Getting Started 4: Surya Namaskar B
Jan. 28th, 2010 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
muck_a_luck posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sun_salutationDisclaimer: I am not a yoga instructor. I don't know anything about exercise safety or fitness instruction. I'm not even an advanced practitioner of yoga. But I have come to love yoga and am completely self taught.
You know your own body best, so please respect your known health conditions and use the variations offered by instructors that are best for you. Remember to balance where you are now with where you could be in the future. There is no perfect pose.
Surya Namaskar B
After you have decided you are ready to move on to something new from Surya Namaskar A, and excellent progression is to go ahead and learn Surya Namaskar B.
Sun Salutation B is very much like Sun Salutation A, except it incorporates two new standing postures.
First, you begin in Utkatasana, also called Chair, or Awkward Chair. This is an excellent pose to strengthen the thighs, back and core. (Remember that if you scroll down the Yoga Journal page, there is a video illustration of the pose.)
Then, you flow through the vinyasa, but after you step back in to Downward Dog, you step one foot forward again into a lunge and rise up into Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I). Warrior I is a lunge with a gentle backbend.
Here is Luke Jordan, demonstrating Surya Namaskar B.
Here is Maria Villella, doing a *beautiful* example, without much guidance, just naming the postures as she moves through them.
Developing your practice
So, now you have both sun salutations to play with! You can now start putting together a real practice!
Here's my suggestion for a mini practice. Do Surya Namaskar A three times, starting with the easier variations and moving through until on the third time you are doing the more advanced version with Upward Facing Dog and a full Chaturanga, if you can manage it. Then do three rounds of Surya Namaskar B. If you start to get tired, drop back to half Chaturanga and Cobra, or even just scoop through to low Cobra.
Ending your Practice
Yoga is about balance. One of the things you should do when you finish a yoga practice is give your body a chance to recuperate from the practice and "absorb the shanti, the peace, of yoga," as Shiva Rea admonishes.
There are many ways to finish a practice.
One is to adopt a seated posture, either a simple crosslegged pose, Sukhasana (Easy Pose), Half Lotus, or Full Lotus. Place your hands in the prayer position and use Ujayii, breathing deeply and evenly in and out, and feeling how your breath moves your body, like the tides move the ocean. Remain seated for five minutes or more, just enjoying the richness and ease of your breath. Some instructors advocate using the seated relaxation to end a practice when you want to maintain the energy of your practice at the beginning of the day.
A second strategy is to relax into Child's Pose (Balasana). I prefer the variation of this with the knees open wide to the edges of the mat (feet remain together), and the arms stretched forward in prostration. Rest your forehead or cheek on the floor and relax for five minutes or so. Be a little careful about staying in this comfortable, relaxing posture too long, as it might be hard on your knees. I find Balasana is a particularly tempting way to finish a practice where I have just exhausted myself and would rather collapse right there on the floor than move one more step!
A third strategy is Savasana, also known as Corpse Pose or Deep Relaxation Pose. In Savasana, you lie on your back, with your knees and feet dropped open, arms relaxed out to the side. Close your eyes and concentrate on scanning your body from head to toe, recognizing areas of tension and relaxing them. After two or three scans of your body, stop thinking about anything at all. Let go of the Ujjayi breathing and just breathe normally. Feel your body dropping into the earth. In Savasana, consider having a light blanket nearby and as you lie down, drape the blanket over your cooling body, so that you won't be cold lying on the floor, especially in winter.
Namaste.
You know your own body best, so please respect your known health conditions and use the variations offered by instructors that are best for you. Remember to balance where you are now with where you could be in the future. There is no perfect pose.
Surya Namaskar B
After you have decided you are ready to move on to something new from Surya Namaskar A, and excellent progression is to go ahead and learn Surya Namaskar B.
Sun Salutation B is very much like Sun Salutation A, except it incorporates two new standing postures.
First, you begin in Utkatasana, also called Chair, or Awkward Chair. This is an excellent pose to strengthen the thighs, back and core. (Remember that if you scroll down the Yoga Journal page, there is a video illustration of the pose.)
Then, you flow through the vinyasa, but after you step back in to Downward Dog, you step one foot forward again into a lunge and rise up into Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I). Warrior I is a lunge with a gentle backbend.
Here is Luke Jordan, demonstrating Surya Namaskar B.
Here is Maria Villella, doing a *beautiful* example, without much guidance, just naming the postures as she moves through them.
Developing your practice
So, now you have both sun salutations to play with! You can now start putting together a real practice!
Here's my suggestion for a mini practice. Do Surya Namaskar A three times, starting with the easier variations and moving through until on the third time you are doing the more advanced version with Upward Facing Dog and a full Chaturanga, if you can manage it. Then do three rounds of Surya Namaskar B. If you start to get tired, drop back to half Chaturanga and Cobra, or even just scoop through to low Cobra.
Ending your Practice
Yoga is about balance. One of the things you should do when you finish a yoga practice is give your body a chance to recuperate from the practice and "absorb the shanti, the peace, of yoga," as Shiva Rea admonishes.
There are many ways to finish a practice.
One is to adopt a seated posture, either a simple crosslegged pose, Sukhasana (Easy Pose), Half Lotus, or Full Lotus. Place your hands in the prayer position and use Ujayii, breathing deeply and evenly in and out, and feeling how your breath moves your body, like the tides move the ocean. Remain seated for five minutes or more, just enjoying the richness and ease of your breath. Some instructors advocate using the seated relaxation to end a practice when you want to maintain the energy of your practice at the beginning of the day.
A second strategy is to relax into Child's Pose (Balasana). I prefer the variation of this with the knees open wide to the edges of the mat (feet remain together), and the arms stretched forward in prostration. Rest your forehead or cheek on the floor and relax for five minutes or so. Be a little careful about staying in this comfortable, relaxing posture too long, as it might be hard on your knees. I find Balasana is a particularly tempting way to finish a practice where I have just exhausted myself and would rather collapse right there on the floor than move one more step!
A third strategy is Savasana, also known as Corpse Pose or Deep Relaxation Pose. In Savasana, you lie on your back, with your knees and feet dropped open, arms relaxed out to the side. Close your eyes and concentrate on scanning your body from head to toe, recognizing areas of tension and relaxing them. After two or three scans of your body, stop thinking about anything at all. Let go of the Ujjayi breathing and just breathe normally. Feel your body dropping into the earth. In Savasana, consider having a light blanket nearby and as you lie down, drape the blanket over your cooling body, so that you won't be cold lying on the floor, especially in winter.
Namaste.