Secrets of Sun Salutation - Part 3

In this Part3, let me cover few more key aspects of sun salutation.

Progress & effectiveness: In general, the effort that we put takes us in the growth path to reach the final goal. The practice of sun salutation is also an effort that we put so that we set ourselves in the growth path. The effectiveness of the practice can be determined by the following factors.

The range of movement of the body

The feel of the subtle sensations of the body

Range of movement: The range of movement increases in each posture by repeated practice of sun salutation. Some of the practitioners target for the speed of the movement to increase the cardio and thereby to lose weight. I feel that when it comes to the range of movement and the speed of movement of the body, it is good to improve the range first followed by the speed to make the practice more effective.

The range of movement improves primarily due to the increase in the flexibility of the body. The body flexibility improves mainly due to two factors.

1.       The heat that is generated during the practice. ( stimulation)

2.       The longer duration of exhale in comparison to that of inhale.(relaxation)

Because of the cyclic movement of the body, the blood circulation gets shuffled throughout the body and the movements generate heat and hence the blood temperature is increased. This increase in the blood temperature loosen up the muscles and joints which aids in enhancing the flexibility of the body and hence the range of movement of the body.

Since, the body movement is rhythmic and slow and in complete synchronisation with the breathing pattern during the practice of sun salutation, a calm relaxation state is established in spite of the simultaneous stimulation due to the raise in the blood core temperature. Here, the voluntary longer exhale plays such a crucial factor in relaxing the body that in turn helps in improving the flexibility of the body.

Subtle sensation: The calmness of the practice helps in expanding the awareness and in turn increases the degree of our perception. During the initial days of practice, one might experiences pains and aches. Once the body is trained to this flow, you start to experience subtle sensations. These could be in the form of feeling your breathing not only at your chest and tummy but also experiencing at the back of the spine and every other parts of the body. You might experience your heart beat throughout the body. With the further development in sensitivity, one might experience even finer sensations such mild electric flow movements throughout the body.

Backbend: Most of the animals in this planet cannot do backbend as human. We have the ability to bend backward. In the medical sports, there is a parameter called V02max. V02max is the aerobic fitness level of an individual. It is the maximum oxygen uptake during the incremental exercise. Back bend such as the 2^nd posture in sun salutation aids in opening up the lungs and the heart. This helps in improving the V02max.

Also, backbend is one of my favourite postures as it is a measure of checking the flexibility and range of movement of the body. This in turn is a measure of the progress of the sun salutation practice. So, the best way to measure the progress of the practice is to keep the pointer of what you see behind you during the backbend and see how the pointer moves down with the practice.

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