The History, Meaning, and How-to of the Sun Salutation

Yoga Journal’s archives series is a curated collection of articles originally published in past issues beginning in 1975. This article about Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) first appeared in the September-October 2003 issue of Yoga Journal.

In many cultures, light has long been a symbol of consciousness and self-illumination. “The world begins with the coming of light,” wrote Jungian analyst Erich Neumann in The Origins and History of Consciousness (Princeton University Press, 1995). “Opposition between light and darkness has informed the spiritual world of all peoples and molded it into shape.”

Our primary source of light is, of course, the sun. When we look at our closest star, we may see nothing more than a big yellow ball. But for thousands of years, the Hindus have revered the sun, which they call Surya, as both the physical and spiritual heart of our world and the creator of all life itself.

Moreover, since everything that exists originates from the sun, as Alain Daniélou wrote in The Myths and Gods of India (Inner Traditions, 1991), it “must contain the potentiality of all that is to be known.” For the Hindus, the sun is the “eye of the world” (loka chakshus), seeing and uniting all selves in itself, an image of and a pathway to the divine.

One of the means of honoring the sun is through the dynamic asana sequence Surya Namaskar, better known as Sun Salutation. The Sanskrit word namaskar stems from namas, which means “to bow to” or “to adore.” (The familiar phrase we use to close our yoga classes, namaste—te means “you”—also comes from this root.) Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart. This placement is no accident; only the heart can know the truth.

The ancient yogis taught that each of us replicates the world at large, embodying “rivers, seas, mountains, fields…stars and planets…the sun and moon” (Shiva Samhita, II.1–3). The outer sun, they asserted, is in reality a token of our own “inner sun,” which corresponds to our subtle, or spiritual, heart. Here is the seat of consciousness and higher wisdom (jnana) and, in some traditions, the domicile of the embodied self (jivatman).

It might seem strange to us that the yogis place the seat of wisdom in the heart, which we typically associate with our emotions, and not the brain. But in yoga, the brain is actually symbolized by the moon, which reflects the sun’s light but generates none of its own. This kind of knowledge is worthwhile for dealing with mundane affairs, and is even necessary to a certain extent for the lower stages of spiritual practice. But in the end, the brain is inherently limited in what it can know and is prone to what Patanjali calls misconception (viparyaya) or false knowledge of the self.

History and Practice of Sun Salutation

There’s some disagreement among authorities over the origins of Sun Salutation. Traditionalists contend that the sequence is at least 2,500 years old (and perhaps even several hundred years older) and that it originated during Vedic times as a ritual prostration to the dawn, replete with mantras, offerings of flowers and rice, and libations of water. Skeptics of this dating maintain that Sun Salutation was invented by the raja of Aundh (a former state in India, now part of Maharashtra state) in the early 20th century, then disseminated to the West in the 1920s or 1930s.

However old Sun Salutation is, and whatever it may originally have looked like, many variations have evolved over the years. Janita Stenhouse, in Sun Yoga: The Book of Surya Namaskar (Innerspace Map Studio, 2001), illustrates two dozen or so adaptations (though several are quite similar). Our sequence here consists of 12 “stations” composed of eight different postures, the last four being the same as the first four but performed in reverse order. In this sequence, we’ll start and end in Tadasana.

The eight basic postures, in order of performance, are Tadasana (Mountain Pose), Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute), Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), Lunge, Plank Pose, Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose), Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose), and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose).

The transition from posture to posture is facilitated by either an inhalation or an exhalation. As you move through the sequence, watch your breath closely. Slow your pace or stop and rest entirely if your breathing becomes labored or shuts down altogether. Always breathe through your nose, not your mouth. Nasal breathing filters and warms incoming air and slows your breathing down, thereby lending the sequence a meditative quality and reducing the risk of hyperventilation.

To perform the sequence, start in Tadasana, with your hands together at your heart. Inhale and lift your arms overhead to Urdhva Hastasana, then exhale while lowering the arms down and fold your torso into Uttanasana. Then inhale, arch your torso into a slight backbend with the fingertips or palms pressed to the floor or blocks, and exhale while bringing your left foot back into a lunge. Inhale forward to Plank, then exhale and lower yourself into Chaturanga Dandasana. On an inhalation, arch your torso up as you straighten your arms into Upward Dog. Exhale back to Downward Dog; step the left foot forward on an inhalation into Lunge. Swing the right leg forward to Uttanasana on an exhalation, then lift your torso and reach your arms overhead on an inhalation to Urdhva Hastasana. Finally, lower your arms on an exhalation and return to your starting point, Tadasana.

Remember, this is only a half-round; you’ll need to repeat the sequence, switching left to right and right to left to complete a full round. If you’re just starting out, it might help to work on the poses individually before you put them together.

Many of the variations of Sun Salutation begin in Tadasana with the sacred hand gesture mentioned earlier. Most students know it as Anjali Mudra (Reverence Seal), but—in honor of the ancient yogis—I like to call it by one of its other names, Hridaya Mudra (Heart Seal). Touch your palms and fingers together in front of your chest and rest your thumbs lightly on your sternum, with the sides of the thumbs pressing lightly on the bone about two-thirds of the way down. Be sure to broaden your palms and press them against each other evenly, so your dominant hand doesn’t overpower its nondominant mate. The pressing and spreading of the palms helps to firm the scapulas against, and spread them across, your back torso.

Since the sequence is, in essence, a humble adoration of the light and insight of the self, it’s essential to practice Sun Salutation in a spirit of devotion and with your awareness turned always inward toward the heart. Make each movement as mindful and precise as possible, especially as you near the end of your rounds, when fatigue can lead to sloppiness.

Deepening Your Practice of Sun Salutation

The sequence itself is fairly straightforward, but beginning students often stumble in two parts of it. The first of these is Chaturanga Dandasana. Lowering from Plank, students who lack sufficient strength in the arms, legs, and lower belly commonly wind up in a heap on the floor. The short-term solution is simply to bend the knees to the floor just after Plank, then lower the torso down so that the chest and chin (but not the belly) lightly rest on the floor.

The second sticky part is in stepping the foot forward from Downward-Facing Dog into Lunge. Many beginners are unable to take the full step smoothly and lightly; typically, they thump their foot heavily on the floor about halfway to the hands, then struggle to wriggle it the rest of the way forward. The short-term solution is to bend the knees to the floor right after Downward Dog, step the foot forward between the hands, then straighten the back knee into Lunge.

Success with Sun Salutation, as with all aspects of yoga practice, depends on commitment and regularity. An everyday practice would be best, but you might at first aim for four times a week. If possible, don’t skip more than a couple of days in a row, or you might end up back at square one.

How to Practice Sun Salutation

Traditionally, Sun Salutation is best performed outdoors, facing east—the location of the rising sun, a symbol of the dawn of consciousness and jnana. This might be a perfect wake-up routine in India, where it’s usually warm outside, but it’s probably not feasible in Michigan in late December. Nowadays, Sun Salutation is used mostly as a preliminary warm-up for an asana session. I do 10 to 12 rounds at the start of every practice—or after a few hip and groin openers—and a few more on each equinox and solstice to acknowledge the change in the light. On days when only a quickie practice is possible, an intense 10-minute Sun Salutation and five minutes spent in Savasana (Corpse Pose) will do you just fine.

Launch your practice slowly with three to five rounds, gradually building up to 10 or 15. If this seems like a lot, remember that the traditional number of rounds is 108, which may take you more than a few weeks to work up to. You can pace the sequence briskly to generate heat and cleanse the body-mind, or more moderately to create a moving meditation.

If you’re looking for a more vigorous Sun Salutation, consider the approach of the vinyasa traditions such as K. Pattabhi Jois-style Ashtanga yoga, which uses a jumping version of Sun Salutation to link the individual poses in their fixed series.

Variations of Sun Salutation are legion, and because of the sequence’s malleability, it’s easy enough to cook up a few of your own. For instance, you can make things more challenging by adding one or more poses. Insert Utkatasana (Chair Pose) after Urdhva Hastasana, or from Lunge, keeping your hands on the floor, straighten the forward leg to a modified Parsvottanasana (Side Stretch Pose or Pyramid Pose). Let your imagination run wild and have fun.

1. Tadasana | Mountain Pose

This is the starting point and the ending point—or sunrise and sunset—of the sequence. Stand with your feet slightly apart and parallel to each other in Mountain Pose. Firm your thighs, turn them slightly in, and lift your inner groins. Bring your hands together at the center of your chest and touch your thumbs to your sternum. Soften the breath. Draw your awareness into your “inner sun” at the subtle heart and hold it there for the duration of the practice.

2. Urdhva Hastasana | Upward Salute

Inhale and sweep vour arms wide to your sides and overhead in Upward Salute. If possible, touch your palms together; if this tightens your neck or shoulders, separate the arms so they are parallel to each other. Reach through your pinkie fingers. Lean back slightly into an upper-back bend and take the head back to gaze at the thumbs, but don’t jam the back of the neck. Descend through the tailbone and lift the top of the sternum.

3. Uttanasana | Standing Forward Bend

Exhale, sweep your arms wide to the sides, and fold at the hips into full Standing Forward Bend. Release your head. Press your fingertips or palms to the floor (or on blocks if you can’t reach the floor easily).

When returning to Urdhva Hastasana at the end of the sequence, lengthen the torso first, then lift by pressing your tailbone down and into the pelvis as you inhale.

4. Lunge

Exhale and step your left foot back into Lunge (your right foot on the second side). Bend the forward knee to a right angle, with the knee directly over the ankle. Keep the back leg active by lifting its front thigh toward the ceiling and reaching through the heel. After stepping back into Lunge, inhale and lift your chest.

When returning to Uttanasana from the second lunge, straighten the front knee and try to keep the back knee straight as you swing the leg forward.

5. Plank Pose

Step your other foot back from Lunge and shift your torso forward until your shoulders are positioned over your wrists, arms perpendicular to the floor, in Plank Pose. Firm the outer arms inward and broaden your shoulder blades. Press your tailbone toward the pubis and lift the front ribs away from the floor. Don’t allow your torso to sag.

6. Chaturanga Dandasana | Four-Limbed Staff Pose

From Plan, exhale, bend your elbows, and lower your torso and legs so they’re parallel to the floor and a few inches above it in Chaturanga Dandasana. As in Plank, press the tailbone toward the pubis so the torso doesn’t sag. Also, lift your pubis toward your navel to engage the abdominal muscles.

Hold your elbows close to the sides of the torso; don’t let them splay. Look at the floor or straight ahead.

7. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana | Upward-Facing Dog Pose

Inhale, straighten your arms, and sweep your torso up and through your arms into a backbend known as Upward-Facing Dog. (Your legs are slightly off the floor and parallel to it; your tailbone is pressing toward the pubis.) Be sure to drop your shoulders away from your ears. You can stay on the balls of your feet or flip onto the tops of the feet. Look forward or tip your head slightly back. Push the top thighs back to initiate Downward-Facing Dog.

8. Adho Mukha Svanasana | Downward-Facing Dog Pose

Exhale and step into Downward-Facing Dog. Spread your palms and the soles of your feet against the floor. Press your top thighs back, roll them slightly in, and stretch your heels down. Lengthen your tailbone away from your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis, then lift the sitting bones away from the heels against the resistance of the tailbone. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then broaden them and draw them toward the tailbone. Don’t hang your head; hold it between your upper arms.

Retrace your way through Lunge, Uttanasana, Upward Salute, and Mountain.

Benefits and Contraindications

From two decades of teaching and practicing the sequence, and based on my reading of authoritative sources such as Satyananda Saraswati’s book Surya Namaskar: A Technique of Solar Vitalization (Bihar School of Yoga, 2002), it’s clear to me that Sun Salutation offers many physical benefits. Among other things, it:

• Improves overall strength, flexibility, and endurance.

• Improves posture and balance; and promotes graceful movement.

• Increases the strength and efficiency of the heart, and improves circulation.

• Increases lung capacity.

• Tones the digestive system and abdominal organs (like the liver, stomach, and intestines) by massaging the abdominal area.

• Stimulates the endocrine glands, particularly the thyroid.

• Relieves tension, calms the mind, and develops concentration.

I also find that on my dull days, when asana practice seems all but impossible, a few rounds of Sun Salutation stokes my yogic fires.

There are a few cautions to keep in mind regarding Sun Salutation. If you have high blood pressure, a herniated spinal disk, sciatica, or an inguinal hernia, or if you’re pregnant, it’s probably best to forgo practicing it unless you’re working with an experienced teacher who can modify the sequence to suit your needs.

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