- Mayura Mahajani
Surya-namaskar: Salute to the Sun
Suryanamaskar is worshiping lord Surya every day. It is our tradition. Sun is our prime source of the enormous amount of energy, light, and heat necessary to support life. Our ancient rishis taught us the Yoga, Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation) to keep our body and mind in shape. Suryanamaskar has beautifully linked seven different asana poses that involve all the limbs of the human body. They are combined with Mantra chanting and breathing techniques as well, which makes it more complete; more effective. Exposure to sunlight for just a few minutes at sunrise is enough to get the supply of Vitamin-D for the day. The human body comprises different 11 systems. All these systems are interlinked and controlled by the brain. Everything runs smoothly when all these systems run smoothly. Suryanamaskar prepares a healthy body. In one pose there is systematic traction/relaxation/pressure on different parts of the body. From head to toe, every limb is involved. The whole process improves the blood circulation of the whole body. It Relieves Stress: mental as well as physical; Increases Strength, Endurance, Core stability, Elasticity, Flexibility of the body, and Power of the mind. Suryanamaskar is combined with breathing techniques. improves lung capacity. Chanting Surya Mantras along with aumkar generate sound frequencies that are soothing for the body. During these mantra chanting, vocal cords vibrate and speech quality improves. When done with full devotion, the Surya Namaskar exercise helps the body to withstand the stress and strain of daily work with ease. Yoga experts and Modern Sports and Medical Sciences relating to Health and Sports highly recommend Surya-namaskar as extensive research on the subject has proven that the Surya-Namaskar effectively strengthens the efficient working of human body systems. Then today; in modern fast-paced life, one simple way to reduce stress and refresh our body is just doing a few sun salutations each day. What would be the more auspicious day than Rathasaptami to start practicing Suryanamaskar every day.