{"id":8511,"date":"2025-05-04T10:15:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T10:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogamatsya.com\/?p=8511"},"modified":"2026-09-06T11:51:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T11:51:37","slug":"sun-salutation-in-kundalini-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogamatsya.com\/en\/sun-salutation-in-kundalini-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sun Salutation in Kundalini Yoga \u2013 S\u016brya Namask\u0101ra as a Gateway into Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Note<\/strong>: All exercises are illustrated by hand<\/em> with a pen and written<\/em> by Clemens Biedrawa.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

The Sun Salutation in Kundalini Yoga \u2013 S\u016brya Namask\u0101ra as a Gateway into Life<\/h1>\n

The Sun Salutation is an awakening and a gesture of reverence for life on all levels of human existence. Few exercises in yoga are as universally adaptable: whether young or old, healthy or unwell<\/strong>, it can be practised safely and meaningfully throughout all stages of life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In Kundalini Yoga<\/strong> the Sun Salutation is regarded as a purifying and preparatory practice that opens the way to deeper work. But once m\u016bla bandha<\/em> is drawn between the postures, or the sequence is practised together with kap\u0101labh\u0101ti<\/em>, it turns into a powerful tool for awakening energy and drawing it to the centre.<\/p>\n

S\u016brya namask\u0101ra illuminates and strengthens on every level of being \u2013 body, mind and soul<\/strong>. Before we turn to the forms practised in Kundalini Yoga, let us look at how it works on the five ko\u015bas<\/em>, the sheaths of which a human being is made.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\"Sun<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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What is S\u016brya Namask\u0101ra?<\/h2>\n

S\u016brya<\/em> is the sun, namask\u0101ra<\/em> the salutation. Literally, then: a greeting to the sun. But the practice is more than a bow towards a celestial body. It is the acknowledgement of whatever makes life possible at all.<\/p>\n

The sun is the origin of all life on this planet. Every gust of wind, every wave, every plant that grows goes back to its rays. In the yogic view it is at the same time the outer image of an inner force: s\u016brya<\/em> is also the rising, warming, clarifying energy in your own body \u2013 the power that dwells in Ma\u1e47ip\u016bra Chakra<\/a>, the navel centre.<\/p>\n

So whoever practises the Sun Salutation is not practising something foreign. They are kindling within what shines outside anyway.<\/p>\n

Where does the practice come from?<\/h3>\n

The twelve linked postures as we know them today are a comparatively young form \u2013 they were systematised in India in the early twentieth century and spread from there across the world. The veneration of the sun itself is far older: the Vedic hymns already know the salutation to S\u016brya<\/em>, and the G\u0101yatr\u012b mantra<\/em> is at heart an invocation of sunlight.<\/p>\n

The version shown here follows the lineage of the Bihar School of Yoga<\/a> of Sv\u0101m\u012b Saty\u0101nanda Sarasvat\u012b \u2013 with the additions that Kundalini Yoga brings: m\u016bla bandha<\/em>, kap\u0101labh\u0101ti<\/em> and the twelve b\u012bja mantras of the sun.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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How it works on the five levels of being<\/h2>\n

Annamaya Ko\u015ba \u2013 the level of the body<\/h3>\n

Health is a state that arises naturally when the body can move freely through life.<\/p>\n

The freedom to move and to breathe is not only good for mobility itself \u2013 it is a gateway to participating in life, and therefore to the ability to receive what life offers.<\/p>\n

On the physical level the Sun Salutation is therefore above all a gateway into life itself<\/strong>. When this gate opens, everything good can enter \u2013 the fertile challenge and the gift of life can unfold.<\/p>\n

It makes you flexible, stimulates circulation and opens you to the day. It is hard to imagine staying tired or downcast after practising 12 to 24 Sun Salutations in the morning.<\/p>\n

It creates a fertile tension in the body<\/strong> \u2013 and that tension is the ground on which life can be carried. Fatigue and confusion find no room in it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Pr\u0101\u1e47amaya Ko\u015ba \u2013 the level of the life force<\/h3>\n

On the level of pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em>, the Sun Salutation creates space for dealing with emotion \u2013 it grants composure. Yet this composure rests on inner strength and on consciously placed tension.<\/p>\n

Where power is used consciously, relaxation becomes possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emotionally, too, the practice opens: it allows a constructive aggression that helps you move forward in life, let go, and take part in its challenges with joy. Yoga is the unity of opposites.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It frees from depression and turns it into activity. It frees from fear and turns it into strength.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Manomaya Ko\u015ba \u2013 the level of the mind<\/h3>\n

On the level of the mind, the Sun Salutation frees you from unnecessary thoughts \u2013 they are burnt in the fire of movement.<\/p>\n

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Thoughts are like clouds \u2013 behind them there is always the sky, and behind the sky there are always the stars, and there is infinity.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Whoever practises the Sun Salutation daily develops a clear mind, one that can tell the unnecessary from the essential, that recognises the goal and moves towards it with confidence.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Vij\u00f1\u0101namaya Ko\u015ba \u2013 the level of wisdom<\/h3>\n

Whoever practises the Sun Salutation from the heart overcomes themselves. At some point you leave behind what you believe you have to be.<\/p>\n

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When you forget what you are, you move from wanting into being.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Then you already are \u2013 and this being is your repose in the world, your silent knowledge of the path, of the soul. From there the unarticulated knowledge flows into the articulated \u2013 that is the source of your convictions, and the source of your real knowing.<\/p>\n

Clear your conscience, practise in devotion, and find peace with yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u0100nandamaya Ko\u015ba \u2013 the level of joy<\/h3>\n

The fifth and innermost sheath is rarely practised; it is found. \u0100nanda<\/em> is not the happiness triggered by an event, but the joy that remains when nothing happens at all.<\/p>\n

At some point \u2013 maybe in the twelfth round, maybe after years \u2013 the Sun Salutation stops being an exercise. The body moves without anyone moving it. The breath carries. And in the middle, where you would not have expected it, there is suddenly a quiet contentment without a reason.<\/p>\n

That is the real reason this practice is called a salutation<\/em> and not an exercise<\/em>. A greeting expects nothing in return. It is the gesture itself. And precisely in that freedom from purpose the innermost sheath opens.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\"The<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The 12 positions of the classical Sun Salutation<\/h2>\n

The traditional Sun Salutation \u2013 as it is also taught at the Bihar School of Yoga \u2013 consists of twelve positions. Each posture is assigned to one of the twelve names of the sun and reflects one of its aspects.<\/p>\n

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  1. Pran\u0101m\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 prayer pose<\/li>\n
  2. Hastott\u0101n\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 raised arms pose<\/li>\n
  3. P\u0101dahast\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 hands-to-feet pose<\/li>\n
  4. A\u015bva Sa\u00f1calan\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 equestrian pose<\/li>\n
  5. Parvat\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 mountain pose<\/li>\n
  6. A\u1e63\u1e6d\u0101\u1e45ga Namask\u0101ra<\/strong> \u2013 eight-point salutation<\/li>\n
  7. Bhuja\u1e45g\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 cobra pose<\/li>\n
  8. Parvat\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 mountain pose<\/li>\n
  9. A\u015bva Sa\u00f1calan\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 equestrian pose<\/li>\n
  10. P\u0101dahast\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 hands-to-feet pose<\/li>\n
  11. Hastott\u0101n\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 raised arms pose<\/li>\n
  12. Pran\u0101m\u0101sana<\/strong> \u2013 prayer pose<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The second half mirrors the first. That is no accident: the Sun Salutation forms an arc \u2013 ascent, turning point, return. Precisely in this lies its calming effect on the mind.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

    \"The<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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    Forms of practice in Kundalini Yoga<\/h2>\n

    In Kundalini Yoga the Sun Salutation is not a fixed recipe but a vessel. Depending on what you place inside it \u2013 breath, bandha, fire or sound \u2013 its effect changes completely. In our school we practise four forms.<\/p>\n

    1. One breath per posture \u2013 flowing breath<\/h3>\n

    The simplest and at the same time most beautiful form of the Sun Salutation is the one where the breath carries the movement. Not every posture is rigidly assigned one breath \u2013 rather the breath leads, and the movement follows.<\/p>\n

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    First comes pr\u0101\u1e47a, then follows the body. The breath is the soul of the body.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    This form can be practised quickly or slowly \u2013 as the flow of your breath dictates. In the last position you can guide your hands from the cosmos back to the heart, accompanied by a loud or silent OM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Breathing sequence (orienting):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    1. Pran\u0101m\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nExhale<\/td>\n7. Bhuja\u1e45g\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nInhale<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    2. Hastott\u0101n\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nInhale<\/td>\n8. Parvat\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nExhale<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    3. P\u0101dahast\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nExhale<\/td>\n9. A\u015bva Sa\u00f1calan\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nInhale<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    4. A\u015bva Sa\u00f1calan\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nInhale<\/td>\n10. P\u0101dahast\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nExhale<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    5. Parvat\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nExhale<\/td>\n11. Hastott\u0101n\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nInhale<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    6. A\u1e63\u1e6d\u0101\u1e45ga Namask\u0101ra<\/strong><\/td>\nHold the breath \u2013 hold the emptiness<\/td>\n12. Pran\u0101m\u0101sana<\/strong><\/td>\nExhale \u2013 OM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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    2. Two breaths per posture \u2013 with M\u016bla Bandha<\/h3>\n

    In this form you take your time to immerse yourself in each posture. The gaze is directed inward, the breath becomes calm and controlled.<\/p>\n

    M\u016bla bandha<\/strong> transforms the meditative effect of the exercise into a strengthening one. As soon as m\u016bla bandha<\/em> is drawn at the end of each exhalation and each inhalation, the pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em> expands. After just three rounds a feeling of magnetic power gently sets in.<\/p>\n

    Where is m\u016bla bandha?<\/h4>\n

    Where m\u016bla bandha<\/em> is precisely located is less important than the sensation of the root lock itself. The muscles of the anus, genitals, perineum and cervix are all equally involved in what constitutes the lower lock of power.<\/p>\n

    Imagine drawing the power to the centre in the middle between the breaths. If you feel the power rising, you have found the bandha. This is the gateway to Kundalini Yoga.<\/strong><\/p>\n