Sun Salutations A and B

Ready to start yoga? Learn the basics with Sun Salutations A and B

During our trip, many times we had to do our yoga practice in small rooms with no much room to spare to do some poses. Luckily yoga is quite easy one to practice at home or anywhere! It does not require a lot of material, everything that is needed is a bit of space, a mat and comfortable clothes. Yoga Sun Salutations A and B (or Surya Namaskar A and B) are a great to do as they are easy to practice, don’t require a lot of space and can be done in 20 minutes or less. This is our best deal when we struggle to practice yoga, those sequences give us the energy we need for our body and mind.

Benefits

The sun salutation is not only a great workout, but also improve the inner focus, calm the mind and stretches the muscles all at once. The 20 minutes of Sun Salutations A and B are the perfect opportunity to set an intention for the day, wake up gently the body and connect with it.

The Practice

The Sun Salutations A and B are sequential poses with different meaning, designed to be done in the direction of the sun. The best time to do it is in the morning or even better at sunrise when the level of prana is at best. It is also possible to have a mantra during the practice that will help to stay focus and improve a certain topic. For example the mantra could be: I inhale patience, exhale stress, inhale patience, exhale stress, etc. It can be done by beginner or advanced. It is actually a good way for beginners to become comfortable with different yoga poses and to learn how to move from pose to pose.

In Ashtanga Yoga, the sequences are done 5x for each sun salutation. If this is too much you can minimize the sequences by 3x instead of 5x. Even during the weekend, wake up in pajama, practice and go back to bed ! Any time allocated to yoga is a way for improvement and space for enlightenment ! 🙂

Below are the detailed sequences with pictures. Be gentle with yourself and do it at your own rhythm.

Sun salutation A – Surya Namaskar A

Seat in a comfortable pose, close your eyes. Reconnect with the present moment. Reconnect with your breath. You can apply here a pranayama technique if you wish but for the practice activate the Ujjayi breath (Ocean breath – see previous article on yoga). Set your intention for the day, what do you want to give, what do you want to receive.

1. Stand up and go into Samasthiti. Inhale and Exhale. Spine straight. Join toes together, ankles are separated. The shoulders are relaxed and the back is straight forming one line. Chest up. Drishti (look) at the nose or further down.
2. Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute) Inhale, arms up forming one line with the body, look up toward the back of the thumbs.
3. Uttanasana (Standing forward bend) Exhale,bend forward, hips aligned with feet, ankles a little away from the hips, spine straight. Touch the floor if you can always having the spine straight, otherwise leave the hands on the legs. Drishti towards the toes or chin (if flexible).
4. Ardha Uttanasana (Half Standing forward bend), Inhale, from Uttanasana, come up onto your finger tips, raise your head, draw your shoulders back, and bring your spine flat. Drishti forward.
5. Chaturanga Dandasana, Exhale, step back, come down low, shoulders above wrists and elbow at 90 degrees, chest slightly forward, keep the whole body very straight. Drishti at third eye.
6. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-facing dog), Inhale, push toes fowards, bring the chest forward, shoulders opened and arms aligned with them, lift up the legs slightly.
7. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-facing dog), Exhale. 5 breaths. In the position, be well rooted down, press down on your palms and pull your hips up and back. Establish a straight line from your wrists through your shoulders, spine, and hips. The feet are grounded separated by 1 size foot. Keep the head away from shoulders. The Drishti is at the belly button.
8. Jump or walk between your feet and come back to Ardha Uttanasana. Inhale.
9. Uttanasana. Exhale.
10. Urdhva Hastasana. Inhale.
11. Samasthiti. Exhale
Repeat the above 4 more times.

Sun Salutation B – Surya Namaskar B

1. Samasthiti. Inhale and Exhale. Spine straight. Join toes together, ankles are separated. The shoulders are relaxed and the back is straight forming one line. Chest up. Drishti (look) at the nose or further down.
2. Utkatasana (chair pose), Inhale, arms up, knees bend. Squeeze the legs toward each other. Try to sit while having the spine straight. You should be able to see your toes. The Drishti is upward, toward the back of the thumbs.
3. Uttanasana (Standing forward bend) Exhale,bend forward, hips aligned with feet, ankles a little away from the hips, spine straight. Touch the floor if you can always having the spine straight, otherwise leave the hands on the legs. Drishti towards the toes or chin (if flexible).
4. Ardha Uttanasana (Half Standing forward bend), Inhale, from Uttanasana, come up onto your finger tips, raise your head, draw your shoulders back, and bring your spine flat. Drishti forward.
5. Chaturanga Dandasana, Exhale, step back, come down low, shoulders above wrists and elbow at 90 degrees, chest slightly forward, keep the whole body very straight. Drishti at third eye.
6. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-facing dog), Inhale, push toes fowards, bring the chest forward, shoulders opened and arms aligned with them, lift up the legs slightly.
7. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-facing dog), Exhale.
8. Virabhadrasana A (Warrior A), Inhale, Right leg in front, bended 90 degrees, hips forward, arms up, back straight, lifting the belly button. Legs firm. Drishti at the tumbs.
9. Chaturanga Dandasana, Exhale.
10. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-facing dog), Inhale.
11. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-facing dog), Exhale.
12. Virabhadrasana A (Warrior A), Inhale, Left leg in front, bend 90 degrees, hips forward, arms up, back straight, lifting the belly button. Legs firm. Drishti at the tumbs.
13. Chaturanga Dandasana, Exhale.
14. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-facing dog), Inhale.
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-facing dog), Exhale. 5 breaths.
16. Jump or walk between your feet and come back to Ardha Uttanasana. Inhale.
17. Uttanasana. Exhale.
18. Utkatasana (chair pose), Inhale
19. Samasthiti. Exhale.
Repeat the above 4 more times.

After 10 morning salutations, you can rest in Savasana for about 5 minutes, with a meditation (optional) at the end. Join our Newsletter for more tips and upcoming news!

Namaste !