Secrets of Sun Salutation - Part 5

Increase the range of movement: As mentioned in the earlier, the primary focus must be on the range of movement rather than the speed of the movement.  The practice in itself and how we move from one posture to another are preconceived. In general, a fixed practice may lead to boredom. To enjoy the practice, one needs to experience varieties. One way of experiencing the varieties is by the way how we experience the sensations. The sensations are not fixed. Sensations change as per the person’s body, state of mind and his emotional state. As we increase the range of movement of the body, we tend to open up joints and trigger tissues (that were dormant earlier). This process heightens person’s sensations and changes the way how he feels the body.

Let me summarise certain pointers corresponding to the postures. With consistent practice, you will see the improvement in the range of movement.

Postures	Pointers
Resting Posture	Feel the movement of diaphragm muscle by deep breathing.
Posture 1	Push front the lower part of the spine gently with the support of the palms. Do not bend the elbow.
Posture 2	Take the forehead close to the knees ( without bending the knees)
Posture 3	Rest the knee to the ground and push the hip down towards the floor
Posture 4	Stand on the toes and take the weight of your body on the arms
Posture 5	Keep the butt close to the heel ( to extend the spine)
Posture 6	Keep the Palms & Chest to the floor
Posture 7	Look at the sky and push the Lower spine to the front
Posture 8	Put the heels to the floor & head close to the floor
Posture 9	Keep the butt close to the heel ( to extend the spine)
Posture 10	Rest the knee to the ground and push the hip down towards the floor
Posture 11	Take the forehead close to the knees ( without bending the knees)
Posture 12	Push front the lower part of the spine gently with the support of the palms. Do not bend the elbow.

This is a renewed way of experiencing the body by simply increasing the range of movement. Over period of time, the body moves seamlessly from one posture to another and breathing guides in establishing a free movement of the body.

Power of concentration: The renewed way of experiencing the body is a good start point to increase the power of focus. In yoga, the eye gazing is called Dhristi . A fixed gazing without random movement of eyeballs help in improving the power of concentration. In my study of neuroscience, I was taught by the brain scientist that the eye is just not a sensing organ but an extension of the brain. The blood capillary pressure in the brain can be tapped by observing the pressure of the blood vessels in the eyes. This is the reason why the doctors check the eyes with the torch light to see the characteristic of the brain through the eyes.

During the practice of sun salutation, it is good to keep the eyes closed or the least gaze at certain point to increase the concentration level. Random eye ball movement leads to the distraction. Below table summarises the gaze points for the corresponding postures.

Postures	Gaze Points
Resting Posture	Towards the Knees
Posture 1	Look Back ( fix a marker behind you)
Posture 2	Towards the Knees
Posture 3	Towards the Sky/Roof
Posture 4	Straight ahead
Posture 5	Towards the floor
Posture 6	Straight ahead
Posture 7	Towards the Sky/Roof
Posture 8	Towards the Navel region
Posture 9	Towards the floor
Posture 10	Towards the Sky/Roof
Posture 11	Towards the Knees
Posture 12	Towards the Knees

Practice precautions: Some of us do not get the right benefits of the sun salutation practice and we tend to give up the practice. How we apply ourselves to the practice is the key to get the full benefits. There are important key points to be observed during the practice of sun salutation. Here is the table that describes those.

Postures	Precaution/key points
Resting Posture	Concentration of breathing & body movement (chest & abdomen) with respect to breathing. The seamless flow of breathing with increased rounds of sun salutation.
Posture 1	Keep the parts of the body below the hip stable. Do not bend elbows and the knees.
Posture 2	Push the buttock to the back & extend the spine while bending forward. Do not bend the knees.
Posture 3	Keep the upper part of the body vertical to ground. Push the hip down bringing the quadriceps inclined towards the floor.
Posture 4	Body in one straight line from toes to the shoulder joints.
Posture 5	Extend the spine. Keep the butt to the heels. Hands away from the body. Do not bend elbows.
Posture 6	Keep elbow close to the floor. Butt above the floor.
Posture 7	Thighs above the floor. Upper part of the body vertical to ground.
Posture 8	Put the heels down. Head closer to the floor.
Posture 9	Extend the spine. Keep the butt to the heels. Hands away from the body. Do not bend elbows.
Posture 10	Keep the upper part of the body vertical to ground. Push the hip down bringing the quadriceps inclined towards the floor.
Posture 11	Push the buttock to the back & extend the spine while bending forward. Do not bend the knees.
Posture 12	Keep the parts of the body below the hip stable. Do not bend elbows and the knees.

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.

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.

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.

Secrets of Sun Salutation -Part 1

Sun salutation is an integral part of the yoga practice. It is a sequence of 12 postures and the practitioner move in a flow from one posture to another posture in a cycle. In this blog, let me describe the way how I have interpreted this sun salutation practice.

Energy Generation & Leakage: At first, let us see how to generate energy. Energy is generated by movement. For example, Earth generates energy by rotation.  Exercises produce movement to the body and hence with proper form of exercise, it is possible to generate energy.

Secondly, the energy gets leaked out when the posture of the body is not correct. The gravitational force to the body plays a key role in the leakage of current. Engaging the core and retaining the neutral spine posture are important to avoid the leakage of energy. For example, a slouching sitting posture leaks the energy to the ground. An upright posture with the neutral spine retains the energy. An engaged core with the pelvic levelling retains the energy. An unengaged core with pelvic tilting spills the energy to the ground.

Spine Alignment: In sun salutation practice, let us observe the cyclic alignment of the spine with the reference to the gravitational force. For this, I have a drawn the arrow marks from the core for each of the postures. One can observe the movement of spine in all the major directions from the core which is the centre of mass for our body.  The energy is generated mainly due to the movement of the body and alignment of spine taking into account the gravitational force that acts on the body. The spine takes six different alignments in one cycle of sun salutation.

Throughout the practice of sun salutation, we engage the core and retain the neutral spine and hence we prevent the leakage of energy to the ground.

Left Hemisphere activation: For the Ashwa Sanchalanasana or the equestrian posture in step 3 & 9 of the sun salutation, we intentionally use the same right leg to move forward in posture 3 and backward in posture 9. This is solely to activate the left hemisphere of the brain. The peripheral motor system activation is contralateral to the brain stimulation. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. The left hemisphere is all about logical thinking, analytical reasoning & decision making while the right hemisphere is associated with the creativity & intuition. In other words, the left hemisphere of the brain is associated with stimulation of the body while the right side is associated with the relaxation.

So, the practice of sun salutation is in a way stimulates the body due to the activation of the left hemisphere of the brain. This is one such reason why the body generates heat by the practice of sun salutation.

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

The secrets of Yoga – Part2 : Mind

Here in this blog, let me try to explain my understanding of mind and how practice of yoga has helped me to deal the mind in a better and productive way. First, let us get answers for questions such as: What is mind made up of? Factor that determines the mind activity? What is the purpose of mind?

Answers:

What is mind made up of? Mind is just a collection of our past experiences, our own Values and Beliefs. Our reality as well as the experience of the life is determined by our own perception. Perception works in coordination with the mind. An event that we experience is projected to the mental screen where a meaning is assigned to that event based on our own past experiences, values and beliefs.

Mind activity: Mind needs a centre point to move around. The centre point is nothing but our own interests and priorities. Further to this, mind activity is determined by engagement. A chain of thought is formed by the very act of engagement or the way we entertain the mind. That is how, we have a thought A at one instance and within a matter of few seconds, and we end up having a different thought B. Such is the power and speed of mind.

Purpose of Mind: The sole purpose of the mind is to protect us and keeps us in our own comfort zone. This provides a sense of safety and security. For a real change to materialize, we need to learn ways to come out the comfort zone.

We experience growth only we explore the discomfort zone. We stay as the same person with the same personality built as we continue to stay in the comfort zone. Yoga provides us a path to explore the discomfort zone mindfully.

With the above basic understanding on the characteristics of the mind, let us look into the yoga and its influence on the mind

Stillness of Mind: There is a strong correlation between body and mind. Each influences one another. Mind becomes still when body becomes still. When, I say stillness, I am referring to an absolute stillness. Even when one attempts to stay physically still, there would be always some subtle movements in the body such the movement of spine, head and even the eye balls. An absolute stillness can be achieved when all these movements are taken care of. To attain such a state, body needs to get trained and that is where static practice (Asana) comes into play.

Fixing the gazing (Dhristi) of eyes in the posture becomes essential and helps in achieving the stillness of mind. An upward gazing towards the third eye or even the crown of the head provides an easy access path to the subconscious mind.  In addition to Asana, one needs to train on this aspect of fixing the eye ball movement.

To draw the energy and to achieve the state of stillness, one should able to get connected to the core. Core is the source of energy. The best way to achieve this is to have a neutral spine. Neutral spine can be achieved by practicing the vertical upright postures such as lotus, thunderbolt etc .

The three practical tips mentioned above are the good start points to train the mind. The practices help to stay in a “detached awareness” state which is the key in achieving the stillness of the mind. As a beginner, if one experiences frequent movement of mind (random thoughts) then I suggest to use the Labelling technique. It is a simple technique of “self-talking” where one talks mentally his observation of his mind and labelling the observations as “mind is wandering” “mind is still” etc.  Labelling technique helps in keeping the awareness above the mind.

The human Engineering Model & the art of living in the state of EASE

We, as human and our functional operations are synonymous to a perfect engineering system which we can call it as Human Engineering System. As in any engineering system, we are also encompassed with the set of hardware & software.

State of Hardware: The hardware comprises of all the organs such liver, kidney, lungs etc.  An easy state is attained when all of these components work in a balanced way by themselves and in a harmonious way with one another. This is a EASE state. An uneasy state prevails when one or more hardware become defective and further if that affect the rest of the hardware in the system. This is a DIS-EASE state. A disease in our body is nothing but this DIS-EASED state where the hardware are not working in a structured way.

Levels of software: There are multiple layers of software that control the hardware. “Level One” is the tightly coupled software that works in close proximity to the hardware. This works automatically, involuntarily and beyond our awareness level. This is mainly controlled by the survival brain, the most primitive lower part of the brain. As of now, while you read this blog, you are consciously focussed on the text and content of this blog while your breathing happens in the background automatically without any dedicated conscious effort. In this case, the process of breathing is controlled involuntarily by the survival brain. Most of the activities such thermal regulation of the body, blood pressure, blood sugar level etc are all controlled automatically by the “level One” software . Fortunately or unfortunately, we don’t have access to this part of the software stack.

 The “level One” software acts almost in the same way across the multiple species in this universe. It is all about survival & protection mechanism of the species. Most of the animals work at this level where things are controlled by the combination of the survival & emotional brain.

Level Two software: Unlike other species, human by evolution have developed a “level two” software control. Earlier, when the primitive human races gained to control the five nature elements such as fire, water etc., the evolution of the so-called thinking brain i.e the prefrontal cortex started. This evolution took such a dramatic turn where the brain itself has grown to three fold than its original size. At this stage of the evolution, we developed the freedom to think & act freely while the rest of the animals can’t do freely at will. This free will (act of thinking & acting) is a” level Two” software and it is a freedom that is gifted only to the human.

Effect of Level Two software: Level Two software has the ability to change the auto programming of the ”level One” software and in that process can change the basic behaviour of the hardware. Such is the effect of the Level Two software on Level One and the hardware. So, the way we think and act has direct relationship in altering the fundamental behaviour of the hardware.

In other words, the freedom given to us, when not utilised in the right way may pushes us to a DIS-EASEed state changing the fundamental behaviour of our hardware. This is the sad state of the most of the psychosomatic diseases such as migraine, cancer, autoimmunity diseases etc.

In fact, the practice of mind-body exercises such as yoga offers dual benefits. Firstly, it empowers you to use the freedom given to us in the RIGHT way. Secondly, it provides an access path to reach the subconsciously controlled “level One” software to thrive us to live in the EASE state. So, invest yourself & develop a skill to reprogram you to live in the state of EASE.