The deeper meaning of Surya Namascar: Sonnen salute

Many yoga classes start with sun greetings, or Surya Namaskar. The energetic, warming sequence of attitudes and movements helps to warm up the body, prepare it for other asanas and also awaken the mind. Practify or teach Surya Namaskar? Do you know where it comes from or what this energetic river represents? Read on to discover the deeper meaning of the sun salute and the different forms that you can choose to practice.

god of the sun

A few thousand years ago, one of the most revered gods in Vedic culture (the culture that is said to have born yoga) was surya , god of the sun. Surya rides across the sky in his car pulled by seven horses and is also shown in Buddhism and Jainism. Surya literally means "sun" and was worshiped for his life -giving energy and was mentioned in old Vedic hymns and astrological texts. It is quite clear to understand why Surya was seen as a "life donor" because the sun is such an important aspect of life itself. The sun gives our body and mind energy and also the plants and animals around us energy to grow. This lifelong energy is only one of the reasons why Surya was revered so much and the sun was considered one of the most important aspects of nature to connect.

old rituals

If you think of sun greetings today, you can imagine a sequence of repeating movements that may be practiced rhythmically, dynamically and synchronously with your breath. The very first forms of surya Namaskar looked - and sounded - very differently! The word Namaskar refers to an honorable greeting or a 'salutation', so that many of these practices were carried out at sunrise and they were greeted as it arrived. Sunblick was one of the first forms to honor and welcome the rising sun, either by looking into the sun's rays (which I definitely not not , since this can damage your eyes!), Or by looking through flowing water into the sun. This practice is still widespread all over the world today, although it is safer to sit in front of the rising sun and look into the sky instead of actually at the . Visualize the energy of the sun that shines in your body and fulfills it with new life and vitality for the day.

Another ancient form of Surya Namascar is simply the sunbathing that has a lot more depth than it sounds. Of course, the general advice is that longer sunbathing is not safe. Therefore, meet all the necessary precaution and contact a specialist if you are worried about sunbathing. yoga's "sister science" Ayurveda prescribes sunbathing as part of a balancing and detoxifying regime, promotes its ability to cause sweating and to stimulate the circulation and to enable the use and production of useful vitamin D. As a yoga practice, sunbathing was all the energy of the sun projected into the physical and subtle body. Today sun therapy or helicopter therapy is used to treat different skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema, and to get sufficient natural sunlight is one of the most important and simplest ways to optimize the mood and bring the internal clock into a healthy rhythm.

The next old form of surya Namaskar is singing sacred mantras. The gayatri-mantra is traditionally sung to the rising sun to honor and summon this energy at the beginning of the day. If you can wake up at sunrise, the chant of this mantras is a wonderful way to connect with the energy of the sun, and also serves as a ritual to connect it deeper with nature. Using a mala can improve the meditative quality of practice and guide you to chant the mantra 108 times, as is considered lucky.

(link removed) bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ

did Savitur Vareṇyaṃ

bhargo devasya dhīmahi

dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt

- Rigveda 3.62.10

There are many translations of this mantras, but these are some of the most literally and poetic:

"We meditate about the glory of the nature that this universe has produced; may she illuminate our spirit ." Swami Vivekananda

"Let us meditate through this excellent glory of the divine invigorating sun. May he illuminate our understanding."

"May we gain this excellent fame of savitar The God: This is how he can stimulate our prayers."

movement -based practices

The focus was on a movement -based form as rituals and sequences in yoga practice and in Vedic culture, Surya Namascar developed. The first saw how people offered water to the sun to thank for their own life, the ability to grow food and crops with the spread of agriculture, and often asked the sun to give them healing that were sick. These movements included crouching (the yoga posture) Malasana) followed by the absorption of water and getting up to stand with arms outstretched. The movements were probably repeated twelve times, which corresponds to the twelve 'sun' sign of the zodiac, which are recognized in the old Vedic astrology.

With the introduction of Hatha yoga, exercise practices with hundreds of attitudes and movements . At the time when Ashtanga yoga was widespread in India and in the west, the three modern forms of Surya Namaskar were fully trained, including the classic sun greetings, Surya Namaskar A, and Surya Namaskar B. mantra for each of the twelve attitudes in the sequence. These mantras say that they contain the vibration energy of the sun while they correspond to the twelve astrological houses through which the sun "moves" and they are connected to the various qualities and properties of the sun. One of the most beautiful aspects in the chant of these sun mish tras in every morning practice is that they reflect qualities that we can also cultivate on this day. The next time you roll out your rollers yoga matte practice surya namaskar, you may be loud or in thought and intend to bring some of these illuminating qualities into your day. Learn more about this surya Namaskar, books like Surya Namascara: A technique of solar vitalization by Swami Satyananda Saraswati provides insights into the mystical and ancient wisdom of practice.

om mitraaya namaha: one who is friendly to everyone.

om ravaye namaha : the luminous or the radiant.

om Suryaya Namaha: The distributor of darkness, which is responsible for the generation of activity.

om bhaanave namaha: one who illuminates.

om Khagaya Namaha: One who penetrates everything.

om pooshne namaha: donor of food and fulfillment.

om Hiranya Garbhaya Namaha: One who has a golden shine.

om mareechaye namaha: light dispenser with infinite rays.

Om Aadityaaya Namaha: The son of Aditi, the cosmic divine mother.

om Savitre Namaha: One who is responsible for life.

om arkaaya namaha: one who deserves praise and fame.

om Bhaskaraya Namaha: Forer of wisdom and cosmic enlightenment.