Wake Up With Sun Salutations for a Better Day
Mornings are darker longer, and I don’t know about you, but it’s taking me a little extra oomph to come out from under the covers in that beautiful pre-dawn hour the ancient yogis call the Golden Hour, or Brahma Muhurti. As it turns out: there’s yoga for that!
If you’ve been feeling less awake in the morning or a little colder - or really any time you’d like a total mind-body pick-me-up, Surya Namaskar (a.k.a. Sun Salutations) are the way to go.
As the sun starts calling a little later, if you can’t rise later with it, you might feel a little groggy on your way to brush your teeth. Take heart, though: this is really the best time to rise and do the few things that matter to how the rest of your day will go. Even 15 minutes of yoga will have noticeable effects later in your day, from staying more focused to making better decisions more easily, to staying true to the kind of person you want to be. You’ll also be set up for a natural bedtime and, in the long run, a better night’s sleep.
You don’t have to feel alone, groggy or behind before you even get out of bed! Whether you’re waking in the pre-dawn hours or a little later, or even shift working, 4-12 rounds of Sun Salutations will go along way toward your having a good day. When I worked nights for decades, I used Sun Salutations when I rose at 3pm for my night shift to attune to my breath, focus my mind and give my body the cue that this was our morning. You get not only exercise, but ideally balanced movement, versatile, portable and customizable. I also used Sun Salutations to keep awake at night at times. The movements open and close the body, create core strength and connection (Hello, Plank!), get you up side down (and you, Down Dog!), back bends and forward folds follow easily on one another. The meditative aspect of the flow helps to focus and calm the mind.
Sun Salutations are warming, especially depending on how many breaths you spend in each posture along the way. Do the first set a little slower, staying a little longer to feel the body let go in each of the initial postures. Breathe with ujjayi - victorious - breath to create a slow, long, even rhythm and recruit deep core muscles.
Sun Salutations are warming, especially depending on how many breaths you spend in each posture along the way. Do the first set a little slower, staying a little longer to feel the body let go in each of the initial postures. Breathe with ujjayi - victorious - breath to create a slow, long, even rhythm and recruit deep core muscles.
Sun Salutation A
with breath cues and drshti, a.k.a. places to rest your eyes.
Begin at noon: Mountain
Inhale Upward Facing Hands
Exhale Forward Fold
Inhale Half Forward Fold
Exhale Step back Lunge
Inhale Plank
Exhale Lower Knees, Elbow Hinge, Hip to Heart
Inhale Flying/Baby/Full Cobra or Up Dog
Exhale Downward Facing Dog
Inhale Step forward Lunge (same leg as went back first)
Exhale Forward Fold
Inhale Upward Facing Hands
Exhale, back to Mountain
You won’t be surprised to find out that transitions are all about the core, or the bandhas. Whether it’s the transition from standing to forward fold, from forward fold to plank, plank to cobra or updog, or the transition back to down dog, the core alignment is pelvic floor lifted, forward hip points together, zip up the gut side of your spine: Elevator - Drawstring - Zipper. Or Mula (elevator-drawstring) and Uddiyana (zip up the gut side of your spine) Bandhas.
Of course the bandhas rely upon strong foundation, so arm/hand and leg/ foot placement sets you up for strength. The bandhas are the prerequisite for splendid, balanced heart opening and relaxed neck and shoulders. With the bandhas engaged you are moving from a place of centered strength, established in your deepest core and ready to meet the world with an open, strong heart; reaching out only as much you have connected inwardly, so that your grasp never exceeds your reach and you have the energy and substance to make choices supportive of your full functioning.
Any standing pose can be inserted in the flow after one foot has reached back and you’re in lunge. Alternatively or additionally, standing poses can also be inserted after bringing the foot forward from Down Dog for second lunge. This makes the flow more strenuous, though it also allows you to take both sides of the pose in one flow.
The transition for both pelvic orientations (long or short edge facing) will be different, but for both, the basic instruction is the same: build up through elevator-drawstring-zipper. The difference comes through how you open your heart and express your arms.
For forward facing poses like Warrior I, Revolved Side Angle or Utkatasana, keep the heart forward and step the foot to or inside the same side hand. After waving the spine up through the bandhas, find your strong, open shoulders drawing shoulder blades on back and releasing shoulders from ears, and then and only to the extent you can maintain your core connection, express through your arms.
For sideways facing poses like Warrior II, Triangle or Side Angle, step the foot closer to the middle of your mat and press into the back heel before you come up and then draw up through your inner thighs. Continuing to draw up and in through the pelvic floor, allow the strength of uddiyana bandha to draw your heart open to the long edge of your mat. Only then, and only to the extent you feel strong and connected through mula and uddiyana bandha, express through the arms, reaching out with a supported open heart and throat.
Staying with an even smooth, ujaayi breath is vitally important. Any time the breath overwhelms our ability to contain it through ujaayi breath, we are compromising our ability to move mindfully with great attention.
It’s also true that playing that edge where you feel exertion and a tolerable level of intensity without pushing too far past your edge is one expression of yoga. The breath is a natural way to find your perfect place of engagement.
For this reason, give yourself permission to rest as often as necessary to maintain your connection to your breath. You can use Mountain as a rest, or stay in child’s pose, or if you’ve practiced enough to be comfortable, staying in Down Dog for 10 breaths instead of 5 can provide the break you need.
Part of giving yourself permission is to cultivate the quality of aparigraha, or non-grasping: not grasping for an outer pose, not comparing your self, body or pose to anyone else in class, or even your last practice. Rather, allow each pose, each transition, each breath to be on its own terms, fresh and new.
