One of the reason why we (even the experienced yogis) come to a yoga class is that we don’t want to think about what asana we should be practicing next. We want someone to guide us so that we can go deeper in our practice.
To know how to give yourself practice for 60 or 90 minutes takes an effort and time to learn and you need guidance from experienced teachers. There’s one thing you can learn by yourself is Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation. There are 3 kinds that I teach but today we’ll learn the most common ones – Sun Salutations A & B
You maybe practicing this so many times but have never noticing the sequence and know what’s the difference between the A & B. I’ll explain…
Let’s looking at the asana in each sequence.
Sun Salutation A
- Equal Standing pose – Samasthiti
- Upward Salute – Urdhva Hastasana
- Standing forward bend – Uttanasana
- Half standing forward bend – Ardha Uttanasana
- Four-limbed staff pose – Chaturanga Dandasana
- Upward Facing Dog – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
- Downward Facing Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana (pause for 5 breath)
- Half standing forward bend – Ardha Uttanasana
- Standing forward bend – Uttanasana
- Upward Salute – Urdhva Hastasana
- Samasthiti
Sun Salutation B
- Equal Standing Pose – Samasthiti
- Chair Pose – Utkatasana
- Standing forward bend – Uttanasana
- Half standing forward bend – Ardha Uttanasana
- Four-limbed staff pose – Chaturanga Dandasana
- Upward Facing Dog – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
- Downward Facing Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana (1st down dog)
- Warrior I – Virabhadrasana I (right side)
- Four-limbed staff pose – Chaturanga Dandasana
- Upward Facing Dog – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
- Downward Facing Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana (2nd down dog)
- Warrior I – Virabhadrasana I (left side)
- Four-limbed staff pose – Chaturanga Dandasana
- Upward Facing Dog – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
- Downward Facing Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana (3rd down dog – pause 5 breath)
- Half standing forward bend – Ardha Uttanasana
- Standing forward bend – Uttanasana
- Chair Pose – Utkatasana
- Samasthiti
As you can see, the A sequence is shorter than B. First step is you need to memorize the A. Work with it until you get comfortable with the sequence before you continue into the B.
In Sun Salutation B we added 2 poses which I highlighted in yellow (Chair and Warrior I). Warrior I, we do right and left side. Noticing there are 3 Downward Facing Dog in this sequence. Warrior I on right side happen right after the 1st Down Dog, Warrior I on the left side happen right after the 2nd Down Dog. The 3rd Down Dog you pause for 5 breath.
Remember you start this sequence with the Chair Pose so you must ended the sequence with the Chair Pose (very commonly to forget this pose at the end).
For the breath guiding in each asana you can watch in the video. 🙂