Sun Salutation
Demonstrated By: Stephanie Markstein, Bala Fitness
Mountain (Tadasana)
- Stand with feet hip with apart, arms at your sides and gaze forward.
Chair Posture / Squat (Utkatasana)
- Inhale- Arms overhead and parallel. Gaze up.
- Exhale- Keeping your arms extended up and parallel, bend your knees. Lower buttocks as if to sit in a chair. Chest is lifted. Gaze forward.
- Inhale – Pressing soles of feet into the mat, straighten the legs and reaching up overhead with the arms.
Forward Bend / Fold (Uttanasana)
- Exhale – Bending at the hips, lowering the chest to the legs. Hands along front of legs or placed on outsides of feet pressed into the floor.
- Inhale
Plank Position
- Exhale – Hands to the floor alongside feet, step feet straight back into plank. Then slowly lower the body down with elbows in at the side, until the body is parallel with the floor. Gaze is forward.
Up Dog (Urdva Mukha Svanasana)
- Inhale – Push up and over the toes so that the tops of the feet are flat on the mat. Arms and legs are straight, lifting the chest and thighs off the mat. Gaze is up.
Down Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
- Exhale – Curl toes under. Lift the buttocks towards the ceiling, extending the spine. Lower heels towards the floor creating a V shape
- Arms lengthen, palms pressing on mat with fingers spread. Gaze at toes.
- Inhale – Gaze at the hands. Jump the feet between hands.
- Inhale – ½ way up with hands at shins or thighs lengthening the spine.
Warrior 1 – (Virabhadrasana 1)
- Step right foot up approximately 4 feet apart from left foot. Right heel in line with the instep of the left foot and then left foot turn slightly out away from the right heel. Hips turned toward the right leg, chest lifted.
- Inhale- Arms overhead and parallel with shoulders down and back.
- Exhale- Bend the right knee to create 90 degree angle. (Do not let the knee go over the toe). Left leg is straight and heel towards or on the floor
Using the above exercise descriptions complete the Sun Salutation with the following breathes
- Exhale to Plank
- Inhale to Up Dog
- Exhale to Down Dog – Stay here for 5 breath cycles of inhale & exhale
- Exhale and Jump to Forward Bend / Fold
- Inhale to Chair Pose / Squat
- Exhale to Mountain Pose