Sublimely Fit

Creating a healthier, more satisfying life.

  • Home
  • About
    • About Beth
    • About Sublimely Fit
      • Affiliations
      • Disclosure
  • Yoga for Runners
    • Free Guide! Hip Openers for Runners
    • Book
    • Yoga for Runners Course
    • Blog Posts
    • Running
      • Running for Beginners
      • Free Training Plans
      • Training Tips
      • Fueling + Nutrition
      • Gear Reviews
  • Yoga
    • Free Yoga Jump Start
    • Yoga for Beginners
    • Yoga Sequences
    • Yoga Poses
    • Mindfulness
  • Soul
    • Mental Health
    • Self Love
    • Body Image
    • Motivation
    • Goal Setting
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Smoothies
    • Snacks
  • Store

Sun Salutations for Beginners

10.15.15

One of the core sequences in yoga is the Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar). It’s wonderful for warming up the body, helping to create and foster the mind-body connection, and helping you control your breath as you flow between the different asanas, or yoga poses. But, full Sun Salutations can be tough if you’re new to yoga and are still building strength. This post will walk you through some of the basics on Sun Salutations for beginners to help you get started on your yoga journey.

Starting on your yoga journey? Sun Salutations are one of the core sequences in yoga. Here's how to modify some of the poses if you're just starting out.

What are Sun Salutations?

Sun Salutations are a series of postures that are practiced in many different styles of yoga, originally intended to help the yogi honor the sun. The history of the Sun Salutation goes back millennia, so there are some very slight variations in the sequence that can vary with who’s teaching the sequence, but the basics of the sequence are the same.

Sun Salutation A (Surya Namaskar A):

Mountain Pose (Tadasana) → Forward Fold (Uttanasana) → Halfway Lift → Low Plank (Chaturanga Dandasana) → Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) → Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) → move to the top of your mat → Halfway Lift → Forward Fold → Mountain Pose

In some styles of yoga, you step one leg back to Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana) before stepping the other foot back and coming to plank pose. As you move forward to the top of your mat, you step the opposite leg forward first for a low lunge, then step the back foot up, coming to your Forward Fold.

 

Learn more about my yoga bootcamp and how it can help you jumpstart your healthy living journey!

 

Sun Salutation B (Surya Namaskar B):

Chair Pose (Utkatasana) → Forward Fold (Uttanasana) → Halfway Lift → Low Plank (Chaturanga Dandasana) → Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) → Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) → Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I), right foot forward → Low Plank → Upward Facing Dog → Downward Facing Dog → Warrior I, left foot forward → Low Plank → Upward Facing Dog → Downward Facing Dog → move to the top of your mat → Halfway Lift → Forward Fold → Chair Pose

If you’re looking to see how this all looks as it all flows together, I’d highly recommend watching Candace’s (of Yoga by Candace fame) Sun Salutation B video.

How can I modify the asanas in Sun Salutations?

As you’re working up to building strength to flow through a full Sun Salutation, it’s best to modify and fully perform modified asanas instead of partially performing unmodified asanas. It’s absolutely possible to injure yourself while practicing yoga, and pushing through full poses your body’s not ready for won’t earn extra credit or help you win the lottery.

In any Forward Fold variation, you can always keep your knees bent as much as you need to, particularly if you have tight hamstrings. In general, if you take a deeper bend in the knees you’ll be able to release the back and the neck a little better, so if your back is feeling tight, consider deepening your bend. If you prefer to have your hands supported in your forward fold, you can bring blocks beneath your hands to make the pose more accessible.

Sun Salutations for Beginners: Forward Fold Modification

One of the toughest parts of the Sun Salutation is what’s sometimes called the vinyasa, the High Plank to Low Plank to Up Dog to Down Dog sequence. Luckily there are some great ways to modify these poses. Whichever version you choose, make sure to keep proper alignment in the poses to reduce your risk of getting injured. Keep your joints stacked, shoulders over hands and wrists, and so on to avoid injury.

High Plank can be modified by coming to your knees. Try to keep your weight shifting forward slightly and keep your hips in line with your shoulders and knees. Don’t bring your hips up out of alignment so that you’re almost in a hybrid between a tabletop and a plank.

Sun Salutations for Beginners: High Plank Modification

You can stay on your knees for Low Plank. No matter what version of Low Plank you come into, be sure that you’re keeping your elbows hugged in, which reduces your risk of shoulder and elbow injuries. You should feel your upper arms grazing the sides of your ribcage.

Sun Salutations for Beginners: Low Plank Modification

Instead of coming into full Upward Facing Dog, you can come into Cobra Pose, keeping your stomach on the mat and just gently lifting your heart and shoulders. For an extra challenge you can try hovering your palms just over your yoga mat, or you can keep your hands on your mat. Be sure to keep your neck in line with the rest of your spine—you can gaze up gently, but don’t crank your head up and put extra stress on your neck.

Sun Salutations for Beginners: Cobra Pose

If full Downward Facing Dog is too much for you, try bringing your hands to blocks or even to a chair in front of you. As you build upper body strength, you’ll be able to work up to full down dog for a breath or two, gradually building the time you can hold the pose for.

Sun Salutations for Beginners: Down Dog Modification

Love my leggings? They’re from Inner Fire Apparel! Shop their website and use coupon code bethb for 15% off your order!

 

Any questions about Sun Salutations that I didn’t answer?
Let me know in the comments!

 

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

« Tropical Fruit Recovery Smoothie Recipe
Friday Faves #54 »

Comments

  1. Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says

    10.15.15 at 9:17 AM

    Sun salutations are big part of my home post run yoga routine. They really are the complete exercise–hitting all the spots! I modify mine, throwing in some standing poses ala SuryaNamaskarB.

  2. Susie @ SuzLyfe says

    10.15.15 at 9:31 AM

    GOODNESS me I love a sun salutation! Thus why I took 4 full posts to break it down!

  3. Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says

    10.15.15 at 10:47 AM

    Ohhhh nothing feels better than when you start to get warm a few sun salutations in! I LOVE it! Thanks for the listing of moves. Although I’ve done both of these sequences a ton, I’ve not looked at them written out with the formal name. Great tips for beginners too, Beth. Modifications are key!

  4. Laura @ This Runner's Recipes says

    10.15.15 at 6:05 PM

    Sun salutations are such a good warm up! I usually do Sun Salutation A but now I want to try B – I love chair pose. Thanks for the clear and thorough breakdown of the poses, Beth!

  5. jill conyers says

    10.16.15 at 3:48 AM

    Sun salutations daily. Not only is it good for your body, it feels awesome! Great tips for beginners Beth.

  6. Lea says

    05.23.16 at 9:43 PM

    How do I know if I am ready to move on to sun salutation B? Do I need to be able to do sun salutation A fully without modifications? I am still not strong enough to fully execute chaturanga for example, but I’m definitely stronger since I can hold down dog so much longer snd stronger than before.

Trackbacks

  1. Sun Salutations for Beginners | Sublimely Fit says:
    08.20.16 at 12:01 AM

    […] (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Read more […]

hello image sublimely fit

Hi, I'm Dr. Beth Brombosz! I'm a yoga teacher, running coach, and writer living in Oklahoma. I would love to help you create a healthier, more satisfying life. Join me on the journey!

beth (at) sublimelyfit.com
facebook twitter pinterest instagram bloglovin

 

FREE HIP OPENERS FOR RUNNERS GUIDE!

Search

Yoga for Runners Book

Yoga for Runners Book and eBook Bundle

Like Sublimely Fit on Facebook

Like Sublimely Fit on Facebook

Disclaimer

Sublimely Fit is a personal blog and all opinions are my own. I am not a medical professional. Please follow the advice of your doctor first and foremost. Although my intent is to do no harm, if you are injured following my opinion or something you have read here, I am not responsible. I am not responsible for comments written by others. Disrespectful or profane comments may be deleted. Privacy: I will never sell your email address or other information. Click here for the full privacy policy.

POPULAR POSTS

  • What Are the Best Styles of Yoga for Runners?
  • My Post-Pregnancy Running Comeback Plan
  • How to Recover from Barre Class
  • IT Band Stretch Yoga Sequence
  • 10 Mile Race Training Plan for Beginners
  • Ten Steps to Bird of Paradise Pose
  • How Long Should You Hold Yoga Poses?
  • 8K and 5 Mile Training Plan for Beginners
  • Motivation Monday #26
  • Foot Stretches: Yoga Poses for Feet

Calendar

March 2022
S M T W T F S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« May    

Copyright © 2022 · by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.