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Sun Salutation 3

Level 6 Difficulty. 1 minute - as long as you like! Sun Salutation 3 is another step in matering the complete Sun Salutation. In this version, below, you are adding to the skills, strength and flexibility you have built with Sun Salutation 1, Sun Salutation 2A and Sun Salutation 2B, using the Wood Chopper, the Lunge, the Cobra, the Puppy and the Cat. If you have not yet tried these, check them out. If they're easy for you, then you are ready for the version below. If the Full Sun Salutation is difficult for you, it's a good idea to master these modified versions first.

The best way to master the Sun Salutation is to learn a little bit at a time.

This sequence uses the Wood Chopper, the Lunge, the Cobra, the Puppy and the Cat. It's a good idea to check out the postures pages and be comfortable with these poses first before learning the sequence.

First learn a few basic movements, such as in this simplified Sun Salutation below. Modify the movements so that they will work safely and effectively for your abilities. A teacher can help you with this. You can also email Corinne for tips.
Once you are very comfortable with a few movements, start adding to them, one or two at a time, becoming solid about each new movement before learning more. Then practice when to breathe!

Once you have these basics in place, you can use different breathing themes when you practice the Sun Salutation. These will help you gain more flexibility, help you drop stress, and help you achieve whatever mental-emotional state you would like out of your Sun Salutation pratice on any given day.

Basic Movements of the Sun Salutation 3

Order Your Own 81/2 x 11, High Resolution, Laminated Chart. Double sided with versions at different levels.

Details (Click on the names of the poses to learn more about them.)

Start in Mountain Pose, with your arms by your sides.
Tip Having your arms in line with the sides of your hip bones makes you fairly straight without you working hard at being straight.
Take a moment to elongate your spine: feel yourself growing 'taller' fer slightly, as if your vertebrae are separating very slightly.

Take time to feel your body letting go, sinking down, as you breathe out.
Relax your body bit by bit, with each breath out. (See Mountain Pose.)

Now you are ready to bring your hands up into Namaste position (prayer position) as shown here. Match the movement with your breath like this:
Breathe in and sweep your arms open wide, stretching them high over your head.
With your hands over head, join your palms.
Breathe out and lower your joined palms in front of you. Rest them in position in front of your heart.

Step 1 - Wood Chopper

Go into the Wood Chopper

In Part 2. the extreme backward stretch is shown here. If you're not up to to it, or you have back injuries, simply stretch up, without stretching back. Or stretch back just a little. Let pressure in your lower back be your guide to when you're going to far.

As you come forward, for part 4, fold forward like a door closing, keeping your arms fully stretched. Imagine you're drawing a circle from high over your head, down to the floor.

Don't hunch your back. Keep your spine elongated and arms fully stretched until they are ready to touch the floor.

Tip: As you fold forward, keep your arms in line with your ears as long as possible.

In the forward bend, in part 4, you can bend your knees in order to touch the floor. Try to keep the amount of bend even between both legs. Bend only as much as you need in order to avoid pain in your back or legs.

Once your hands are in touch with the floor, pause, let some weight sink into your hands, and check to be sure your spine is still fully elongated.

Safety Tip If you feel pressure in your lower back during part 2, the back bend part of the Wood Chopper, you are leaning back too far. Ease off. You will make more progress by respecting this warning than by pushing yourself.

Safety Tip 2 Keep your spine fully elongated and your arms stretching fully as you arch back and as you bend forward. This will allow you to arch farther and will take the strain off your lower back during both movements.

Tip During the foreward bend, keep your hands linked and alongside your ears as long as possible, before bringing them to the mat

Stretch up while Breathing In. Stretch back while Breathing Out. Breathe In while you stretch up again. Breathe Out when you fold forward.

Tip From here on, try to keep your hands in place, on the same spots on the floor. If you can't manage to do this, don't worry about it. In time you will become more and more comfortable with the movement, so that keeping your hands in place feels natural.

Tip When people can't keep their hands in one place during the Sun Slautation, it's uually because they didn't stretch their legs far enough back during the Lunge (in the next step).

Step 2 - The Lunge

Go into the Lunge, left leg back.

First Step into the basic, full lunge if you can manage it - with your leg fully back and your knee straight, but not locked.

If you can't do this comfortably, see our Lunge page for modifications. For starters, it's OK to bend your knee, until the day when you have more strength and flexibility in your legs.

Once in the lunge, be sure to put some weight on the back leg.
Then, breathng out, allow your hips to sink directly downward toward the floor.

Breathe in as you lift your hips up again.

Step 3 - The Cobra


1.	2.	3. Modification

Lower your body into the the Cobra

Lowering your body down is done like a reverse push up. Some people put in a scooping motion. For others, it's difficult to lower directly down to the floor. In that case, it's OK to lower your knees first, then your upper body and hips.

See our Cobra pages for ways to modify the cobra to your level of ability.
If you have difficulty doing a full cobra, you can lift yourself up only a little, as in picture #1, or even rest your weight on your elbows and lower arms, as in picture 3 until the day when your upper body is stronger.

Breathe Out as you lower your body downward.
Breathe in as you go fully into the cobra.

Safety Tip If you are going into the cobra and feel pressure in your lower back, you are leaning back too far. Ease off. You will make more progress by respecting this warning than by pushing yourself.

Safety Tip 2 Keep your spine fully elongated as you arch back. This will allow you to arch farther and will take the strain off your lower back.

Optional Twist

This option adds a work out for the obliques, the muscles at the sides of your chest. It's a good way to develop upper body strength and to develop your breathing muscles.

This variation is detailed in our Cobra pages.

After you go fully into the cobra, pause, then breathe out and turn your body to one side, turning from the waste.

Pause. Breathing in, return to the front and go back into a full cobra.

Pause. Breathe out, twist to the other side.

Pause. Breathing in return to the front.

Now you're ready for the next step in the Sun Salutation.

Step 4 - The Puppy

	Slide your hips back into the Puppy Enjoy the full stretch up your arms and back. Do this while Breathing Out.
If your shoulders and arms aren't ready to hold your weight, you can modify the pose by resting your weigh on your lower arms.

Step 5 - The Cat

Sweep your chest along the floor, toward your hands.

When your head reaches your hands, arch up into the cat.

Do this while Breathing In

Step 6 - The Lunge

Go into the Lunge again, only this time have the left foot forward.

To get into the Lunge from the Cat, lift your knees, then shift some weight into your hands and allow your body to come forward a bit. This will free up your legs to allow you to step forward.

Tip Just before you step forward, push your hips up, with a lively lifting motion. This will give your leg more room to swing forward. The lift is done by pushing up with your hands and your supporting leg.

See our Lunge page for tips modifications.

Breathe in as you go into the Lunge

Once in the lunge, be sure to put some weight on the back leg.
Then, Breathng out, allow your hips to sink directly downward toward the floor.

Breathe in as you lift your hips up again.

Step 7 (which brings you back to the start) - Wood Chopper
	Bring your back foot forward to join the front one. Again, this is done by pushing up, with a lively lifting motion, to give your back leg room to swing forward. Do this lift by pushing up with your hands and your back leg. Do this movement while Breathing Out Tip You can simply walk your feet forward toward your hands. That is not 'cheating'. This puts you into the forward bend part of the Wood Chopper again.
	You can return to standing in one of two ways: 1. As a rag doll, (which is safest and is gentler on your lower back),
	2. Or with your arms fully stretched out, in a reverse movement from the original Wood Chopper. Safety Tip If you come up with your arms fully extended, be sure to have your spine elongated and your arms well stretched. This will take some pressure off your lower back.
Do these movements while Breathing In and Out as much as you need to.

Now you're back where you started.
You can continue into another round of the Sun Salutation if you like.

If you continue: remember to alternate which leg you lunge back.
Think of it this way:

First round: Left foot back, on the way down. Left foot forward on the way up.

Second round: Right foot back, on the way down. Right foot forward on the way up.

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