The only thing on the ground are your hands and the tops of your feet. Try to lengthen through your spine and draw your shoulder blades back and down away from your ears.
As you exhale, press into your palms and lift your hips up away from you, so you're in an upside down "V" shape called Downward Facing Dog. Spread your fingers wide and make sure you're creating a straight line with your middle finger and forearm. Work on bringing your heels down towards the ground. They should be slightly wider than your toes, so the outside edges of your feet are parallel with the outside edges of your mat. Work on holding for five breaths.

Fit's Tips: You can definitely work on holding this pose for longer to build and tone the muscles in your arms, upper back and shoulders. This is a great stretch to do after a run because it lengthens the backs of your legs, and if you bend your knees slightly, you'll feel a release in your lower back. While this pose may seem taxing at first, it will soon become your rest pose. So practice up!!!