Health: SURYA NAMASKAR

In the picture: Between posture 5 & 6 there is one where you lie flat on your front - it is 13 postures including that. :)

Day after day, week after week, month after month – we go on and on at working hard and playing harder. We never take into consideration the wear and tear on our bodies. When we are young, we somehow manage. But as age creeps in and the hectic schedules begin to take a toll, most of us turn towards popping pills – to sleep, for strength, for energy, etc. But do we know if these are actually working or improving our systems or are just giving us momentary relief? A simple solution to relax your body is the Surya Namaskar. Please understand and believe it is not as complicated as one is led to believe. It is quite simple, actually. This is consolidated Yoga at its best set in 13 postures where your body is stretched to its limit and then relaxed. No, it is not as difficult as it sounds. When you stretch and relax your body – your body, mind and spirit relax. You can learn Surya Namaskar at any local Yoga class or from an instructor who can go home to you. I actually got a book on Yoga that had pictures and learnt the art. You get the optimum energy from Surya Namaskar when you do it before 12 noon facing in the direction of the Sun, in the open air, 12 cycles of 13 postures.Then again, all this might not be possible. To begin with, do one cycle of 13 postures at any time of day, inside your house, preferably facing east if it is before 12 noon or facing west after that. The only condition to be followed it that you ensure that your stomach is not too full.After a week, you can increase this to 3 cycles and then so on as per your convenience. If you do the Surya Namaskar correctly, you SHOULD NOT feel any ache or pain in your body even the first time. After two or three days, you will see that you are sleeping much better than usual. Whether it is five hours or more, your sleep will be undisturbed.After crossing 30, one begins to feel the jerks and pains while travelling by auto-rickshaws and low-slung cars. After a few days of Surya Namaskar, the pain will just disappear. Believe me, I am speaking from personal experience.Usually, in any form of exercise, women are asked to avoid doing them during their menstrual periods. This does not apply to Surya Namaskar. Do one to three cycles of Surya Namaskar during your periods and the pain in the abdominal region that occurs on Day One or Day Three (may be different days in everyone’s cases – this used to be the case for me) will never occur again.

Surya Namaskar not only heals your muscles. It also helps heal your internal organs by improving the flow of blood and increasing the activity of white blood corpuscles and improving the body’s immune system. Doing 12 Surya Namaskars of 13 postures each will take but half an hour of your time. Doing it seven days a week will help you lead a healthier life much longer.