Surya Namaskara

Surya Namaskara

:"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.

Origins

;Vedic: There are numerous references to praising the Sun to enhance good health and prosperity, in the Vedas. Some of these Vedic hymns were incorporated into Nitya Vidhi (Daily mandatory routine for a Hindu). These daily procedures were termed Surya Namaskara (literally translates as "sun salutations"). Physical prostration to Sun, showing complete surrender of oneself to God, is the main aspect of these procedures. The forms of Surya Namaskar practiced vary from region to region. Two such popular practices are Trucha Kapla Namaskarah and Aditya Prasna.

;Puranic: Aditya Hridayam [ [http://sanskrit.safire.com/pdf/ADITYA_TRANS.PDF sanskrit.safire.com, Aditya Hrudayam with English translation] ] [ [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rama/ry502.htm Translation of Ramayana by Griffith] ] is another ancient practice which involves surya namaskar. It is a procedure of saluting The Sun, taught to Sri Rama by Sage Agastya, before his fight with Ravana. It is described in the "Yuddha Khanda" Canto 107 of Ramayana.

;Old English References: Early English publications record some of the ancient ways of sun salutation. In "A Catalogue raisonnée of oriental manuscripts" [ [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0dHZEAONqBM00JMfdN2B&id=L90FAAAAIAAJ William Cooke Taylor, A Catalogue raisonnée of oriental manuscripts, H. Smith, (year 1860)] ] . (Year: 1860, Page 246) Rev. William Cooke Taylor, noted that a short book with 71 leaves with "Tricha calpa vidhi" from "Aditya Puranam" was preserved. He describes the vidhi as "Modes of rendering homage to Sun, with praise and spells; the object being health or delivery from disease". He further notes the presence of Arghya Pradana, Surya Stotaram, Aditya dvadasa namam - 12 names of the Sun according to the monthly signs of zodiac, Surya Narayana cavacham, Saurashtacshari mantram, and many other elaborate rituals as the part of the vidhi. In Page 148 of the same book he describes a shorter version called "Laghu tricha kalpa vidhi".

Practice

* Surya Namaskara is practiced only after a gap of 2 hours of having food, generally in the morning time or evening. [""preferable to do suryanamaskar early mornings" [http://lifestyle.in.msn.com/health/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1670124] ]
* Surya Namaskaras are performed on a mat, not on the floor.
* Generally 12 Surya Namaskaras are performed at one practice. If starting practice for the first time, it is generally started with fewer (3 to 6) Namaskaras per day, and then gradually increased to 12 Namaskaras in a week's time. [ [http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1040] if you are new, start with 2-3 ]
* Shavasana is practiced at the end of practice for rest.
* Breathing(pranayamas) is synchronised with asanas as mentioned in the table below.
* Mantras are pronounced at start of each Surya namaskara as mentioned in table below.
* Some asanas are repeated twice in the same cycle of a Surya Namaskara, there are total of 8 postures in the sequence of 12 postures of Surya namaskara.
* Practice of "yoga postures" (asanas) generally follows a surya namaskara practice. [ [http://sdps.ucdavis.edu/hap/yoga.htm Hatha Yoga ] ]
* In a traditional Hindu context, Surya Namaskara is always performed facing in the direction of the rising or setting sun.

eries summary

Mantras to pronounce

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

ee also

*Yoga postures
*Surya
*Surya Namaskar Origins

References

* "Surya namaskara", "A Technique of Solar Vitalization", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, ISBN 81-85787-35-2.
* "Suryanamaskara", Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, New York: Ashtanga Yoga New York, 2005.
* "Yoga in Modern India", Joseph S. Alter, Princeton University Press, 2004.
* "Ten Point Way to Health", Rajah of Aundh, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1938


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Surya namaskara chapter — The Sūrya namaskāra chapter is the first chapter in the Taittirīya Āranyaka of Krishna Yajur Veda. It is so called because it has been used, for probably several centuries, almost by every South Indian Hindu Brahmin household for worship of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Surya Namaskar — …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Surya Namaskar Origins — Surya Namaskar is a well known Yoga series. The practice supports development of the koshas, or temporal sheaths, of the subtle body The practice is an integral part of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system. Vedic origins There are numerous references …   Wikipedia

  • Surya Namaskar — Salutation au Soleil Animation La Salutation au Soleil (Sanskrit: Sūrya namaskāra सूर्यनमस्कार , Sûrya soleil et Namaskâra salutation) est un enchaînement de postures pratiqué dans le hatha yoga. Il s agit d une salutation dans laquelle le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Surya — Hdeity infobox| Caption = Surya Name = Surya Devanagari = सूर्य Sanskrit Transliteration = sūrya Pali Transliteration = Tamil script = Script name = Script = Affiliation = Graha God of = the sun Abode = Mantra = Weapon = Consort = Saranyu, Ragyi …   Wikipedia

  • Sonnengebet — …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sonnengruss — …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Salutation au Soleil — Animation La Salutation au Soleil (devanāgarī: सूर्यनमस्कार. Sanskrit translittéré: Sūryanamaskāra, Sūrya soleil et Namaskāra salutation)[1] est un enchaînement de postures (āsana) pratiqué dans le Haṭha Yoga …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Yoga series — consist of a number of asanas done in sequence, typically either in opposition to one another (commonly referred to as a counter pose ), or in variations of increasing difficulty (as found in the Ashtanga Vinyasa system). The most common yoga… …   Wikipedia

  • Asana — (Sanskrit आसन sitting down lt; आस to sit down Monier Williams, Sir Monier (1899). A Sanskrit English Dictionary . Oxford Clarendon Press, p. 159] ) is a body position, typically associated with the practice of Yoga, intended primarily to restore… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”