Surya Namaskara

Surya Namaskara is an ancient way to begin the day with the worship of the sunrise. This page is dedicated to ancient prayer flows to and deep appreciation for each day.

Open Pigeon Twisted Standing Flow (No 33)

This Sun Salutation really strengthens and stretches the hips. It moves in a very unusual way because there is no Cobra pose (or Upward Facing Dog), instead an Open Handed Pigeon Pose.

The Open Handed Pigeon Pose is dangerous on your lower back and knee so you may want to keep your fingertips down for knee and lower back support.

There are 2 standing poses on the step back. The first is a bent knee twist. Bent knee twists are good twists to perform when starting to twist in your sequence. They usually don't use as much effort as the straight leg twists such as Reverse Triangle Pose. It is blended with another pose which is called Extended Side Angle Pose. These variations combine to stretch both sides of your body as they are both lateral stretches.

The knee is then taken down with support before blending into the optional Pigeon Pose variation. Remember it is much safer to keep the hands down when you are not flexible, warmed up and opened. If you are not very flexible the open handed pose is definitely high risk for you so keep your hands down for good support.

The One Leg Downward Dog is a great follow up pose to the Pigeon Pose because everything locks into place and tones after the stretch in the hip muscles. The leg steps forward into a lunge then a hop into Half Moon to tone the opposite hip muscles.

The step back into Reverse Triangle Pose allows the stretch to progress to a different area on the hamstrings. Then a step forward to Chair Pose and finally standing.

Instructions

Stand in Tadasana.

Place the palms together. Try to get as much of the skin on the palms and fingers touching each other as possible.

(Tip! Feel evenness on both sides of the torso.)

Inhale into a backbend.
Mild is better. The backbend shown often causes pain because it is too deep. Especially when performed regularly.

Exhale into a forward bend.

Tip! Have the weight evenly balanced along the toes and heels. The movement has a tendency to move weight forward towards the toes. For thise reasom as you lean forward and down try to also lean back a little towards the heels to counter balance the forward force.

Inhale and step the right leg back.

(Tip! Delay the inhalation or just Inhale slightly at the beginning of the motion into this pose.)

Exhale stretch the left arm over the head and diagonally out.

Stretching the arm straight up is also a good option.

Inhale as you unwind.

Exhale into Extended Side Angle Pose.

It is a good idea to slghtly bend and then straighten the knee on the transition. Otherwise the discs in the lower back seem to grind.

Inhale forward into a Lunge pose.

Exhale bring the left knee down with careful support and bow your head respectfully in practice.

Inhale and open up the arms and chest in Pigeon pose.

Teachers please note that asking your students to suddenly enter this posture is asking for trouble. Unless you are familiar with everyone's capabilities, injuries and limitations it is highly recommended that the first time you take the through the sequence do it with the fingertips down for support. Remember even if people are injured or incapable of doing this exercise they will still try unless you choose your guiding words wisely.

You may want to take an extra breath so that the pose is embraced and the transition is easier..

Exhale into One Leg Downward Dog.

Inhale into a lunge pose. You may prefer to hold the previous pose and exhale on the step forward.

Exhale into Half Moon Pose.

Inhale and Hold.

Exhale step back into Reverse Triangle Pose.

Inhale step forward into Chair Pose.

Exhale into Tadasana then perform the same sequence the opposite way.
ard and up. At the same time turn the right leg inward and drop it down.

Tadasana

Salutation Pose

asana utanasana

Uttanasana

Lunge Pose

Parsvottanasana asana

Parivrtta ParsvaKonasana

Parsvakonasana

Lunge Pose

Downward Facing Kapotasana

Adho Muka Kapotasana

Kapotasana

Eka Pada Adho Muka Svanasana

Lunge Pose

Ardha Chandrasana

Parivrtta Trikonasana

Utkatasana

Tadasana

Yoga Breathing Techniques

This Months Yoga Breathing Exercises

Yoga Meditation

This months meditation
Self Illumination Meditation
for at least 15 minutes

Then

Self Illumination meditation
For at least 15 minutes

by Mark Giubarelli

Surya Namaskara

Open Pigeon Twisted Standing Flow (No 33)

Yoga Breathing Techniques

Yoga Meditation

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