Surya namaskar, also known as sun salutation is a traditional yoga sequence that comprises 12 powerful yoga poses. These poses help the person stay energetic and fit. It has a good impact on both the body and mind and can help improve cardiovascular health as well.
People practice several versions of Surya Namaskar but the regime and poses remain the same throughout. It also helps maintain a healthy weight but for the yoga sequence to work, it is important that you do it with utmost perfection and focus. You heard it right, this yoga pose also requires you to focus on your breathing and movements and stay aware of your breathwork at all times. Let's know what are the other common mistakes that one should avoid while practicing Surya Namaskar.
How To Improve Surya Namaskar?
Not warming up before yoga is one of the common mistakes. Surya Namaskar demands strength and flexibility which is often not the forte of beginners and they jump right into the poses of Surya Namaskar thus giving themselves muscle cramps, injury, etc. Thus before, practicing the sequence, include light stretches, and head, shoulders, wrists, knees, and hips rotation into your warm-up routine to prepare your body.
Not giving utmost importance to breathing is yet another mistake that beginners often make. Focus on breathing and make sure that your body movements and your breathing are in sync.
Not doing the Hasta uttanasana properly in the yoga sequence must be avoided. Hasta Uttanasana comes twice in a single round of Surya Namaskar and it helps the body to warm up and strengthen the spine. If one does not perform this part properly, he would be breaking the breathing and movement balance. The spine won't get the required strength and stretch, putting a strain on the neck and back.
The Surya Namaskar sequence also includes low plank and in this pose, you have to keep your body straight and parallel to the ground with the help of your palms or toes. Avoid placing pressure on your lower spine else the lower body sinks toward the floor and can give you back pain. Try to engage your spine throughout the complete Surya Namaskar sequence and maintain spinal integrity.
Avoid focusing on doing more Surya Namaskars. Focus on quality over quantity thus do not rush to increase the number of cycles in your Surya Namaskar practice. Two rounds of Surya Namaskar with proper technique is enough rather than the 12 Surya Namaskar poses with incorrect technique.
Surya Namaskar is a cyclic practice that starts and ends in the Prayer pose but people often fail to understand its significance and skip the easy poses like the Prayer pose or Raised arms pose. Make sure to complete the first round of Surya Namaskar before stepping towards the second one else the entire practice becomes useless.
Avoid the fear of losing momentum and take breaks in between the practice whenever needed. You can relax in the child pose or by breathing deeply to gain strength in the down dog pose. It is not a competition thus practice the poses at your own pace.
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