Surya Namaskar Asana Steps -How to Do This Yoga at Home

Surya Namaskar Asanas are done in reminiscence of the Hindu deity Surya or the Sun God as we know him universally. In Sanskrit, Surya Namaskar means salutation to the Sun God. The reason behind dedicating the Surya Namaskar to the Sun is primarily, as the Sun is considered to be the centre of all life forms.

About Surya Namaskar

Surya Namaskar Yoga is an ancient Yogic practice containing twelve extremely graceful asanas, dedicated to Lord Sun. The significance of the Sun can be traced back in several ancient cultures including the Mayan, Egyptian, Aztec Tibetan and Hindu civilizations.

What is Surya Namaskar?

Surya Namaskar originated in the Vedic times; however the Surya Namaskar Yoga resurfaced in the 17th century under saint, Samarth Ramadass’s patronage. Surya Namaskar Asana includes 12 distinct Asana that are juxtaposed by jumping, stretching or relaxation movements.

The basic sequence of Surya Namaskar Asana include a clockwise progress from,

Tadasana
Urdhva Hastasana
Uttanasana
Uttanasana with head up
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
To Chaturanga Dandasana

Further a reverse or anticlockwise repetition of the Surya Namaskar poses includes a shift from Chaturanga Dandasana to Tadasana.

Also See: Benefits of Surya Namaskar

How many types of Surya Namaskar are there?

Typically there are two Surya Namaskar steps, according to the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

Type A
Type B

Let us see what Type A and Type B sequence would incorporate:

Type A Surya Namaskar Poses	Type B Surya Namaskar Poses
Pranamasana	Pranamasana
Urdhva Hastasana	Utkatasana
Uttanasana	Uttanasana
Phalakasana (Phalak means a high plank)	Ardha Uttanasana
Chaturanga Dandasana	Phalakasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana	Chaturanga Dandasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana	Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Uttanasana	Adho Mukha Svanasana
Back to Pranamasana	Virabhadrasana I
-	Repeat from Phalakasana to Virabhadrasana I, repeat Phalakasana to Adho Mukha Svanasana (a third time), Ardha Uttanasana, Uttanasana, Utkatasana, and move back to Pranamasana.

Information about Surya Namaskar

All you need is barely 10 minutes, the time you actually spend talking to friends, even without knowing. However, these powerful steps can have a radical impact on your body’s working. If you don’t get time during the day, you can at least try it during the mornings. For your information, let us tell you, the Surya Namaskar poses produce an effect of a full body workout and the amount of calories you burn in a 30-minute exercise can be burnt if you do a 10-minute Surya Namaskar.

Let us have a look at some of the calorie numbers-

Weightlifting burns almost 199 calories.
A game of Tennis burns almost 232 calories
With a game of football you can spend almost 298 calories
Through rock climbing you would spend 364 calories.
Running can burn 414 calories

Also See: Lord Surya Aarti

How much calories can a Surya Namaskar burn?

An entire Surya Namaskar and Aditya Hridayam session can burn 417 calories to be precise. So basically with a 10-minute Surya Namaskar asana, you burn 139 calories which is more than what you burn after a 10-minute swimming session.

Also See: Shri Surya Dev Chalisa

How to do Surya Namaskar?

In the modern system, Surya Namaskar for beginners would comprise of seven poses.

Pranamasana: Greet the Sun God by standing upright. This entails calming down the body and the mind.
Hasta Uttanasana: Lift your hands and bend the back backwards. Now, inhale the air and bring the biceps close to your ears.
Padahastasana: Exhale, bent, touch the floor with the hands. I know it’s a problem, especially if you have a protruding belly, yet you can at least try touching the floor. Try it! You will one day be capable of touching your feet.
Ashwa Sanchalasana: Bend your knees to the right side of the chest while you move your left leg backward. Look forward and inhale deeply.
Parvatasana: Exhale, raise your waist and create an inverted V using your body. Do this and while trying it out try keeping your heels firmly on the ground.
Dandasana: From the V-shape form a plank shape and inhale deeply. Ensure your hands are below the shoulders and your body is aligned parallel to the ground.
Ashtanga Namaskar: Bring your chin, chest, hands and knees to the ground and make sure your hips are up in the air.
Bhujangasana: Place the head up in the air and bend the back to resemble a cobra for this Surya Namaskar asana.
Now repeat again in a cyclical process and begin from the Parvatasana.

Also See: Surya Namaskar Mantras

Importance and Uses of Surya Namaskar

Surya Namaskar poses are of immense importance and their uses lie in the benefits of the Surya Namaskar asanas. Surya Namaskar can benefit your entire body immensely. It gives you a strong back, and helps build your blood circulation and also your mental focus. So you will no longer end up feeling tired, drained and strained after or during your office hours, if you learn the perfect way to perform Surya Namaskar Yoga.

To close this discussion, we would ask you to do Surya Namaskar Yoga for a week. Ensure you do it in the morning if you have a higher blood pressure tendency. Early in the morning, your blood pressure is at the lowest, so doing it in the morning can help keep it low. After a week decide if you would want to continue with it. I am sure your answer would be a big ‘Yes.’

FAQS of Surya Namaskar

Q1. When to do Surya Namaskar?

Answer: You must try Surya Namaskar Yoga once early in the morning as you wake up. You can also try Surya Namaskar during different parts of the day. Surya Namaskar has nothing to do with food and you can perform Surya Namaskar in any part of the day.

Q2. How many times should you do Surya Namaskar in a day?

Answer: Surya Namaskar poses should be done 12 times in a day. Twelve sets of 12 asanas must be practiced every day.

Q3. How many asanas are there in a Surya Namaskar?

Answer: There are practically 12 steps in the Surya Namaskar asana. It includes,

Prayer posture- Pranamasana
Raised arm posture- Hasta Uttanasana
Touch the toe posture- Hasta Padasana
Horse posture- Ashwa Sanchalasana
Plank pose- Dandasana
Eight point salutation- Ashtanga Namaskar
Snake posture- Bhujangasana

Q4. How to do Surya Namaskar at home?

Answer: Surya Namaskar and Aditya Hridayam can be practiced at home comfortably. Choose a corner, place your mat on the floor and ensure you just have freed yourself up for the next 10 minutes. You can quickly perform all the steps one by one, before returning back to your daily life and living.

Q5. Who should not do Surya Namaskar?

Answer: The people with the following types of conditions should not do Surya Namaskar steps:

After the third month, pregnant women should refrain from doing Surya Namaskar.
Patients who suffer from hernia must not do Surya Namaskar.
Patients who have high blood pressure should be prevented from doing Surya Namaskar.
People suffering from back problems or spinal problems should refrain from doing Surya Namaskar.

Q6. How does Surya Namaskar help?

Answer: Surya Namaskar helps your body immensely- it provides you an all sided help that can be gained only with the help of Surya Namaskar.

Q7. What is the right time to do Surya Namaskar?

Answer: Early in the morning, just at dawn, you can do Surya Namaskar. This is the most ideal time to do Surya Namaskar and it can also be done in the evening.

Q8. Who must do Surya Namaskar?

Answer: Surya Namaskar can be done by all age groups except those who have certain special conditions. So, you can bring together your entire family, in fact an entire family getting together for ten minutes can be fun. Try it in your family.