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Thread: Surya Namaskar Ritual

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    Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Locally, a Surya Namaskar Yagna is being held between Jan 13 and Jan 28, 2007 to promote yoga and the Surya Namaskar (Sun salutation). Perhaps if it is not already happening globally, we could kick it off here with the same timings. The website link is www.hssus.org/sny

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    Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Does anyone know when and where did Surya-namaskara (as a well-known nowadays excersize) originate?
    I haven't come across even one notion of it in any original yogic texts ascribed to Gorakshanatha.

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    Smile Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Namaste Arjuna,

    This remains my only suggestion: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...2&postcount=58

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    Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Quote Originally Posted by sarabhanga View Post
    Namaste Arjuna,
    The well known Surya Namaskara sequence was popularised by Shri B.K.S. Iyengar, and his style of performing various Asanas in a flowing series (treating the practice of Asana more like a dance) seems to come largely from his own inspiration.
    I have heard that Iyengar's Guru (Shri T. Krishnama ?) taught him the Surya Namaskara and told him to practise only those Asanas until they were perfected. Iyengar spent only a short time with his Guru, leaving after about 3 years to begin teaching Yoga.
    Iyengar Yoga was invented by Iyengar himself, although the popular Surya Namaskara sequence presumably comes from his Guru's tradition.
    Namaste Sarabhanga,

    Thank U. I also hold the same opinion.
    BTW it was told to me (by Stephane Chollet, yoga-france.com) that Krishnamacharya started his yoga teaching upon the order of Maharaja of Maysore, who saw english officers doing gymnastics . So perhaps all "dynamic yoga" stuff developed under influence of western gymnastics – if this is correct, then it isn't surprising that none of such things are present in authentic yogic texts.

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    Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Surya Namaskara is well known in Shivananda and Dhirendra Brahmachari yoga schools who has no any connection with T.Krishnamacharya at all. I dont believe that Krishnamacharya made his yoga style from english gymnastics :-) Because gymnastics are very primitive, no connection between breath and exercises, and of course gymnastics of soldiers was much more primitive than even sport gymnastics. Dynamical practice of asana sequence you can find easy in
    1. Bharatnatyam and Kathakali indian dance traditions (Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
    2 Kerala martial art Kalari Payattu
    3 Tibetan type of hatha yoga (Krishnamacharya spent 7 years near Manasarowar lake in Tibet, where was living his hatha yoga Guru RamMohan Brahmachari)

    But i think K. took some dynamical exercises from Kalari and Dance because he was south indian.

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    Arrow Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Namaste,

    In the early 1930s, Krishnamacarya developed his “Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga”, drawing on diverse disciplines to develop dynamic sequences aimed at building physical fitness, and using the movements of “Surya Namaskar” to link each asana.

    He never crossed an ocean, but Krishnamacharya’s yoga has spread through Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Today it's difficult to find an asana tradition he hasn't influenced. Even if you learned from a yogi now outside the traditions associated with Krishnamacharya, there's a good chance your teacher trained in the Iyengar, Ashtanga, or Viniyoga lineages before developing another style.

    Most teachers, even from styles not directly linked to Krishnamacharya ~ Sivananda Yoga and Bikram Yoga, for example ~ have been influenced by some aspect of Krishnamacharya's teachings.
    See: Fernando Pagés Ruiz on Krishnamacarya in Yoga Journal

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    Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Quote Originally Posted by Vishahara View Post
    Surya Namaskara is well known in Shivananda and Dhirendra Brahmachari yoga schools who has no any connection with T.Krishnamacharya at all.
    Niether of these yoga schools is ancient or even mediaeval. And significantly there is not even one classic yoga text mentioning dynamic sets of asanas incl. Surya-namaskara.
    However Kalari indeed may be one of the sources as well, not only english gymnastics .

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    Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Namaste

    " However Kalari indeed may be one of the sources as well, not only english gymnastics."

    Indeed Kalari may be one of the main influences of choreographed Hatha yoga in fact the special section of Vyayam ( phisical and energetic conditioning) exercises, which in Kalari are very Hatha yoga like. But now, forgetting pre formations, any one who is on the Asana level when changing stances or positions during a free yoga session does some how is on natural yoga choreography.

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    Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Krishnamacharya was very much against adding new elements to yoga and he warned people to keep yoga traditional. He was a very strict and orthodox person. Krishnamacharya's yoga comes from the tradition of Yogi Rama Mohan Brahmachari, who lived in the himalayas. Krishnamacharya has traveled on foot for two and a half months to find Yogi Rama Mohan Brahmachari. After that he studied with him for seven and a half years, from 1916-1924. The vinyasa sequences, moving from posture to posture were recorded in the ancient text, the yoga kuruntha, authered by Vamana Rishi. Unfortunately, due to the quality of the paper, Krishnamacharya could not preserve this document. We only have Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya's words as evidence for this text. According to Krishnamacharya, the practice of Ashtanga Yoga is based on the Yoga Kuruntha. We have to realise that India has had many scriptures from various traditions. A lot of ancient texts have not survived, the sama veda alone had a 1000 brances (shakhas) according to the Vishnu Purana. Today there are only a few of them known and only three branches still have a living tradition of oral transmition, that of kauthuma, rananiya and jaiminiya.

    People have disputed the authenticity of Sarvangasana, because it is wan't mentioned in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Many people call the HYP a classical text of yoga and use it as the final word on asana practice. Actually the HYP is a relatively modern text, authered by Svatmarama in the 15th century. Traditionally it was only relevant to the followers of the Natha Pantha. Yoga has a much older tradition. Moving yoga is also not a modern invention based on dance, martial arts or gymanstics. All though, a lot of the modern vinyasas are based on these three self cultivating arts. Vinyasas (moving yoga) have a long history in yoga. Movement (chala) is very important to open the energy pathways. These days vinyasas are still practiced around the himalayas in countries like tibet. Vinyasa yoga has also been spread to China where it was incorporated into qi qong and dao yin. An example are the virgin boy exercises, which is a flowing sequence of yoga postures thaught at the Shaolin temple to young brahmacharis. If we want to know more about the authentic practice of vinyasa, we have to look at the teachings of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. There was know one else from a traditional lineage of yoga teachers who has thaught vinyasas so extensively to the public.
    Last edited by Sahasranama; 09 October 2010 at 10:17 AM.

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    Re: Surya Namaskar Ritual

    Instead of starting another Surya Namaskar Ritual thread, or adding to the puja thread, I thought I'd ask my questions here.

    Firstly, I have no problem understanding the asanas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya_Namaskara#Practice and
    http://comfortinstylemag.com/yoga-and-you/surya-namaskar-the-12-step-sun-salutation/

    I may have a flexibility problem and a bit of an "obstruction" in my midsection but I can do them "after a fashion" to start. In fact, I need to develop flexibility.

    My question really centers on the mantras. For example, what is meant by the seed? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya_N...ce_and_chakras Is it recited before the mantra? I'm sure I can look up the chakras, as the instructions are to focus on the chakra associated with the particular asana being performed.
    śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ

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