Sun Salutations

Sun salutations are sequences used in yoga practice to prepare the body for the asana practice that follows.

They can be quite vigorous or very low-key depending on student's health, age and other circumstances.

Each school of yoga has a different way of doing sun salutations. We will explore the classical form and two types of sun salutations from Ashtanga Vinyasa method.

Below are the video clips of the above mentioned sun salutations:

Classical Form of Sun Salutation

In this sun salutation all the movements are done in a 2D-plane, i.e. there are no lateral movements of the arm or legs, providing the student does not have any health issues.

Sun Salutation A, Ashtanga Vinyasa style

This sun salutation has 9 vinyasas (or counts) and the student is encouraged to silently count them along with the corresponding breath (whether it is an inhalation or the exhalation) and drishti (the visual focus).  That count will maintain the focus of the mind on the practice. It is important to pay a lot of attention to the execution of postures because they can easily lead to injuries if there is a misalignment.

Sun Salutation B, Ashtanga Vinyasa style

In This sun salutation has 17 vinyasas.  All the other rules are the same as in sun salutation A.