Last weekend, San Francisco was treated to a string of warm days. Aside from working on my tan, the thing I love most about warm summer days is the bounce in everyone’s step. People smile a bit more and the sidewalks are full of people out and about enjoying the feeling of being kissed by the sun. There is a feeling of gratitude in the air—not for any one thing, but for the gift of life itself.

In our modern world, we can easily forget just how important the sun is to our survival. If the sun doesn’t come out, we have artificial light to brighten our days, and yet on sunny, warm days we are reminded of just how important the sun is and that human sources of light don’t quite cut it.

In just about every yoga class we practice Surya Namaskar or “Sun Salutations”. Most often we do this for practical reasons— namely to heat the body in preparation for deeper stretching. But Sun Salutations were not developed with the physical benefits in mind.

Once, while in India, I was taking a flat boat down the Ganges River at sunrise. As we floated down the river I was awestruck by the hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims who had flocked to the river’s edge to offer prayers. Some lit candles and others burned incense. Many were floating flowers down the river and dipping in to wash away their bad Karma.

What was most inspiring to me as a yogi, was watching various Sadhus (Hindu mystics) practicing Sun Salutations. None of them had fancy yoga mat bags or colorful yoga mats. Most were wearing nothing but a loincloth. And by western standards their form and alignment was sub par. Yet they had something you rarely see in the West— devotion.

Surya Namaskar was originally a form of prayer that would be offered each morning in gratitude for the rising sun. The yogis of old understood that all prana (life energy) was given by the sun and without its blessing each day the plants would not grow leaving all living things without food or oxygen. Thus offering prayers of gratitude to the sun each morning were an essential part of yogic spirituality.

Because we so often practice yoga in a studio, many of us are denied the joy of feeling the first light of the morning warming our skin as we flow through our Sun Salutations. This basic sequence of poses is a highly effective way of connecting us to the life energy that extends from the sun, through the earth and within all living things.

The next time you are practicing Surya Namaskar, take a moment to remember that the sequence of movements you are doing is not just about how much you can sweat. It is a body prayer that offers gratitude for the life you were born into, and for the abundance that sustains you. When you do that, I think you will find your entire yoga practice will take on a new depth and richness. Better yet, make a commitment to getting up at sunrise and going outside—to the park, the beach or even your back deck. Turn to face the rising sun and let your body move through Sun Salutations. Don’t worry about doing the poses perfectly or about working up a sweat. Just enjoy the movement, the breath and the gratitude. Then notice how differently your day unfolds.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Darren's Essays & Articles, Modern Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.