Saturday, October 3, 2009

Suryanamaskar



Let this simple drawing of the twelve poses of the Sun Salutation jog your memory as you practice. I have a couple hints and suggestions. I like to begin with several deep inhalations and exhalations combined with raising my arms directly overhead. Work carefully on the back bend. Lift the chest up, work your quads back, keep your hands on your hips to control the back bending action and make it less stressful on the spine, look up only if your neck feels at ease, keep your eyes soft, extend your arms overhead but keep your feet extending towards the floor. Allow your knees to bend in the forward bend if your legs are tight. In the lunge keep the forward knee above or behind the ankle bone, not in front of it to protect your knee. Keep your down dog active, work the legs and lift the arms up and away from the wrist joint. Reach back through the heels in plank. In the prone "cobra" pose go slowly, prop yourself up on your forearms, keep awareness in your back, don't force. Only go as high as feels good to your spine.
Don't forget to do at least two cycles one leading with the right foot and the other with the left. Finish with the palms joined in front of the heart in the namaskar greeting. You may recognize some of these instructions from my classes. Sun Salutations are a great series to inspire your home practice. Enjoy and take it easy.

1 comment:

Benjamin Jastrzembski said...

I like all the photos on your blog!