About the Sun Salutations:.
In Yoga, Sun Salutations are a series of postures done in the direction of the Sun as a way of recognizing and honoring the important role that the Sun has in our lives. Without the Sun, life on Earth would be impossible. No humans, plants, insects or animals, the Earth would be too cold.
The Sun is so important that some cultures worshiped it and would build large structures out of a rock to track down its movements. They would also chart the seasons and interesting solar events like solar eclipses, and so they created calendars. The reason for this is that they knew how important the Sun`s impact was on their lives.
Sun Salutations are born out of appreciation and are a reminder of how important it is to be thankful and appreciative of life - as a practice.
The fact that it is a sequence that we repeat brings familiarity into the frame.
With the things we are familiar with, a quality is born: - we are able to FLOW.
Familiarity with the sequence gives you the opportunity to move on with your focus to a new aspect or detail of your practice, and be competitive with your recently old self.
The mind pays less attention to things it thinks it knows.
With each repetition you are connecting to your breath, you are checking your alignment. There is also the inner dialogue; there is always a voice chatting in the back of your mind about anything. She will probably always be there, but she learns to keep quiet.
You learn to watch your thoughts in the same way you watch the clouds in the sky passing by. You learn to not engage, only to observe. All the breathing gives you the space to realize you are not your thoughts.
Ideally, there is no inner dialogue. When you catch yourself, you bring your attention back to your breath and jump in the flow. Within this flow, you are breathing long and deep. Bringing oxygen into the blood, activating your circulation, feeding all your internal organs, supporting them to do their job, which is to keep you happy + healthy.
When you are in this flow, not only your physical body benefits but also your soul, and your mind.
With each posture, you become like a flower vase of a different shape. Each shape is designed to hold - to become the home for a specific frequency of energy, for example, unconditional love, or true leadership, maybe we require the strength of a warrior, etc.. So it is a work, a practice for all levels; mind, body, and spirit.
Knowing the Sun Salutations by heart allows you to deepen into your practice, it makes a huge difference bringing it to a higher level. It becomes your meditation...
Next week, I will share a story I came up with to help the yogis in my classes learn the Sun Salutations by heart, so stay tuned! Also, please remember your comments mean so much to me; Tell me if you know the Sun Salutations by heart and if you do, how long did it take you to learn them? If you dont, I think you are going to like my next post:. ♡