The sun was rising that cold November morning, as I peeped out from behind the curtains, my eyes still heavy. I noticed a frost kissed garden. Outside, the trees were still bare . As I looked into the long garden at the back of our home . I could see my father’s spindly figure, his face turned into the direction of the sun & upwards into the skies , I looked at him bemused . His arms stretched overhead, his bulbus eyes wide open . He stood there for sometime . I became concerned at his motionless being…. What was he doing ?

Little did I know decades later I would be learning something similar. But , later that day, I spoke to him , to said he was absorbing the sun rays , actually the term in Punjabi , translated was ‘I’m drinking the sun.’ My father has always been a funny one and at that time as a young girl , thought nothing more of it !

But years later , as a mature woman I had the opportunity to learn about the ancient wisdoms bestowed in Indian culture , this was through my yoga training with Total Yoga , learning ‘Hatha’ Yoga . Ha means ‘sun’ and ‘tha’ means the moon I learned that we have within us the moon and sun energy and these energies have different characteristics – also known as the Yin&Yang . The moon energy The Devine Feminine is cooling , the creativity, nurture , intuition & empathy on the other hand the Devine Masculine – is the Sun, the heat , strength, action . Both these are within us to different degrees, they need to be balanced in order for us to live our lives with magnificence , joy , passion , fullness where you blossom and start you to understand and know your inner self.

Practicing Surya Namaskar is best done early morning on an empty stomach.
There are 12 poses in each round that are synchronized with the breath. However, there are several versions on how to practice Surya Namaskar. But it is best to regularly practice one particular version to get the best benefits.
Besides good health, Surya Namaskar also provides an opportunity to express gratitude to the sun for sustaining life on this planet.

Jagdeep Dosanjh Badwal

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