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Yoga FAQ: What is a Sun Salutation?
Short answer: it’s a sequence of poses. Read on for the long answer…
A sun salutation is one of the most common sequences in yoga.
Known as Surya Namaskar in Sanskrit, a sun salutation (or sun salute) is a flow of twelve different poses generally carried out in a graceful manner, with specific poses linked to the breath.
It’s one of the most common sequences that you’ll find in a yoga class. Often seen as a warmup before standing poses, sun salutations stretch your entire body and open your heart, shoulders, and chest.
As an added benefit, sun salutations are done with one breath per movement. If you place enough focus on joining the movement of your body to the rhythm of your breath, a sun salutation can become a moving meditation.
Although basic, a sun salutation is a great thing to include in your daily yoga practice. If you practice with a teacher (whether in-person or online), there’s a good chance they’ll have you practice it. But it’s also worth learning the poses yourself so that you can practice them on your own.
How to do a sun salutation
- Start in Mountain Pose (standing). Root all four corners of your feet into the ground, straighten your spine, and roll your…
