I would like to introduce the Standing Sun Salutation, which is often done in office yoga lessons recently.
You can do it without a yoga mat, so it’s easy to do in the office or outdoors.
The name “Standing Sun Salutation” is not particularly common. So, please refer to this article as an example of “Standing Sun Salutation”.
日本語版：スタンディング太陽礼拝
Contents of this article
Main effects of Standing Sun Salutation
- Fat burning, shape up
- Increasing flexibility in forward bending, back bending and twisting
- Strengthening core power
- Stress relief
Contraindications and precautions for Standing Sun Salutations
Do each poses as far as you feel comfortable with your flexibility. Don’t try to deepen it forcibly. Breathe deeply and focus on the flow.
If you have pain in your feet, knees, hip joints, spine, shoulders, neck, etc., adjust the movement to a small range that does not cause pain.
If you are concerned about balance when you spread your legs forward and backward, do it near a wall or adjust the width narrowly.
You can do it without a yoga mat, but it should be done in a stable place where your feet are not slippery.
How to do Standing Sun Salutation
Start with your feet together (or hip width apart), standing as relaxed and tall as possible, and palms together in front of your chest.
1) As you inhale, raise your arms up and arch your entire spine backward (Hasta uttanasana).
2) As you exhale, lower your arms and bend forward (Uttanasana).
3) As you inhale, bring your right leg back and raise your hands up (High lunge).
4) As you exhale, put your palms together in front of your chest, bend your trunk forward, twist to the left, and touch your right elbow to the outside of your left thigh (Twisted lunge) .
5) As you inhale, raise your hands up and stand your trunk (High lunge).
6) As you exhale, bring your right foot forward, bring your feet together, and bend forward to bring your hands to the floor (Uttanasana).
7) As you inhale, raise your arms up and arch your entire spine backward (Hasta uttanasana).
8) As you inhale, put your palms together in front of your chest.
↓From here on, the left and right are reversed.
9) As you inhale, raise your arms up and arch your entire spine backward (Hasta uttanasana).
10) As you exhale, lower your arms and bend forward (Uttanasana).
11) As you inhale, bring your left leg back and raise your hands up (High lunge).
12) As you exhale, put your palms together in front of your chest, bend your trunk forward, twist to the right, and touch your left elbow to the outside of your right thigh (Twisted lunge) .
13) As you inhale, raise your hands up and stand your trunk (High lunge).
14) As you exhale, bring your left foot forward, bring your feet together, and bend forward to bring your hands to the floor (Uttanasana).
15) As you inhale, raise your arms up and arch your entire spine backward (Hasta uttanasana).
16) As you inhale, put your palms together in front of your chest.
Directions for deepening Standing Sun Salutations
- Try to follow the flow in the decided tempo that is comfortable for you.
- In the flow, try to deepen each movement as much as possible.
Tips for Standing Sun Salutation
Tips for breathing
In the Flow Yoga or the Vinyasa Yoga, like Sun Salutations, the lower abdomen is always tightened and the body part from above the navel to the top of the chest is used for breathing.
If you can do that naturally, you will get stability, especially in the high lunge pose and the twisted lunge pose.
However, before you get used to it, it is enough to try to take deep breaths as much as possible. Be careful not to be too conscious of it, and your breathing becomes shallow or stopped, or you breathe too much unnecessarily.
Breathing should be started shortly before movement and end when movement ends.
Tips for forward bending
It would be nice to be conscious of folding from the hip joint so that the spine is not rounded too much.
Aim to bring your belly to your thighs. To do this, you can practice with your knees slightly bent.
Tips for backbending
While standing, to arch your whole body backwards, you need to bring your buttocks forward.
Instead of arching only your neck and chest, start arching from the lowest spine. To do this, you need to keep your lower abdomen tight and stable.
Tips for keeping balance in Lunge pose
When spreading your legs forward and backward, don’t lose the sense of your middle center.
Imagine a long board in the middle and lightly press it with your inner thighs.
Keep balance of both the base of the big toe and the base of the little finger of the back foot.
Tips for spine twisting
Even if your head goes forward, keep your attention firmly on your back leg.
As you twist, don’t lose your mid-axis so your spine doesn’t bend sideways. Don’t let your head goes too far outside of your front leg.
Twist from the lowest spine. Therefore, the lower abdomen must be tightened and the pelvis must be stabilized.
Turn your face to the side, but be careful not to let your attention go to what you see on the side.
Tips for going with the flow
The basic rule between breath and movement in vinyasa yoga is:
- When you inhale, you often make upward or stretching movements.
- When you exhale, you often make downward or contraction movements.
If you think about breathing and movement separately, you may feel busy and difficult.
Before you get used to it, you can practice only the breathing without doing any movement.
Once you get used to breathing, it would be good to practice from very small movements.
Reference: Sivananda Yoga Sun Salutation
