How to Do Surya Namaskar A – Benefits and Yoga Sequence Breakdown

Want to learn more about Surya Namaskar A aka Sun Salutation A? In this post, I share the benefits of Surya Namaskar A, a complete sequence breakdown, contraindications, modifications, history, and more.

surya namaskar a main blog image — Barbara Bakos, Illustrator

I first learned the Surya Namaskar A sequence when I was a braces-wearing, coke-bottle-bespecked, super-nerdy kid going to karate classes at the local Dojo so that I could learn some self-defence skills, and maybe toughen up a little.

My Sensei had us practice Surya Namaskar A in front of the Japanese flag as our warm-up before we went into karate lessons. The sequence stuck with me and for the decades since then it has been part of my regular fitness practice.

Before I found yoga, when I was forcing myself to go to the gym (I was never a gym sort of dude, but knew I wanted to stay in shape) I would do several repetitions of Surya Namaskar A to warm up before lifting weights.

When I discovered Surya Namaskar A was part of the yoga practice, that knowledge helped me feel that I belonged somehow. Yoga had been with me all along — I simply hadn’t realised it yet.

What’s in our post about Surya Namaskar A?

Surya Namaskar A Quick Facts

A Final Note About Sun Salutation A

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Surya Namaskar A Quick Facts

Sanskrit	Surya Namaskar A
English	Sun Salutation A / Sun Salute A
Pronunciation	sur-yah nah-mah-SKAR AYE
Meaning	Surya is the sun, or the Sun God. Namah means to bow or offer prayers. Namaskar is the hand mudra also known as Anjali Mudra, or holding your hands in prayer position. Surya Namaskar A means an offering to the sun, which we generally refer to as Sun Salutation, variation A.

Surya Namaskar A Benefits

Note: I am only including the scientifically supported benefits of Surya Namaskar A. There are plenty of claims about other benefits of each pose (from the plausible to the magical to the ridiculous) out there if you want to hunt them down. I feel that that pseudo-scientific claims only serve to harm the yoga community in general, so choose not to give them further airtime.

The main physical benefits of Surya Namaskar A include:

It stretches, tones and strengthens your muscles, ligaments, joints.
It helps improve overall flexibility in your spine, hamstrings, shoulders, and more.
It also strengthens the muscles that support your spine.
It prepares you for more complicated asanas.

The repetition of these fairly simple poses helps to calm your mind.
Helps stretch and strengthen almost all of your body, including arms, abs, thighs, butt, spine, neck, shoulder, hands, wrists, and back.
It helps improves your posture.
If practiced repetitively and quickly it will raise your heart rate – increased cardiovascular activity strengthens your heart and can help prevent heart disease.

*For your hamstrings to benefit in Uttanasana, touch the ground. Just bend your knees if needed.*

It is hard to find scientific studies that have looked at Surya Namaskar A or B instead of the “classic” Surya Namaskar. Many of the scientifically verified benefits do apply to Sun Salutation A as well as the traditional sequence. To read those head over to the Benefits of Surya Namaskar post and scroll down to the Benefits section.

I did find one study from 2014 specifically looking at Surya Namaskar A & B that tested what muscles are used during certain poses and how a student’s ability to recruit those muscles changed as their yoga practice improves.

That study concluded that our ability to recruit key muscle increases with time and practice. For example, students can learn how to engage their erector spinae and mid-trapezius instead of using their shoulder joints for support, which is likely to reduce the chance of injury.

Precautions & Contraindications

Remember that while yoga is for everyone, not all poses are for all people! If your body requires some extra support in this sequence, see the Modifications section below.

If you have any heart problems, you should consult a doctor about adding Surya Namaskar A to your fitness program.
It is recommended that people with high blood pressure avoid bringing their arms overhead.
If you have low blood pressure, it is advised you avoid bringing your head below your heart.
If you have a back injury, be very careful practicing this sequence.
People with a hernia will likely want to avoid, at least, Uttanasana when practicing Sun Salutation.

Misconceptions & Myths About Sun Salutation A

The History of Surya Namaskar A

It is generally accepted that Surya Namaskar A was created by BKS Iyengar and Surya Namaskar B can be attributed to K. Pattabhi Jois. However, do a little more digging and you’ll find claims that both of these sequences were practiced at Krishnamacharya’s Mysore Shala in the 30s, where both Jois and Iyengar learned to do yoga.

That may be true, but if they were part of the yoga practice Krishnamacharya was teaching, it seems odd that they don’t appear in any of his four books on yoga asana. It could be, as yoga scholar Mark Singleton suggests in Yoga Body: the Origins of Modern Posture Practice, that Namaskars and asana practice were considered two different practices.

*Krishnamacharya overseeing a yoga demonstration at the Mysore Palace.*

Mr. Iyengar never claimed to have invented the Surya Namaskar A sequence. However, it has been attributed to him over the years and this version is generally accepted as “the Iyengar variation”. It’s quite likely he learned the sequence from Krishnamacharya, or at least while studying yoga at the Mysore Shala.

Iyengar’s Sun Salutations are often practiced more quickly that Surya Namaskar, and therefore can make a more intense and energetic practice.

Surya Namaskar A & B are both part of the Ashtanga Primary series, and these sequences appear in K. Pattabhi Jois’s book, Yoga Mala, published in 1962. Jois has said that he taught the sequences exactly as he learned them from Krishnamacharya, although no written evidence has been found about exactly of what poses Krishnamacharya’s Surya Namaskars consisted.

Surya Namaskar A Pose Breakdown

How to do Surya Namaskar A / Sun Salutation A

Stand in Tadasana with your feet and legs together, or stand with your feet hip-distance apart.
Inhale, stretch your arms up overhead into Urdhva Namaskarasana. If your feet are hip-distance apart I recommend having your arms and hands shoulder-distance apart in Urdhva Hastasana.
Exhale, fold forward into Uttanasana.
Inhale, straighten your arms and lift your torso part way into Ardha Uttanasana.
Exhale, step back to Phalakasana.

Bend your elbows into Chaturanga Dandasana. For a more advanced variation, flow from Ardha Uttanasana into Chaturanga Dandasana with your exhale, skipping Phalakasana.
Inhale and lift up into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana. For a more advanced back bend do Bhujangasana instead.
Exhale into Adho Mukha Svanasana / Downward Facing Dog.
Take three breaths in Downward Facing Dog to focus your breath, nervous system, and mind.
Exhale fully, bend your knees, lift your heels, and look forward.

With your breath out, step forward into Uttanasana, or for a more advanced option float forward into Uttanasana.
Inhale, straighten your arms and lift your torso part way into Ardha Uttanasana.
Exhale, fold forward into Uttanasana.
Inhale, stretch your arms up overhead into Urdhva Namaskarasana or Urdhva Hastasana.
Exhale and return to Tadasana.

stephen doing tadasana in front of an art installation in yogyakarta indonesia — *When sta*nding in Tadasana you can choose to surround yourself with life-sized stuffed creatures… Or not.

Modifications & Variations

Even though Surya Namaskar A is a fairly simple sequence, it does demand a lot from you. If you’re newer to yoga, have limited mobility, or want to for any reason, you can easily modify these poses to fit your requirements.

I have written detailed modifications for each of the poses that make up Surya Namaskar on their individual pages. Click the pose name in the step by step instructions above to be taken to each of those pages.

Here is a general modification to make each pose in the sequence a little more accessible:

Tadasana — When you are newer to yoga, or if you have stability challenges, stand with your feet at least as wide as your hips.
Uttanasana — Bend your knees and touch the ground to reduce pressure on your lower back.

Ardha Uttanasana — Keep touching the ground and bend your knees so that you can lengthen, instead of rounding, your spine.
Phalakasana / Plank Pose — Bring your knees down to the ground if it is too challenging to keep your legs straight.
Chaturanga Dandasana — Bring your knees down to the ground if it is too challenging to keep your body straight.
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana / Upward Facing Dog — Push down through your toes, feet, and activate your butt to access more arching of your upper back.
Adho Mukha Svanasana / Downward Dog — Bend your knees and work to find the length for your spine and the sides of your rib cage while lifting through the bottom of your pelvis.

stephen does chaturanga with a bolster under his chest and belly — *Using a bolster to modify Chaturanga Dandasana helps make the pose more accessible.*

Here are a few more resources for modifying this sequence:

If you have limited mobility, discomfort standing, or balance/stability challenges, you can do a variation of the sequence seated in a chair. Check out this video guide to Chair Surya from the Siddhi Yoga school in India.
This is a terrific guide to modifying Surya for plus-sized bodies from Body Positive Yoga.
And this is a modified seated variation of the Sun Salutation.

Preparatory Poses

Surya Namaskara A is often taught as a warm-up but that doesn’t mean you can’t warm up for your warm-up. These poses can help wake your body and mind up before you step in the your Sun Salutations.

Follow-up Poses

The Surya sequences prepare your whole body for whatever you want to do next. So the follow-up poses are you choice. Here are a few ideas.

Savasana / Corpse Pose

Poses to Take Your Practice Further

Post: How to Do Surya Namaskar – Benefits and Sequence Tutorial
Post: Best Props for Your Home Yoga Practice

Video: How to Do Surya Namaskar A Sequence Breakdown
Video/Class: Step by Step Surya Namaskar A & B, 45-Minute Vinyasa

Gear & Resources for This Pose

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A Final Note About Sun Salutation A

Despite having practiced Surya Namaskar A for more than 30 years, it continues to have more to offer me. I come back to it again and again because it does exactly what it’s meant to do: stabilize, strengthen, soften, open, and prepare. And despite having taught it thousands upon thousands of times, I still love teaching it and getting us all to flow together.

If you ever start to feel bored with it, change it up a little. Why not use it as a template to create your own Sun Salutation sequence that targets the areas you want to target? Play with it and have fun so that it keeps inspiring you to unroll your mat and practice.

See you on (and off) the ice OMies, Stephen

I hope this post has been helpful in expanding your possibilities with Surya Namaskar A. It’s my goal to inspire you to explore your yoga practice more deeply while enabling you to cultivate the strength and clarity needed to live your life adventure to the fullest!