Greetings and Salutations:
Fall has arrived with a brilliant majesty of color. With this seasonal transition the weather will start to cool, leaves from trees fall and we will find ourselves spending more time indoors.
Just like the bear seeks his den, recoiling to the comfort of our homes is natural. However, unlike the bear, we do not want to hibernate and become sedentary. Although it is innate to slow down, it is also prudent to maintain a regime of continuity that we established during warmer weather. Even though the sun’s warmth is diminishing, we can keep our internal fire burning with our practice.
Maintaining a steady and regular yoga practice will help to turn up our internal heat and keep us centered during the dark and cool winter months to come.
Yoga Moment
(Sun Salutation A, Surya Namaskar A)
Now that daylight is noticeably shorter, there is no better time than now to pay homage to our departing sun with a sun salutation, Surya Namaskar A.
Surya means the sun and Namaskar is a greeting of honor and respect to the divinity present in each of us. The sun is innately recognized for its life giving power. Consequently, honoring the sun is one of our first and most natural forms of spiritual expression.
Sun salutations are linkages of postural sequences designed to flow. The poses are designed to move rhythmically. They warm up the body and facilitate the relationship between movement and breath.
The sun salutations weave movement, breath and focus together to create a physical and spiritual tapestry of grace and stability. Flow with your movements and remember to inhale as you open into a posture and exhale as you close the posture. Focus on the rhythm in your breath and allow your body to respond to it.
The sun salutation is reputed to provide an array of benefits, including:
- Stretching of the spine and strengthening the muscles that support it
- Strengthening and stretching arms and legs
- Improves posture, coordination, and endurance
- Provides aerobic benefit
- Improves the function of the lungs and delivers oxygen to muscles
To perform sun salutation A, follow the order of postures I list below. If you’re using my CD, the drawings in the booklet will be a helpful visual. With practice, the following movements will become a graceful, smooth flow.
- Begin deep breathing, pranayama, for several minutes.
- Stand in mountain pose, Tadasana, and bring your palms together in the traditional “prayer” position in front of the center of your chest. Breathe in and out.
- On the next in breath, stretch your arms up above your head and lean back from your waist, looking up towards your hands.
- On the out breath, straighten and bend forward from the hips with the intention of reaching the floor with your hands. If necessary, bend your knees. Place your hands on the floor, the finger tips in line with your toes.
- On the next in breath, send your right leg back so the knee touches the floor and the toes are tucked under. Look upwards.
- On the out breath, lower your head and send your left leg out to join the right leg behind you. Allow your bottom to lift upwards away from the floor. Breathe in.
- On the next out breath, lower yourself, bending your knees or with straight legs till they touch the floor, continue lowering the chest to the floor, then your chin. The hips stay off the floor.
- On the next in breath, lower your hips flatten your toes and lift your head and chest up, straightening your arms. Look upwards.
- On the next out breath, tuck your toes back under and, pressing on your hands; lift your hips so they are the highest part of your body off the floor. Coming into downward facing dog position. Lower your head and look at your navel..
- Breathing in (lifting your chin so your knee doesn’t catch it), look towards your right big toe and either step or float forward to forward bending position, as described in the fourth step of this sequence..
- The next in breath will take you upright again, leaning back slightly, with your hands above your head. Look upwards.
- On the out breath, lower your arms and return to the mountain posture, Tadasana.
This special sequence of postures is so profound that when you are running short of time just spending fifteen minutes performing this practice will provide you with health benefits and give you a feeling of well being.
Inspirational Moment
“Today”, by: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities
No doubts have crept in;
Forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day;
Begin it well and serenely
And with too high a spirit
To be cumbered with your old nonsense.
This day is all that is good and fair.
It is too dear,
With its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on yesterdays.
“In each person’s life there are three stages. When one was young, people said, “He will do something.” As he grew older and did nothing, they said, “He could do something if he found himself.” When he was white-haired, people said of him, “He might have done something if he had tried anything.” – Author Unknown
Namaste,
Anita
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