Secrets of Sun Salutation - Part 4

In this blog, let me cover the significant points for the practice of sun salutation.

Rhythmic flow: Movement of the Body generates energy. Movement is the fundamental aspect of any form of exercises. In sun salutation, you are in constant movement navigating from one posture to another posture in a cyclic way. This repetitive movement causes the energy to move in the body. It is not only the blood temperature increases but also aids in shuffling the blood throughout the body. The blood circulation aids in transportation and distribution of oxygen to all the parts of the body.

Speed vs Range of movement:  In general, the beginners tend to practice sun salutation focussing on the speed rather than the range of movement of the body. In my personal opinion, it is not effective to increase the speed especially at the beginning stage of the practice. It is primarily important to increase the range of movement of the body before trying to increase the speed. As the range of movement increases, the blood gets circulated to every corner of the body. The blood circulation gets restricted with the small range of movement.

The practice aids in decreasing the stiffness of the body. Wait for the stiffness to fade away before increasing the speed. Increasing the speed with the stiffness in the body builds tension to the body & the practice becomes counterproductive.

Breathing Flow: Body is moving in synchronicity with the flow of the breathing. Even though, sun salutation is a stimulating exercise, relaxation can be induced within the practice of sun salutation by altering the breathing pattern consciously. This can be done by forcing to have a longer duration of exhale than that of inhale.

This duration of exhale is also the duration of relaxation within the practice. This relaxation eases out the tension in the body and makes the body lot more fluid.

Concentration points: Since each posture is defined to target certain areas of the body, it is good to focus on certain areas of the body while doing the practice of sun salutation. Here is the list of concentration points for the respective postures.

Your concentration is the key in enhancing the muscular skeletal movement, extension of the spine and optimising the functions of the endocrine glands.

Postures	Focus Points
Resting Posture	Breathing, Heart Beat & warmness between the palms.
Posture 1	Back of your spine , thyroid region
Posture 2	Hamstring, calf & abdomen
Posture 3	Quadriceps , thyroid region
Posture 4	Weight on the arms
Posture 5	Extension of spine
Posture 6	Palm & Chest (to the floor)
Posture 7	Lower spine , thyroid region
Posture 8	Ankle, calf & abdomen
Posture 9	Extension of spine
Posture 10	Quadriceps , thyroid region
Posture 11	Hamstring, calf & abdomen
Posture 12	Back of your spine , thyroid region

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