Surya Namaskar and Dand

Hi guys

Today I'll be writing about the Surya Namaskar.

Surya Namaskar is a sequence of 12 yoga asanas, to provide a good cardiovascular workout.

Surya Namaskar literally translates to Sun salutation and is supposed to be performed early in the morning, during dawn while on an empty stomach. 

In my opinion, it may be done anytime, at least 4 hours after having a meal and 1 hour before.

So, the best time to perform it is either in the time period of 4:30 am to 8:30 am or 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

Surya Namaskar (Image googled; not owned by me)

Here is a step by step procedure of performing Surya Namaskar

1. Stand straight, feet joined, palms joined* (as in Namaste salutation)
2. Raise hands, while keeping them in contact at the fingers. Push them further backwards (Stretch them!). Thrust your pelvis forward, tighten your buttocks, open your chest (Haha). And inhale.
3.  Bend forwards. Touch your feet with your palm. Exhale.
4. Right foot backwards, lunge. Press your right heels, and stretch your spine. Inhale.
5. Now, Both feet backwards. You should have a plank position now. Hold your breath.
6. Bend your elbow. You should now be dragging your chin, and chest towards the floor and forward simultaneously. Exhale.
7. While maintaining the forward thrust, raise your head and torso and sweep in a cobra position. Inhale.
8. Lift tailbone to attain a triangular position while keeping your face towards the ground. Exhale. 
9. Redo the step 4, except this time, the right foot is kept forward and the left one is backwards.
10. Redo step 3. 
11. Redo step 2.
12. Redo step 1. And exhale.

*For People who cannot perform Surya Namaskar on religious background, you can simply omit the “Namaskar” part by not joining your palms.

Also, if there is any time constraint, you may stick to only the steps, 5-7. This exercise is known as a Dand (Indian Pushup).

Surya Namaskar is an all-round exercise, and that is the reason I chose it as the very first exercise on the blog. The main benefit of Surya-Namaskar and Dand is the strengthening of your triceps and forearms.

Surya Namaskar is also useful to strengthen your back, shoulders, waist, chest, and upper abs.

Personal Tips:

1. While working out, you may focus your initial cycles on simply warming up, by maintaining a slow speed and stretching as much as possible all the while retaining comfort.
2. Increase your speed considerably once warmed up. This set is an excellent cardiovascular exercise.
3. Now, slow down. Especially in the steps 5-7. This part builds up your triceps mainly.
4. After the muscle building step, again focus on stretching and breath more deeply than before.
5. You’re good to go now.

      Now, this is how we plan to do it:

1.      Monday 4 repetitions
2.      Tuesday 5 repetitions
3.      Wednesday 5 repetitions
4.      Thursday 6 repetitions
5.      Friday 6 repetitions
6.      Saturday-Sunday Rest
7.      Monday 6 repetitions

And so on, we will follow this pattern, such that we increase our reps on Tuesdays and Thursdays by about 20%.

Week	Mon	Tue, Wed	Thurs, Fri
1	4	5	6
2	6	7	8
3	8	10	12
4	12	14	17
5	17	20	24
6	24	28	34
7	34	41	49
8	49	59	71
9	71	85	100

Currently, I am on week 7. So far no problem has occurred. Will update if it does. Next week I am going to add another exercise, Khamasana/Baithak to supplement this one.

    

      Disclaimer: I am not a professional. Any injury or accident occurred while attempting the exercises shall not hold the blog owner liable.