‘Wake up it’s a beautiful morning!’

Are you the type of person that hits the snooze button when the alarm goes off and slowly crawls out of bed in the morning or, are you the happy, bubbly morning person who jumps out of bed ready to face the day?

Whichever one you are there’s no better way to kick-start your morning than with a Surya Namaskar (a salute to the sun).

Traditionally, the Surya Namaskar is a sequence of 12 asanas. Here we break down each asana focusing on breath and body positioning.

It’s important to remember that we are all different. Some of us are more flexible than others or we may have injuries that restrict our movement so each asana can be modified to suit your individual needs.

You can always bend your knees if you have problems in your lower back and if you find you can’t place your hands on the floor you can always place your hands on your shins or use a block.

As my yoga teacher always reminds us, Yoga is meant to challenge you but never cause you pain.

Surya Namaskar

1. (Pranamasana)

• Stand with your feet together firmly on the ground with equal weight on both feet.
• Inhale and exhale and bring your palms together at the centre of your chest.

2. (Hasta Uttanasana)

• Inhale and take your arms up and back
• Arch your back and bring your head between your arms with your palms facing each other

3. (Padahastasana)

• Exhale and stretch down from your hips, bending your upper body down from the waist and bringing your hands to the floor
• Your toes and fingers are in line and your head is touching your knees or you are looking towards your thighs (depending on your flexibility)
• You can also bend your knees a little if you’re not too flexible

4. (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)

• Inhale and take your right leg back
• Your right knee is on the ground with toes pointing outward and palms on the floor.

5. (Plank)

• Breathe out and then inhale as you take your left leg back into plank position.
• Your hands are under your shoulders and you are looking ahead at the floor.

6. (Sashtanga Namaskar)

• Exhale and bring your knees, chest and forehead down to the floor into Sashtanga Namaskar. Your elbows are by your ribs away from the floor.

7. (Bhujangasana)

• Keeping your hands firmly grounded and elbows close to your hips, slide your upper body up and look upwards.

8. (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

• Exhale, tuck your toes under and raise your hips up into downward facing dog.

9. (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)

• Inhale and put your right foot between your hands. (You can use your hands to help bring your foot forward if you can’t go directly into this position)
• Your left knee should stay on the floor with toes pointing outward.

10. (Padahastana)

• Exhale and bring your left foot forward to meet the right, moving into a forward bend.
• Your fingers and toes are in line with your head.

11. (Hasta Uttanasana)

• Exhale and bring both arms up, stretching forward and then back.

12. (Pranamasana)

• As you exhale, bring your palms together at your heart’s centre. Namaste

Now you can repeat the sequence but remember to change legs so you stretch both legs.