What is Sun Salutation?
Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar or Salute to the Sun (Sanskrit: सूर्यनमस्कार, IAST: Sūryanamaskāra), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve linked asanas. The basic sequence involves moving from a standing position into Downward and Upward Dog poses and then back to the standing position, but many variations are possible. The set of 12 asanas is dedicated to the Hindu solar deity, Surya. In some Indian traditions, the positions are each associated with a different mantra, and with seed sounds or bīja.
The practice links breath to movement in a continuous flow—each inhalation and exhalation corresponds to a specific transition between poses. This synchronization creates what many practitioners describe as a moving meditation, warming the body while focusing the mind.
Origins & lineage
The origins of the Sun Salutation are vague; Indian tradition connects the 17th century saint Samarth Ramdas with Surya Namaskara exercises, without defining what movements were involved. Namaskars were first described around 1500 BCE in the Rig Veda, the oldest collection of sacred Hindu scriptures, composed of more than one thousand hymns rich with metaphor, myth, and instruction. The movements and mantras outlined in this 3,500-year-old Vedic tradition were rituals to be offered at sunrise and sunset. However, these early Vedic prostrations to the sun were ritualistic devotions rather than the physical exercise sequence practiced today.
The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th century, though similar exercises were in use in India before that, for example among wrestlers. The anthropologist Joseph Alter states that the Sun Salutation was not recorded in any Haṭha yoga text before the 19th century. In the 1920s, Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Rajah of Aundh, popularized and named the practice, describing it in his 1928 book The Ten-Point Way to Health: Surya Namaskars. It has been asserted that Pant Pratinidhi invented it, but Pant stated that it was already a commonplace Marathi tradition.
Krishnamacharya was aware of the Sun Salutation, since regular classes were held in the hall adjacent to his Yogasala in the Rajah of Mysore’s palace. The yoga scholar Mark Singleton states that “Krishnamacharya was to make the flowing movements of sūryanamaskār the basis of his Mysore yoga style”. Krishnamacharya’s students, K. Pattabhi Jois, who created Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga, and B. K. S. Iyengar, who created Iyengar Yoga, both learned Sun Salutation and flowing vinyasa movements between asanas from Krishnamacharya and used them in their styles of yoga.
Scholarly debate continues about whether Sun Salutation as an asana sequence represents an ancient tradition or a 20th-century innovation. There is evidence of Sūrya Namaskāra sequences in medieval Tantric literature in the last 1500 years. What is certain is that the modern postural practice was standardized and widely disseminated in the early 1900s.
How it’s practiced
The traditional sequence typically contains twelve positions, though variations exist across different yoga lineages. The eight basic postures, in order of performance, are Tadasana (Mountain Pose), Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute), Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), Lunge, Plank Pose, Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose), Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose), and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose). The sequence is then reversed to return to standing.
The founder of Ashtanga Yoga, K. Pattabhi Jois, stated that “There is no Ashtanga yoga without Surya Namaskara, which is the ultimate salutation to the Sun god.” The school has two traditional Sun Salutation sequences, types A and B. Type A is typically shorter and simpler, while Type B incorporates additional strength-building poses. In Sivananda yoga, the Sun Salutation sequence differs slightly from the Iyengar sequence, demonstrating how different teachers adapted the core practice to their philosophical and physical emphases.
In some yoga traditions, each step of the sequence is associated with a mantra. In traditions including Sivananda Yoga, the steps are linked with twelve names of the deity Surya, the Sun, connecting physical practice to devotional intent. Some practitioners perform the sequence silently, focusing purely on the coordination of breath and movement.
Sun Salutation today
Sun Salutation has become nearly ubiquitous in contemporary yoga classes worldwide. It serves multiple functions: as a warm-up at the beginning of practice, as a linking sequence between standing poses, or as a complete practice unto itself. Studios offer “sunrise salutations” classes; retreat centers may incorporate 108 repetitions during solstices or equinoxes; home practitioners use it as an accessible daily routine requiring no equipment.
The sequence has been adapted for different populations and settings—chair yoga versions for office workers and elderly practitioners, gentler modifications for pregnancy, vigorous jumping transitions for athletic classes. Online platforms and apps feature guided Sun Salutation sequences ranging from five minutes to an hour.
While traditionally performed at sunrise facing east, the practice has been largely secularized in Western contexts, with emphasis shifting from solar devotion to physical fitness, breath awareness, and mental focus.
Common misconceptions
Sun Salutation is not ancient in its current form. Despite claims of multi-millennial origins, the postural sequence as practiced today was standardized in the 20th century. The Vedic traditions involved prostrations and mantras, but not the specific asana flow.
It is not inherently a yoga practice. At that time, the Sun Salutation was not considered to be yoga, and its postures were not considered asanas; its incorporation into yoga represents an early 1900s synthesis of Indian physical culture, wrestling exercises (dandas), and evolving ideas about yoga as exercise.
Performing Sun Salutations alone does not constitute a complete yoga practice. While it offers cardiovascular benefits and engages multiple muscle groups, traditional yoga encompasses breath work, meditation, ethical principles, and philosophical study—elements not addressed by the physical sequence alone.
Faster is not better. The Sun Salutation’s energy cost ranges widely according to how energetically it is practised, from a light 2.9 to a vigorous 7.4 METs. The higher end of the range requires transition jumps between the poses. The traditional practice emphasizes mindful awareness and breath coordination over speed or repetition count.
How to begin
Beginners should start with a simplified version, modifying challenging poses. Most yoga studios offer beginner-level classes that break down the sequence step-by-step before linking it together. Online resources include detailed photo tutorials and videos demonstrating modifications—keeping knees down in plank, bending knees in forward folds, or substituting Cobra for Upward Dog.
For self-guided learning, consider learning 3-5 rounds of a basic sequence first, staying in each pose for several breaths rather than flowing quickly. Books such as The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga by Vishnudevananda (1960) provide foundational instruction, though more recent resources better reflect contemporary anatomical understanding.
Practitioners interested in the traditional devotional aspects might explore Sivananda or Bihar School of Yoga lineages, which maintain the mantra components. Those seeking vigorous physical practice might investigate Ashtanga Vinyasa studios. Chair yoga or gentle yoga classes offer accessible entry points for those with limited mobility or balance concerns.
The key is consistency rather than perfection—even a single mindful round daily builds familiarity and benefit.