Energy Medicine infused Sun Salutations

When I think of Sun Salutations I think of the song, "I won't let the sun go down on me," by Nick Kershaw. Traditionally 108 Salutations are practiced during the Summer/Winter Solstice. Combine that with the late setting of the sun tonight at 22.06 and you'll begin to get the feeling that the sun won't go down on you too!

Why 108 Salutations?

• The distance between the Sun & Earth is roughly 108 times the Sun’s diameter in numerology,

• 108 equals 9, which symbolizes universal love, eternity and awakening

• Mala bead necklaces have 108 beads, which are used to count during meditation

Sun Salutations are referred to as “Surya Namaskar”. Surya means sun and Namaskar means greeting or salutation - a greeting to the sun. This Vinyasa flow is an ancient ritual of twelve steps that warms the body, connecting us to the solar powers within. In Sanskrit, “Vinyasa” can be translated to mean linking breath with movement in a continuous flow.

The slower the breath, the longer the movement.

The longer the movement, the stronger the effect.

The stronger the breath, the slower the movement.

The slower the movement, the longer the effect.

Linking the breath to movement during Salutations becomes important to balance your nervous system and bring balance to your practice. Setting an intention behind your movements and your practice is what makes yoga transformative. Throughout history many cultures have used similair movements to those practised in Surya Namaskara for prayer and healing along with physical wellbeing.

I believe sun salutations are designed to get the energy of the body moving in the right direction, in line with the directions the meridians flow. - Lauren Walker

The benefits of practicing Surya Namaskara:

Sun Salutations heat the body and activate Prana, or upward moving energy to help move energy and stuck emotions. The Agni Fire - internal fire burns off and assimilates food, thought's, emotions and old stories that deplete you. Building heat this way during your practice is both cleansing and detoxifying. The slower parts of class help release stuck energy and strong emotions that no longer serve you.

The element for summer is fire. The yin and yang meridians are heart, circulation-sex, triple warmer and small intestine. Excitement and inspiration is felt when this element is in balance and anxiety is experienced when out of balance. By dawing energy from around outside of us through the Energy Medicine Yoga practice of, 'Bringing Down the Flame' , we set the fire in our naval centre, (the proverbial fire in the belly) where it can work for us instead of against us.

We infuse our Sun Salutations with Celtic Weaves, Meridian Tracing, activation of the Radiant Circuits and Visualisation. The beautiful calming triple warmer/heart mudra - a yogic hand postion that influences your energy flow is also incorporated to balance and calm the yang meridian. The triple warmer/heart mudra is a neurovascular point that calms the triple warmer meridian taking the stress out of your practice.

Now you're ready to roll out your yoga mat, come to tadasana - mountain pose, consciously link your breath to your movement, pause to set a heart centered intention behind your practice and be ready to listen to your body. There are many different versions of Surya Namaskara. Move in a way that supports your body and your nervous system. Rest as often as you need. 108 Salutations may be your goal, or even 8. Start where you are with what you have, and if you haven't rolled out your mat in a long time take this opportunity to pause and reflect with Triple warmer/heart mudra.