Morning Routine

[Shayla0208]

Of course I've been researching.  :>

• Read daily meditation from 365 Tao and/or The Tao of Women.
• Meditate for at least 15 minutes
• Perform Sun Salutation
• Write in my journal

I'm wondering if it'd be better to perform Sun Salutation first and then meditate....  Guess I'll experiment and find out.  :>  Writing in my journal is optional!

Surya Namaskara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hasta Uttanasana (Raised Arms pose)

For the chapter from the holy text Taittirīya Āranyaka, see Surya namaskara chapter.

Surya Namaskara (IAST: Sūrya namaskāra) or Sun Salutation (lit. "salute to the sun"), is a common sequence of Hatha yoga asanas. Its origins lie in a worship of Surya, the Hindu solar deity. This sequence of movements and poses can be practised on varying levels of awareness, ranging from that of physical exercise in various styles, to a complete sadhana which incorporates asana, pranayama, mantra and chakra meditation.

The physical base of the practice links together twelve asanas in a dynamically performed series. These asanas are ordered so that they alternately stretch the spine backwards and forwards. When performed in the usual way, each asana is moved into with alternate inhalation and exhalation (except for the sixth asana where the breath is held in external suspension). A full round of Surya namaskara is considered to be two sets of the twelve poses with a change in the second set to moving the opposite leg first through the series.

Proponents of the use of Surya namaskara as part of the modern yoga tradition prefer to perform it at sunrise, which the orthodox consider to be the most 'spiritually favourable' time of the day.

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Here Comes the Sun

That most familiar of asana sequences, Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) is as rich in symbolic and mythic overtones as it is in physical benefits.

By Richard Rosen

In many cultures, light has long been a symbol of consciousness and self-illumination. "The world begins with the coming of light," wrote Jungian analyst Erich Neumann in The Origins and History of Consciousness (Princeton University Press, 1995). "Opposition between light and darkness has informed the spiritual world of all peoples and molded it into shape."

Our primary source of light is, of course, the sun. When we look at our closest star, we may see nothing more than a big yellow ball. But for thousands of years, the Hindus have revered the sun, which they call Surya, as both the physical and spiritual heart of our world and the creator of all life itself. That's why one of Surya's many other appellations is Savitri (the Vivifier), who, according to the Rig Veda, "begets and feeds mankind in various manners" (III.55.19). Moreover, since everything that exists originates from the sun, as Alain DaniŽlou wrote in The Myths and Gods of India (Inner Traditions, 1991), it "must contain the potentiality of all that is to be known." For the Hindus, the sun is the "eye of the world" (loka chakshus), seeing and uniting all selves in itself, an image of and a pathway to the divine.

One of the means of honoring the sun is through the dynamic asana sequence Surya Namaskar (better known as Sun Salutation). The Sanskrit word namaskar stems from namas, which means "to bow to" or "to adore." (The familiar phrase we use to close our yoga classes, namaste-te means "you"-also comes from this root.) Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart. This placement is no accident; only the heart can know the truth.

The ancient yogis taught that each of us replicates the world at large, embodying "rivers, seas, mountains, fields...stars and planets...the sun and moon" (Shiva Samhita, II.1-3). The outer sun, they asserted, is in reality a token of our own "inner sun," which corresponds to our subtle, or spiritual, heart. Here is the seat of consciousness and higher wisdom (jnana) and, in some traditions, the domicile of the embodied self (jivatman).

It might seem strange to us that the yogis place the seat of wisdom in the heart, which we typically associate with our emotions, and not the brain. But in yoga, the brain is actually symbolized by the moon, which reflects the sun's light but generates none of its own. This kind of knowledge is worthwhile for dealing with mundane affairs, and is even necessary to a certain extent for the lower stages of spiritual practice. But in the end, the brain is inherently limited in what it can know and is prone to what Patanjali calls misconception (viparyaya) or false knowledge of the self.

History and Practice
There's some disagreement among authorities over the origins of Sun Salutation. Traditionalists contend that the sequence is at least 2,500 years old (perhaps even several hundred years older), that it originated during Vedic times as a ritual prostration to the dawn, replete with mantras, offerings of flowers and rice, and libations of water. Skeptics of this dating maintain that Sun Salutation was invented by the raja of Aundh (a former state in India, now part of Maharashtra state) in the early 20th century, then disseminated to the West in the 1920s or 1930s.

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Mantras

The following mantras are pronounced at start of each Surya Namaskara when in Pranamasana.

	Mantra		Chakra
	Seed	Salutation
1	om hrām (ॐ ह्रां)	om mitrāya namaḥ (ॐ मित्राय नमः)	Anahata
2	om hrīm (ॐ ह्रीं)	om ravaye namaḥ (ॐ रवये नमः)	Vishuddhi
3	om hrūm (ॐ ह्रूं)	om sūryāya namaḥ (ॐ सूर्याय नमः)	Swadhisthana
4	om hraim (ॐ ह्रैं)	om bhānave namaḥ (ॐ भानवे नमः)	Ajna
5	om hraum (ॐ ह्रौं)	om khagāya namaḥ (ॐ खगाय नमः)	Vishuddhi
6	om hraḥ (ॐ ह्रः)	om puṣṇe namaḥ (ॐ पूष्णे नमः)	Manipura
7	om hrām (ॐ ह्रां)	om hiraṇya garbhāya namaḥ (ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः)	Swadhisthana
8	om hrīm (ॐ ह्रीं)	om marīcaye namaḥ (ॐ मरीचये नमः)	Vishuddhi
9	om hrūm (ॐ ह्रूं)	om ādityāya namaḥ (ॐ आदित्याय नमः)	Ajna
10	om hraim (ॐ ह्रैं)	om savitre namaḥ (ॐ सवित्रे नमः)	Swadhisthana
11	om hraum (ॐ ह्रौं)	om arkāya namaḥ (ॐ अर्काय नमः)	Vishuddhi
12	om hraḥ (ॐ ह्रः)	om bhāskarāya namaḥ (ॐ भास्कराय नमः)	Anahata

Sun Salutation Asanas:

1. Mountain Begin by standing in Mountain pose, feet about hip width apart, hands either by your sides or in prayer position. Take several deep breaths.	2. Hands up On your next inhale, in one sweeping movement, raise your arms up overhead and gently arch back as far as feels comfortable and safe.	3. Head to knees   As you exhale, bend forward, bending the knees if necessary, and bring your hands to rest beside your feet.
4. Lunge Inhale and step the right leg back	5. Plank Exhale and step the left leg back into plank position. Hold the position and inhale.	6. Stick Exhale and lower yourself as if coming down from a pushup. Only your hands and feet should touch the floor.
7. Upward Dog Inhale and stretch forward and up, bending at the waist. Use your arms to lift your torso, but only bend back as far as feels comfortable and safe. Lift your legs up so that only the tops of your feet and your ahnds touch the floor. It's okay to keep your arms bent at the elbow.	8. Downward dog Exhale, lift from the hips and push back and up.	9. Lunge Inhale and step the right foot forward.
10. Head to knees Exhale, bring the left foot forward and step into head-to-knee position.	11. Hands up Inhale and rise slowly while keeping arms extended .	12. Mountain Exhale, and in a slow, sweeping motion, lower your arms to the sides. End by bringing your hands up into prayer position. Repeat the sequence, stepping with the left leg.