Surya Namaskar

The sun is reliable, it rises everyday. It is the spark floating at the heart of the universe.

Rays of the sun don’t discriminate, it’s Godly presence is always available to anybody.  But sometimes we are clouded and the sun don’t shine through. The sun salutations raise energy to melt away our goo. By linking movement to breath we reconnect with our inherent gifts of physical vitality and the pleasure of being in our body.

The chain of movements that compose a salute are like machinery, gears and motors. The strong arms lower you down from a stiff plank and then you arch the shield of your chest upwards to a cobra and then curl your toes under and raise your hips back up to the well supported downward facing dog.  It is like becoming the mechanical gears inside the sun, we are imitating the energy of the universe and inviting it into our bodies. We generate and discover our own stamina and untapped resources.  Our sun shines through.

The efficiency and practicality of solar energy is symbolic of our inherent completeness. Why go looking for outside additions? We have a full body of possibilities. If we could only remember to be grateful for what we have. The simplicity of sun light. The sun salute at the beginning of asana practice is a reverence for the body, the energy and the moment we have been given. That great star is always brightening space, but our inner guiding light is said to be even brighter.