Secrets of Sun Salutation -Part 2

In this blog, let me cover few more key aspects of sun salutation.

Relaxation realisation: In my previous blog on this topic, I did describe the left hemisphere brain activation and how sun salutation practice helped in stimulating the body. Conceptually, Yoga practice is an alternative pattern of stimulation and relaxation of the body in a cyclic way. Sun salutation is no exception to this concept. So, sun salutation is not simply a stimulating form of exercise to the body but it aids in relaxation too. The relaxation does happen at four different stages of Sun salutation.

Relaxation by means of breathing

Relaxation during the relaxing postures such as the Child Posture

Relaxation after completing one cycle (12 sequential postures) &

Relaxation after the sun salutation practice.

Relaxation realisation is progressive in nature. In breathing, exhalation is associated with the toning up of the parasympathetic nervous system. So, long exhales during the practice of sun salutation keep us in a relaxed state. This is the first level. The next level of relaxation happens during the progression of postures such as Child posture. The very nature of this posture in sun salutation puts us in a state of relaxation. Next, after completing a cycle of 12 postures, it is good to take a deep breath before proceeding to the next cycle. This again allows sufficient time for us to get connected to one self. Finally, a complete relaxation is established by laying down in the corpse posture after the sequence of 12/24/36 or 108 sun salutation cycles. So, in order to get the full benefits of the practice, direct your awareness to the various phases of relaxations during and after the practice of sun salutation.

Connecting to the Self : Sun salutation is the process of getting connected to one self in a deeper way. It is an art of communicating to the body. During the initial days of the practice, one feels gross sensations such as pains and aches. Once, the body gets used to this practice and when the flexibility is achieved, we start to experience finer subtle sensations. The perception towards the body and feeling the body changes with the practice of sun salutation.

In fact, the body has intelligence and it communicates to us by means of bodily sensations. We fail to get connected to the body sensations due to our poor sensitivity. In general, our brain is tuned to feel the gross sensations but not to the subtle sensations. A diseased state is an unbalanced state. To start with, the body generates subtle signals when it moves from a balanced to unbalanced state. The strength of the signals increase as one moves more towards this unbalanced state. The stronger signals such pains and aches are the matured stage of this unbalanced state which we call it as a diseased state.

The practice of the sun salutation helps in training the brain and to become sensitive to the subtle sensations. This helps one to stay in a balance state and lead a balanced life.

 Inward Journey: We perceive the events and experiences around us by the five sensations such sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. All these sensations draw us to get tuned to the outside external world. The training of brain to become sensitive to the subtle sensations draws us to get tuned to the internal world. The entire gamut of the internal world is complex in nature where multiple activities such as automatic rhythm of the heartbeat, breathing, blood circulation, temperature control of the body etc are taken palace without the involvement of our intelligence. One not only becomes more balanced but also stays more centred when the internal world opens up within him.

I will cover some other key aspects of sun salutation in my next blog.