Easy Sun Salutations. Beginners' Tips for Suryanamaskar A & B

Sun Salutation A.
Photo from here.

Sun Salutations can be difficult when you are a beginner but there are some tips my amazing teacher has shared with me that have been valuable to me and helped a lot. It's fun how sometimes just a small tiny modification can make things easier.
As my teacher always says in each and every practice "You must not suffer when practicing Ashtanga. You must feel that your body is working but not too much, you do not want to make your life harder than it already is, you want to make it easier and better. So bring your intelligence in the classroom and modify whatever asana you need to or rest in child's pose whenever appropriate".

Progress Requires Courage, Faith And Sacrifice.

“To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

This is the quote that came to my mind a few days ago when, after having finished our Ashtanga yoga practice with relaxation in savasana, our teacher asked us to sit in a comfortable position and close our eyes guiding us through a visualization exercise which was something like this (me paraphrasing): "You are on a sailing boat at the dock, ready set sail. Straight in front you lies an exotic island where you have never been before. The scenery is so beautiful and the mystery of the undiscovered place feels you with a strong urge to get there so you prepare the sails and turn the engine on. The boat starts moving forward but a few seconds later won't go any further. You look back and realize that you have not untied the rope from the dock. At the moment you look back you are filled with hesitation. You love the place you are right now, you have explored it and know it well, you feel comfortable and safe there. Then you look ahead at the undiscovered island’s direction again. It seems so beautiful and you want to explore it. You have no idea what you will encounter there but you know that for a long time you will not feel as secure as you do in the place you are now. The decision is yours to make." In my visualization I cut the rope and set sail filled with joy. And when I get there what I discover is more beautiful and thrilling than what I have left behind.

Living Yoga - On And Off The Mat

Photo from here.

One of the parts I really heart when I practice Ashtanga Yoga in a class is the fact that I am blessed with an amazing teacher. Each and every time we finish practice, right after Savasana, we will sit to a comfortable sitting pose and our teacher will speak for 4-5 minutes about something. That something ranges from some detail he noticed to the world around him, a thing that happened to him during his daily activities or practice, something he read and thought he should share, a personal thought or emotion… pretty much everything. The great thing is that whatever he shares is inspiring me to search inside me, it gives me food for thought and helps me understand deeply that yoga is not only about the hours I spent in class but is what I do all 24 hours of the day, every day. As he said: "It doesn't matter if you come here and practice in the studio everyday but then forget everything when you leave. You must practice yoga all day long. Help an elderly woman pass across the road, recycle, give a loaf of bread to the homeless person you run into every morning, feed the stray dog in your neighborhood, do things that benefit others without expecting anything in return."

It's Time For Ashtanga!

After of a long period of self practice due to lack of funds and a few months unemployed I finally found a new job. I spent 9 months more before I finally signed up for an Ashtanga yoga class and during that period the first 3 months I did go on home practicing but the last 6 I didn't. Something really intense happened to my life and I went through a period of letting go of everything. I just went to work, got back home, ate and sleep. I even started smoking again, a bad habit I managed to let go years ago. After reaching bottom line I decided I had to do something for me. I stood up, gathered my pieces together and searched for a studio of Ashtanga. I talked with 3 different ones till I decide and this September I got my very first lesson.

Diving Into a Hatha Yoga Class

After home practicing with the Power Yoga & Five Tibetan Rites DVD for a while I started needing something more. I accidentally found out that there was a new yoga studio just 5 minutes walking distance from my house and decided to enroll. I dropped by and  the teacher informed me that they had daily Hatha Yoga classes, beginner and intermediate level, and two times per week they had a Vinyasa Flow class while every other weekend they would do seminars on meditation, chakras, traditional medicine, ayuverda etc.