Day-15 Surya namaskar: The Sun Salutation-Mitraasha
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Namaste All My Yoga Yaatris! May Yog Bless You!
Knowledge of Yoga is infinite, boundless and timeless. “Learning Yoga is an everlasting journey that leads you within and Within is where you find the world of immortal bliss”. –Mitraasha
The idea behind running this 51 Days Yoga Consciousness series is to proffer my modest learnings and share the divine pearls of Yoga science with people at large. Let’s have a conjoint intent to learn, implement and extend the wisdom of Yoga with a positive co-action and harmonious reverberation amongst each other.
Today, I am going to talk about one of the most versatile, powerful, vigorous and very beneficial set-series of ancient yogic asanas, fondly and famously known as Surya Namaskar!
What would life be like without the Sun? One cannot even imagine that. Sun being the primordial and the highest source of powers sustaining life on earth, it has been revered no less than a supreme Lord from time immemorial. It is my most favourite star too. It is called Surya in Hindi and Vivaswan in Sanskrit.
For hundreds of years, the Sun is being worshipped as a part of a daily ritual in several parts of India.
Surya Namaskar( where ‘Surya’ means the sun and namaskar means to bow down in respect in a specific form.) is an ancient classical practice of extending veneration and showing thankfulness to the sun lord, which exemplifies spiritual consciousness and is the foremost reason for having life on earth. It is a technique that stimulates the pingala nadi and vitalizes the body by dousing in the solar energy.
The 12 Surya Namaskar steps or Sun Salutation is one of the preferred yogic kriyas for many practitioners. It is a well assembled technique that inculcates a yogic sequence of 12 yoga asanas that consists of a total of 7 asanas out of which 5 are repeated twice. For the modern day sedentary-stressful lifestyle, and especially during this pandemic phase, Surya Namaskar has been proven to be very beneficial for the practitioners due to its manifold advantages, that too even with minimum rounds of practice.
It is a wonderful workout regime that can be done amidst the early morning sunrays ,after taking a bath and before doing any other yoga performances, to avail maximum benefit. However, it can also be done during other times too, like when one feels too tired during the day, this practice helps to gain the lost energy, both physically and mentally. The rhythmic and systematic contraction and expansion of the chest cavity makes the body energetic, joints flexible, spinal cord more supple, balances the mind and also aids in stimulating the pineal and the hypothalamus glands. With regular and constant practice, the spiritual benefits follow the physical and mental benefits of Surya Namaskar.
With each of the 12 postures of Surya Namaskar, one mantra is associated. Recitation of these mantras along with performing the asanas, either mentally or orally proves to be optimally beneficial. The beginning part is the chanting of Aum, the middle part is the chanting of a ‘Bija Mantra’, and the end part is chanting of Namaha. These 12 mantras are the 12 names of Sun, which are Mitra, Ravi, Surya, Bhanu, Khaga, Pushan, Hiranyagarbha, Marichi, Aditya, Savithra, Arkay and Bhaskar respectively. The chanting of the mantra begins from the stomach and travels through the heart, brain and to the whole body stimulating the chakras, digestive, respiratory and sensory actions. It is advisable to chant the sun salutation mantras with the proper intonations. Incorporate chanting of these mantras in your daily practices of Suryanamaskar if possible and experience a sense of unison with the almighty sun.
Sr. No | Pose | Mantra | Meaning |
1 | Sthita Prarthana Asana | Om Mitraya Namaha | Affectionate to all |
2 | HastottanAsana | Om Ravaye Namaha | The shining one-causes of all changes |
3 | Hastapadasana | Om Suryaya Namaha | Dispeller of dark and induces all activity |
4 | Ashwa-Sanchalan Asana | Om Bhaanave Namaha | Who lights- the bright one |
5 | Adho-Mukha-Svanasana | Om Khagaya Namaha | One who moves over the sky |
6 | Ashtanga Namaskara | Om Pooshne Namaha | Giver of nutrition and satisfaction |
7 | Bhujangasana | Om Hiranyagarbhaya Namaha | Who contains everything |
8 | Adho-Mukha-Svanasana | Om Mareechaye Namaha | The giver of light with unlimited number of rays |
9 | Ashwa-Sanchalan Asana | Om Adityaya Namaha | The son of Aditi-Gods of Gods |
10 | Hastapadasana | Om Savitre Namaha | One who produces everything |
11 | HastottanAsana | Om Arkaya Namaha | Worthy of praise and worship |
12 | Sthita Prarthana Asana | Om Bhaskaraya Namaha | Giver of wisdom and cosmic lighting |
Stand upright with hands on their respective sides and feet together as close as possible. Maintain the body weight on the balls of the feet, towards the big toe. Keep head and neck straight, abdomen in normal profile and chin tucked in, parallel to the floor. Fix your gaze in front of you straight ahead at one point and keep your mind and body calm and relaxed.
Note: People perform Surya Namaskar with variations in some steps/postures
Now repeat all of the above steps with the left leg going behind first in Ashwasanchalan Asana, to complete one full round.
Initially begin with practicing 1-2 rounds with a pause between them and then gradually you may increase the number as per the individual capacity and comfort.
It aids the functioning and stimulation of the entire body and improves all the organs. It strengthens the neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, fingers, back, stomach, waist, abdomen, intestines, thighs, knees, calves and ankles. It kills the redundant fat, especially the fat near the abdomen, hips, thighs, neck and chin.
It invigorates the nervous system and also helps in curing diseases related to the digestive system,removes constipation, eliminates toxins and improvises the appetite. It expands the vital capacity of the lungs and revitalizes the working of the endocrine system. It aids in better blood circulation, helps to cope with insomnia, and regulates the menstrual cycle.
Adds mental as well as physical poise to the practitioner’s personality. Improves and expands one’s concentration, self-confidence, positivity and will power. Makes one physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually a strong person.
Thought of the day: “The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind & the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life” – BKS Iyengar
Link to day 14 : Tratak – To Gaze https://kreately.in/day-14-trataka-kriyato-gaze-mitraasha/
Link to day 16 : Meditative Asana 1: Sthita Prarthna Asana https://kreately.in/day-16-meditative-asana-1-sthita-prarthna-asana-mitraasha/
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1 Comment
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“Nice article, really well explained. Mantras are really important while doing surya namaskar, it is a traditional way and one should not forget that. Without mantras, the powerfulness of yoga poses is not as much as it should be. Thank you for sharing this.
Check out this blog also for surya namaskar clear steps – https://www.makemefit.online/surya-namaskar-poses/“