My Yoga students know that we usually start our practice with Sun Salutations or Surya Namaskar, but you might wonder why.

Not only Sun Salutations are a full body workout, but if done with mindfulness, it connects us with the earth and the sky, as well as with our breath.

For thousands of years, the Hindus have revered the sun, which they call Surya, as both the physical and spiritual heart of our world and the creator of all life itself.

The dynamic asana sequence Sun Salutation is one way ancient yogi’s honored the sun. Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart. This placement is no accident; only the heart can know the truth.

The ancient yogis taught that each of us replicates the world at large, embodying “rivers, seas, mountains, fields…stars and planets…the sun and moon.” The outer sun, they asserted, is in reality a token of our own “inner sun,” which corresponds to our subtle, or spiritual, heart.

Make your Suria Namaskar your own, and bring it to your daily practice.