In Salute of the Sun Salutation

Exercise your Mind with your Body

If the mind and body are not working harmoniously together before you begin to exercise, chances are you will not enjoy your workout. Without the fun factor, the likelihood of continuing a fitness program for any length of time is slim.
This is proved by the fact that, despite good intentions and even good beginnings by many people, only about 10 to 15 percent of Americans exercise regularly. Therefore, if our goal is to make fitness as much a part of our way of life as eating and sleeping, we’d better bring back the fun and get the mind and body coordinated.
Since Yoga is defined as the union of body and mind, by definition it will be the most effective means of integrating mind, body and sport.

Solar Benefits

The Sun Salute, in addition to setting the mind and body in a coordinated motion, has profound physiological benefits that have been written about for thousands of years. First, as the body is flexed and extended during these postures, the internal organs of the pelvis, abdomen, and chest are deeply massaged. In addition, the sequence takes the spine through almost every possible range of motion, including flexion, extension, lateral bending, lengthening, compression, and rotation, thereby breaking up any tensions or muscle spasms that could possibly restrict its full range of motion.
The coordination of the breath with the flexion and extension postures considerably enhances the effects of the Sun Salute.

The Fruits of the Sun

The Sun Salute is, by itself, a complete exercise. Here is a summary of the benefits of this excellent warm-up and cool-down exercise:

• Deeply massages the internal organs
• Takes the spine through the entire range of motion, thereby ensuring maximum flexibility
• Breaks adhesions and spasms in the rib cage that inhibit deep nasal diaphragmatic breathing
• Coordinates movement and breath and thereby pumps prana into every cell of the body, making it the perfect preparation for any physical activity
• Increases strength, flexibility, and endurance of every major muscle group in the body
• Naturally reproduces the PNF (Peripheral Neuromuscular Facilitation) technique, thereby dramatically increasing flexibility, whether you use it before and after exercise, or as an exercise by itself
• Improves circulation, energy, and vitality

From the Inside out

There are two ways you can perform the sun salute or any series of Yoga postures: with attention, or without it. If your mind is off thinking about where you’d like to be, or what your going to do after these postures, you will reap only minimal benefits and relatively no integration of body and mind. To realize maximum benefits from this exercise, the awareness has to be from the inside out. When you do it just right, the mind is totally settled, not distracted. To heighten this experience, do the postures more slowly. This will also slow your breathing to a more efficient rhythm, which will carry over into the rest of your exercise.

Our habit is to force and push. When you want more flexibility in an area, the tendency is to push and pull on that group of muscles. To touch your toes, standard operating procedure is to stretch and bounce until you make it. In the long run, this forcing only ties the muscles into knots and spasms, which ultimately make the body less flexible than when you started.
Respect the experience of comfort. Your body is smarter than you think! Rather than always telling it what you want it to do, give it a chance to prove itself. It will come through in the end. But it only speaks the language of comfort. As soon as you push and force it, the body will adapt and compensate, and lose its ability to stay on track toward its full potential and an ultimate personal best.

Edited from: “Body, Mind and Sport”
By John Douillard, a former professional athlete who has coached world class athletes including Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.

Regards
The Moksha Team

“ There is no Ashtanga Yoga without Sun Salutation, which is the ultimate salutation.”
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois