After starting to post some short yoga flows on my Instagram page I was asked to provide more of a guide for those who were a complete beginner, either with descriptions or voiceovers. In light of this I thought I’d write a blog guiding you through one of the most common and foundational sequences you’ll see in many styles of yoga, including Asthtanga and Vinyasa: sun salutation A.
An important disclaimer: I am NOT a qualified yoga teacher. The advice I give here is purely from someone who practices yoga, not someone who is trained as an instructor.
- Mountain pose (Tadasana).
Mountain pose is a key standing posture, bringing your body into alignment. The main elements to mountain pose are:
- Stand so your big toes are touching, with your heels slightly apart.
- Engaging the glutes – to set your pelvis in a neutral position. Squeeze your bum and tuck in your tail bone.
- Gentle engage the quads (thigh muscles) to slightly lift your kneecaps – this is a soft action but will help bring stability to the posture.
- Engage the core – support your spine by contracting the core. Ensure you keep the bottom ribs tucked in
- Shoulder posture – correct your posture if needed by rolling your shoulders back and down.
- Draw you head back so it lies above the spine
- Have your arms straight by the side of your body with the palms facing forwards.
- Upward salute (Urdhva Hastasana)
- As you inhale bring you arms out to the sides in a sweeping motion until they are above your head.
- Bring your palms together with extended elbows reach upwards.
- Follow your gaze to the sky, but only do so if you can do so without compressing the back of your neck, just tip your head back slightly.
- Tuck in your lower ribs, pull them down in towards your spine.
- Stay strong in the legs, feeling grounded to the mat.
- Forward fold (Uttanasana)
- Exhale and fold forwards, your arms sweeping downwards in a swan-dive like motion. Bend from the hips, not the wait.
- Focus on lengthening your spine – each inhale lift and lengthen your torso slightly, releasing deeper into the stretch with each exhale.
- Relax the back of the neck and shift your weight slightly to the balls of the feet.
- Half-way lift (Ardga Uttanasana)
- Inhale, straighten your elbows and lengthen your spine, coming up to a flat back.
- If you can’t have a flat back with your finger tips on the floor being them to your shins.
- Hold your gaze forwards.
- Plank pose
- Jump or step back into a plank position, whichever your feel more confident doing.
- Your arms should be perpendicular to the floor, shoulders aligned above the wrists.
- Contract your core, making it parallel to the floor.
- Rotate your outer arms in slightly and press upwards to avoid sinking into the shoulders.
- Spread your collarbones and engage your shoulder blades.
- Engage your quads but keep the spin lengthened.
- Look straight down towards the floor.
- Chaturanga Dandasana
- Inhale and shift your weight forwards slightly, so your shoulders are in front of your wrists.
- As you exhale slowly bend your elbows, lowering your torso and legs just above and parallel to the floor.
- Tuck in your tailbone, avoiding poking it up towards the ceiling!
- Keep your legs active, rotating your thighs slightly inwards.
- Keep your core engaged, supporting your spine.
- Keep the spread in your collarbone and hold your elbows in towards the torso, try not to them splay out towards the sides.
- When holding this posture your elbows should be in line with your shoulders (parallel to the floor), and your elbows in line with your wrists (perpendicular to the floor).
- Upward-facing dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)
- Inhale and roll over the toes so the top of the foot is pressing into the mat.
- As you are doing so straighten your arms to lift your chest, bending your back such that your front can feel the stretch.
- Push the tops of the feet into the mat and engage your thighs by pulling up your knee caps.
- Your legs should be hovering above the ground.
- If this is too challenging, rest your legs on the ground in high-cobra pose.
- Keep your arms firm, rotating the triceps outwards so that the elbow crease points forwards.
- Open your heart by rolling your shoulders back and away from your ears.
- Keep the glutes engaged but not firmly contracted.
- Ensure your ribs are tucked in.
- Look straight ahead.
- Downward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
- Engage your core and press firmly through your arms.
- As you exhale tuck your toes under and lift your tailbone to the sky, keeping your legs straight.
- Your tailbone will move upwards and backwards from its position in upward-facing dog.
- Roll the inner thighs inwards and rotate the triceps outwards slightly.
- Keep space between your shoulder blades.
- Draw the heels towards the mat.
- Stay here for an inhale and exhale for 5 breathes (or more if you wish!).
- Return to half-way lift
- Look forward, come up onto your toes and bend your knees, bringing your hips back slightly.
- On an exhale jump (or step) to the front of the mat.
- Inhale, lift and lengthen to half-way lift.
- Return to forward fold
- Exhale and fold forward, returning to a forward fold.
- Return to upward facing salute
- Inhale and root through the feet.
- Sweep your arms to upward-facing salute, gazing up at the sky.
- Return to mountain post
- Exhale and bring arms down through heart’s-centre, holding them in prayer position.
An accompanying short flow centred on sun salutation A is up now on my Instagram feed, @the_lifestylepill. I’ve tried to incorporate the modifications I mentioned, such as placing your hands on your shins in half-way lift if you are in a tight body.
I hope this help you master your sun salutations A
If you’d like more blogs/videos like this please let me know.
Emma x
