Surya Namaskar is a sequence of 12 steps of asanas performed as a warm up in a yoga session. It originated in India to salute the Sun, which is considered a deity and worshipped. One Surya Namaskar has 12 steps and one set of Surya Namaskar comprises 12 Surya Namaskars. You can start with a set of three or six and gradually increase the number to 12. It is customary that 12 salutations be chanted before each Surya Namaskar (12 step sequence).[1]

Steps

  1. 1
    Join your palms and stand straight. Make the salutation: ॐ मित्राय नमः (om mitrāya namaḥ).[2]
  2. 2
    Raise your hands and stretch them back. Make the salutation: ॐ रवये नमः (om ravaye namaḥ.)[3]
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  3. 3
    Bend down and try to hold your ankles with your hands. Make the salutation: ॐ सूर्याय नमः (om sūryāya namaḥ).[4]
  4. 4
    Place the right foot at the back, left foot under the torso and look straight. Make the salutation: ॐ भानवे नमः (om bhānava namaḥ).[5]
  5. 5
    Put both legs together at the back, keep your elbow straight and keep your spine straight.  Make the salutation: ॐ खगाय नमः (om khagāya namaḥ).[6]
  6. 6
    Bend your elbows and push your body towards the floor, keeping it stiff like a push-up. Make the salutation: ॐ पूष्णे नमः (om pūṣṇe namaḥ).
  7. 7
    Push your hips towards the floor, hands straight, chest up and stretch your shoulders up. Make the salutation: ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः (om hiraṇya garbhāya namaḥ).[7]
  8. 8
    Keep your hands in the same position, raise your hip and back to form a curve. Make the salutation: ॐ मरीचये नमः (om marīcaye namaḥ).
  9. 9
    Retract to form position as in step 4 using the opposite legs. Make the salutation: ॐ आदित्याय नमः (om ādityāya namaḥ).
  10. 10
    Retract to form position as in step 3. Make the salutation: ॐ सवित्रे नमः (om savitre namaḥ).
  11. 11
    Stand straight as you raise your hands above your head. This is the same as step 2, without a stretch. Make the salutation: ॐ अर्काय नमः (om arkāya namaḥ).
  12. 12
    Bring your hands back to the position in step 1. Make the salutation: ॐ भास्कराय नमः (om bhāskarāya namaḥ).
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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 12 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 87,549 times.
118 votes - 86%
Co-authors: 12
Updated: June 20, 2022
Views: 87,549
Categories: Yoga
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