How Sun Salutations can increase your energy.

By Hannah | June 13, 2021 |
Yoga for Summer

 This blog is written by Sarah King, a trauma informed yoga teacher and breath coach.

🌞 The Summer Solstice is approaching on June 21st in the Northern Hemisphere🌞

 
This auspicious day is also known as The Longest Day or shortest night. This time speaks of sacred union; a time when the earth is richly giving forth,  flowering & fruiting under the sun’s attention.

 

This Festival blesses relationships & the recognition of the divine in all of us. This is a powerful time of year to down tools & do some self care to experience shifts in your health & feel a deeper meaning to life.

 
We love to celebrate the Solstice by practicing Sun Salutations outside in nature. The practice of Yoga, has long recognised the power of the sun, our primary source of light.
 
Suyra, the sun is revered as both the physical and spiritual heart of our world and the creator of all life itself.
 
The practice Surya Namaskar aka Sun Salutations is the physical act of bowing to the sun. A salute that offers adoration. 
 
It is a dynamic sequence moving the body in all directions, helping to clear the energy pathways known as Nadis. It is a balancing sequence and each movement touches at least one of the chakras.
If you have attended a yoga class it’s more than likely you have moved through this sequence or a variation of it.
 
It helps to invigorate the body while creating space & offers a deeper connection to nature & all of the incredible elements that we wouldn’t survive without.

The main physical benefits of Surya Namaskar A include:

  • It stretches, tones and strengthens your muscles, ligaments, joints.
  • It helps improve overall flexibility in your spine, hamstrings, shoulders, and more.
  • It also strengthens the muscles that support your spine.
  • It prepares you for more complicated asanas.
  • The repetition of these fairly simple poses helps to calm your mind.
  • Helps stretch and strengthen almost all of your body, including arms, abs, thighs, butt, spine, neck, shoulder, hands, wrists, and back.
  • It helps improves your posture.
  • If practiced repetitively and quickly it will raise your heart rate – increased cardiovascular activity strengthens your heart and can help prevent heart disease.
How to practice sun salutations for the Solstice

Go outside & find a peaceful place you can practice. Connect with the elements & give gratitude for earth, air, water & fire.

Feel the sun on your skin & bask in the light whilst slowing down your breath & getting present.

Begin facing the sun at the top of your mat in mountain pose.

Follow the sequence in the image below;

 

Sun salutation sequence

 

 

Traditionally,  108 rounds of sun salutations are practiced at the time of the Solstice. The number 108 is a renowned and sacred number in many traditions. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters

Yoga means Union & Hatha Yoga means Sun – Moon. The partner sequence to Surya Namaskar is Chandra Namaskar– moon salutations. A sequence that helps you in channelizing the lunar energy; which has cool, relaxing, and creative qualities.

We love honouring the masculine & feminine energies within all of us and by tuning into your own cycles & bodies needs, you can choose either sequence to suit you at that time.

If you would love to try some summer yoga, we have a class inside our membership.  These are the perfect blends of workshops to align you with the energy of Summer and move into the season feeling balanced and energised.

You can find out more about our membership here 

If you are reading this wishing you could do more yoga then we teach this every week online, so you don’t have to worry about leaving home or being bendy enough to begin.

Hatha Yoga is the style of class we offer inside The Holistic Health Circle– our online wellness membership. Using holistic tools & cyclical living to align with the most vibrant version of yourself for & life in flow.

If you would like to try Yoga with us or learn more about cyclical living, join us for a FREE 7 day trial

where you can access a library of yoga, breathwork, meditation and nutritional advice for optimum health this Summer. 

 

Namaste,

 

Sarah.

 

Yoga Teacher, Breath Coach and seasonal living enthusiast. 

 

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