Complex “Surya Namaskar” – Salutation to the Sun (part 4)
Muscles and skeleton: Surya Namaskar trains all the major muscles and joints of the body. The muscles contract and stretch, and all the contaminated, stagnant blood goes to the lungs and kidneys for cleaning. This is a great method to warm up the body before doing asanas.
Subtle influences: Surya Namaskar can bring many additional and, possibly, more important benefits than purely physical ones. It depends on your attitude. If you do the exercise consciously, and fully surrendering to the recitation of mantras, breathing and movements, it will lead to a calming mind. Therefore, it is very useful for eliminating emotional conflicts, neurosis and stress, especially if it is supplemented by other yoga practices. If a person is prone to piety, then he can do the exercise with a full understanding of the importance of sun worship. It will cleanse his heart and mind. In addition, Surya Namaskar helps to balance the flows of pranic or bioplasmic energy and eliminate the obstruction of the nadi, or the channels through which it flows. It is great to start your day with the practice of Surya Namaskar. It helps you prepare to meet the coming day with confidence in yourself and fully armed with physical and mental forces.
Summary
Surya Namaskar is truly a panacea for urban residents who do not have enough time and opportunities for adequate physical exercise. Surya Namaskar can be a solution to a problem, especially if it is combined with other yoga techniques. There is no reason why most people cannot do it daily. The whole exercise takes about ten minutes. During this short time, the body is exercised in a highly systematic and comprehensive manner. Sure, running, hiking and swimming are great exercises, but they do not provide such effective body training in such a short time as Surya Namaskar. Therefore, there is no need to say that we highly recommend this exercise.
Summarizing all that has been said, it can be argued: Surya-Namaskara is an ideal set of exercises that gives good health.
The practice of Surya Namaskara is recommended for all people – healthy and sick, young and old, large and fragile physique, men and women.
Mastering the practice should begin with a correspondingly close acquaintance with each position separately and only then in its entirety. Synchronizing breathing with movement is the next step. When this is done, it turns out that breathing naturally complements the position, and breathing in some other manner seems uncomfortable and difficult. The basic principle of breathing is the following: the inhalation during backward deflection follows from the expansion of the chest, and the exhalation when leaning forward occurs due to compression of it and the abdominal cavity.
