Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation)

Surya Namaskara has twelve positions. Recite one Mantra for each of the twelve Namaskaras- the dwadasa namas of Sun.

1st Position – Dakshasana
Mantra: Om Mitraya Namah

Stand erect stretching your hands, neck and all other parts of your body. Stretch both arms, touch your thighs with palms and while inflating your chest and point your vision on the tip of the nose. This is a position of attention.

Benefits of Dakshasana:
Disorders of the skin and waists are corrected; the back and the legs become strong. Thus, is an easy and effective way of attaining good health and development of personality. While meditating with concentrated mind enhances confidence.

2nd Position: Namaskarasana
Mantra : Om Ravaye Namah

Fold together both of your hands in such a way that that both the thumbs begin to touch your chest. Expand your chest and pull in the belly as far as possible. Look straight ahead. The head, the neck and the body should remain in a straight line. Breathe-in through nostrils  and hold it inside as far as possible and then expose the breath.

Benefits of Namaskarasana
Helps in throat diseases and while voice is enhanced it relaxes both mind and body.

3rd Position: Parvatasana
Mantra : Om Suryaya Namah

Raising the arms up, stretch whole of your body backward while gazing at sky with open eyes. Bend backward as much as possible, breathe-in and expand your chest at the same time.

Benefits of Parvatasana
Benefited for shoulders and the food pipe (Esophagus) diseases. Also, improves eyesight.

4th Position: Namaskara Hastapadasana
Mantra: Om Bhanave Namah
Breathe-in deeply, retain the breath and bend forward without folding the knees. Rest both your palms on the ground and touch your knees with your forehead or the nose and breathe-out with audible sound. In the beginning if you can’t rest your palms on the ground, just touch the ground with fingers.

Benefits of Namaskara Hastapadasana
Benefited for disorders of the belly and digestive system are corrected

5th Position: Ekapada Prasaranasana
Mantra : Om Khagaye Namah
Breathe-in and pull your right leg backward in such a way that the knee and the fingers of the foot touch the ground. The abdomen and belly must be pressing hard into the left leg. Raise your head as high as possible and look upwards. Push the waist down and hold the breath and stay in the posture as long as you can – comfortably.

Benefits of Ekapada Prasaranasana
This asama helps in correcting the constipation and diseases of the liver.

6th Position: Bhudharasana
Mantra : Om Pushne Namah
Breathe-in deeply and hold it and pull both of your legs backward, so that the thumbs of the feet, ankles and knees touch each other. Stabilizing the feet and keeping the head, waist, the back and the elbows in a line bend forward and resting both the palms on the ground keep your body like a bow.

Benefits of Bhudharasana
Relieves the pains – specially of arms, legs and the knees. Also helps in toning the bulging waist.

7th Position: Ashthanga Pranipatasana
Mantra: Om Hiranyagarbhaya Namah
Holding the breath, rest both your knees on the ground. Touch the ground with your chest and touch the lower part of the neck with chin. Also touch the ground with the upper part of the forehead and the nose. Please note that the abdomen should not touch the ground. It should be pulled in. Then breathe-out while both the hands/palms must be on the side of the chest.

Benefits of Ashthanga Pranipatasana
This posture makes the arms strong.

8th Position: Bhujangasana
Mantra : Om Marichye Namah

Keeping the legs, palms and knees as in Ashtanga prampatasana position above, unfold the arms and rise while breathing-in, push the chest out and bend the waist in a circle backward. Then rise and bend your head backwards looking up and back as much up as possible and breathe-out.

Benefits of Bhujangasana
Tones up the body and the back muscles and improves the eyesight. Corrects all kinds of disorders related to reproductive system, corrects the irregularities in females menstrual cycles.

9th Position: Bhudharasana
Mantra : Om Adityaya Namah

Repeat the process of Bhudharasana as described in the step six –breathe-in deeply and hold it and pull both of your legs backward, so that the thumbs of the feet, ankles and knees touch each other. Stabilizing the feet and keeping the head, waist, the back and the elbows in a line bend forward and resting both the palms on the ground keep your body like a bow.

Benefits of Bhudharasana
Relieves the pains – specially of arms, legs and the knees.

10th Position:  Ekapada Prasaranasana
Mantra: Om Savitre Namah

Repeat the process of the fifth Namaskara reversing just the position of the legs.

11th Position: Namaskara Hastapadasana
Mantra : Om Arkaya Namah
Repeat the process described in the fourth position.

12th Position: Parvatasana
Mantra: Om Bhaskaraya Namah

Same as position #2
Then come back to the 1st position and repeat the full round once more.

Difficulty Level and Advancement:
Surya Namaskara is a difficulty level 2 asana recommended for beginners.

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