The Book of Chakras & Subtle Bodies

Sūrya namaskāra literally means ‘salute to the sun’. It is a sequence of 12 poses that join harmoniously together in a vinyāsa (a continuous dynamic flow), creating a dynamic balance in the mind, body, breath and chakras. The sun symbolizes spiritual consciousness, light, purity, vitality and clarity. Regular daily practice of sūrya namaskāra imparts the power and radiance of the sun. Sūrya namaskāra pays homage to the 12 houses of Vedic astrology. Each morning the yogi would perform the 12 āsanas of the sūrya namaskāra vinyāsa as a homage to the 12 houses in his or her birth chart, while concentrating on each chakra, with the corresponding sūrya namaskāra mantra repeated mentally before the change of each āsana position. This enabled the yogis to align their energies with the stars of their personal birth chart and align and integrate the tattvas of the body with the tattvas as they appear in the universe. When sūrya namaskāra vinyāsa is performed in a steady, meditative and rhythmic manner, it reflects the rhythms of the universe and the 12 zodiac phases of the year.

Sūrya namaskāra has a direct vitalizing effect on the solar energy which flows through the piṅgalā nāḍī, the solar prānic channel associated with the right nostril. Daily performance of sūrya namaskāra regulates the piṅgalā nāḍī, balancing both the mental and physical energy systems.

Sūrya namaskāra is an integrated spiritual yoga practice that combines the benefits of āsana, yogic breathing, concentration and meditation. There are no limitations due to age or gender; it can be practised safely by anyone fit and healthy enough to perform the movements, and very little is required to derive immediate and tangible benefit.

Sūrya namaskāra is traditionally performed at the beginning of āsana practice, because it warms the body and increases the circulation.

Benefits: It stretches and strengthens all the major muscle groups of the body, flexes the spine forward and backward, opening the front and back of the spine. Stretches the long muscles of the back and the backs of the legs in the forward bends. Stimulates and balances the circulatory, respiratory, digestive and endocrine systems. It warms the body by increasing the blood circulation, and oxygenates the blood to the brain. It coordinates breath, mind and body, and influences the pineal gland and hypothalamus. Balances the chakras.

Contraindications: Do not practise if you suffer from high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, or if you have had a stroke. Avoid practising if you have a slipped disc or sciatica. Women should not practise at the onset of menstruation.

The following 12 āsanas in the sequence of sūrya namaskāra bring the body and mind into balance, directing the life-force into stability and equilibrium, and into the realm of stillness in preparation for meditation, which is the path of Rāja Yoga.

I bow to that Primordial Supreme Being who has taught this science of Hāṭha Yoga, which is the best means for attaining Rāja Yoga for all those who desire to do so.

Salutations to Adinātha [Śiva] who expounded the knowledge of Hāṭha Yoga, which like a staircase leads the aspirant to the higher pinnacled Rāja Yoga.’

Stand with the feet slightly apart. Bring the palms of the hands together in front of the chest, over the centre of your being, the heart centre, in the gesture of respect and devotion. Close your eyes and become aware of your whole body. Remain still and become centred within and become aware of your natural breath. Feel gratitude for the life-giving energy of the sun, and for the vitalizing prāṇa that flows through you.

Mantra: oṁ mitrāya namaḥ (Salutations to the Friend of all)

Bīja mantra: hrāṁ

Chakra: anāhata

Inhale as you sweep your arms out to the side and raise them parallel above your head, with the upper arms aligned with the ears, with the palms facing the front. Feel the front of your spine lengthening and your chest and heart opening as you gently stretch backward. Look upwards. Feel that you are opening your being to vitality and life.

As a variation, instead of stretching the arms and torso upwards, you can stretch slightly backwards.

Mantra: oṁ ravaya namaḥ (Salutations to the Shining One)

Bīja mantra: hrīṁ

Chakra: viśuddha

Exhale with the arms extended above the head and fold the torso forward from the hip joints and lumbar spine, keeping the spine long and straight. Let the forward bend be an offering of gratitude. Place your hands facing forward, flat on the floor, on either side of the feet with the fingers in line with the toes. Release your head so that its weight can stretch the long muscles of the back. Keep the knees straight and draw the thigh muscles up. At the end of the exhalation, draw your chin in and try to touch the knees with the forehead. Lift the sitting bones by contracting the abdominal muscles.

If your legs and back muscles are tight and you are unable to keep the knees straight in the forward bend, then bend the knees a little.

Mantra: oṁ sūryāya namaḥ (Salutations to the Lord of the Sun, initiator of activity)

Bīja mantra: hrūṁ

Chakra: svādhiṣṭhāna.

Inhale and step the right foot back as far as you can, lowering the top of the foot and the leg to the floor. The toes of the left foot are tucked under. Bend the left knee so that it is directly over the left foot with the shin perpendicular to the floor (the position of least strain for the knee ligaments). Press the pelvis forward. The hands remain parallel on the floor in line with the left foot. At the same time, lift the chest and raise your head and extend the front of your throat and neck without strain, looking upwards at the midpoint between the eyebrows.

Mantra: oṁ bhānave namaḥ (Salutations to the One who illumines)

Bīja mantra: hraīṁ

Chakra: ājñā

While exhaling, extend the left foot back beside your right foot. Form an inverted V with your body by raising the hips, buttocks and pelvis, and straighten the arms and legs. Push your heels down to the floor. The feet are facing forward, spaced 25 cm (12 in.) apart. Slightly roll your arms inwards, as you press the thumbs and index fingers to the floor. Move your shoulder blades toward your hands and your spine toward your pelvis. Look towards your navel, and draw your belly toward your spine, so that you concave the abdomen. Pull up on the knees and thighs. Stretch evenly from shoulders to hips, and down through the backs of the legs. Relax the head and back of the neck. Hold the pose for five breaths, feeling the flow of the breath.

Mantra: oṁ khagāya namaḥ (Salutations to He who moves quickly in the sky)

Bīja mantra: hraūṁ

Chakra: viśuddha

Without moving the hands and feet from the previous pose, bend your elbows and knees as you lower your body to the floor. Lower your chest, raise the hips and buttocks, and align the shoulders with the fingers. Only the knees, chest, chin and hands are in contact with the floor. Hold the breath out.

Mantra: oṁ pūsṇe namaḥ (Salutations to the One who cherishes and nourishes the world)

Bīja mantra: hraḥ

Chakra: maṇipūra

Place your legs slightly more than hip-width apart, and your palms under the shoulders with the fingertips resting directly beneath the shoulders. Press your elbows against the body, inhale, and push up using your back muscles with some support from your arms. Slowly raise your torso, but keep the navel on the floor, while gently pressing the legs down. Try to create the back arch from the mid-back, rather than the neck and the lower back. Keep the chest open. Lift the head and extend the neck without straining it, and gaze straight ahead.

Mantra: oṁ hiraṇyagarbhāya namaḥ (Salutations to the Golden Embryo from which the creation emanates)

Bīja Mantra: hrāṁ

Chakra: svādhiṣṭhāna

Exhaling, make a smooth transition from the cobra pose into downward facing dog pose by coming up on to the knees first and then pushing back, lifting the hips high, with the head and trunk down. With the hands shoulder-width apart, press the heels of the hands into the floor, stretch the fingers and extend the arms up. As you press with your hands, try to lift your forearms away from the floor; this will help to stabilize your shoulders. Pull up on the knees and thighs, and stretch down through the backs of the legs. Press your hips back and up. Relax the head and back of the neck. Hold the pose for five breaths, feeling the flow of the breath.

Mantra: Oṁ marīcaye namaḥ (Salutations to the Lord of the dawn)

Bīja mantra: hrīṁ

Chakra: viśuddha

Start to inhale as you step forwards. Bend the left leg and step the left foot between the hands. The left knee should be directly over the left foot with the shin perpendicular to the floor. The hands should remain parallel on the floor in line with the left foot. Push the pelvis forward. At the same time, lift the chest and raise your head and extend the front of your throat and neck without strain, looking upwards at the midpoint between the eyebrows.

Mantra: oṁ āditāya namaḥ (Salutations to Āditi, the Celestial Divine Mother of every existing form and being)

Bīja Mantra: hrūṁ

Chakra: ājñā

Exhale with the arms extended above the head and fold the torso forward from the hip joints and lumbar spine, keeping the spine long and straight. Place your hands facing forward, flat on the floor, on either side of the feet with the fingers in line with the toes. Release your head so that its weight can stretch the long muscles of the back. Keep the knees straight and draw the thigh muscles up. Try to touch the knees with the forehead. Lift the sitting bones by contracting the abdominal muscles.

Mantra: oṁ sāvitre namaḥ (Salutations to Sāvitre, the power of consciousness)

Bīja mantra: hraīṁ

Chakra: svādhiṣṭhāna

Inhale, stretch fully and radiantly with a straight spine as you sweep your arms out to the side and raise them parallel above your head, aligning the upper arms with your ears, with the palms facing the front. Feel the front of your spine lengthening and your chest and heart opening. Look upwards.

Mantra: oṁ arkāya namaḥ (Salutations to the One whose radiance arcs across the sky)

Bīja mantra: hraūṁ

Chakra: viśuddha

Stand with the feet slightly apart. Bring the palms of the hands together in front of the chest, over the centre of your being, the heart centre, in the gesture of respect and devotion. Close your eyes and become aware of your whole body. Remain still and centred within and become aware of your natural breath as you feel the energy radiating through your body, and the heart-opening effects of this sequence.

Mantra: oṁ bhāskarāya namaḥ (Salutations to the luminous One, the source of enlightenment and wisdom)

Bīja mantra: hraḥ

Chakra: anāhata

This completes one round of sūrya namaskāra. As you perform the second round repeat all 12 positions, but this time in positions 4 and 9 – aśva sañcālanāsana – step the left foot back as far as you can, lowering the top of the foot and the leg to the floor. Bend the right knee so that it is directly over the left foot with the shin perpendicular to the floor.

Although sūrya namaskāra can be practised at any time of the day, the early morning hours according to the yogis are particularly auspicious for practising yogāsanas, prāṇāyāma and meditation. The hour just before sunrise is called Brahma muhūrta (‘time of God’); at this time there is a preponderance of sattvic or spiritual vibrations in the atmosphere, giving calmness and clarity to the mind. These early hours of the morning, from 3.45 a.m. to 5.30 a.m., and when the day breaks into night, between 6.30 p.m. and 8.00 p.m., are good times to practise sūrya namaskāra, prāṇāyāma and meditation. You will gain the maximum spiritual benefit during these times. Getting up early will allow you to experience inner stillness as you tune in to the Great Silence and offer your energy to a greater intention to start your day. You will be able to balance and awaken the energy in your chakras.

You can open and close your sūrya namaskāra practice by reciting the Gāyatrī mantra, a prayer to the Divine Light. The Gāyatrī is a cosmic rhythm consisting of 24 syllables arranged as a triplet of eight syllables each. The individual syllables contain an energy seed for each of the seven celestial planes of light. The chakras become tuned to the energy of each of the seven planes of light by chanting the Gāyatrī mantra for many repetitions over a period of time.

The Gāyatrī mantra first appears in the ancient Ṛg Veda (III, 62: 10) and later in the Yajur Veda and Sāma Veda, and in the Upaniṣads.

Oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ
tat savitur vareṇyaṁ
bhargo devasya dhīmahi
dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt

We meditate upon the splendour of the Divinity, the Spiritual Effulgence of that Adorable Supreme Divine Reality, the Source of the Physical, the Astral and the Heavenly Spheres of Existence. May that Supreme Divine Being enlighten our intellect so that we may realize the Supreme Truth.

Practise three to 12 rounds slowly with awareness on the movements of the body synchronized with the breathing.

Practise three to 12 rounds, moving more quickly, but still synchronizing the breathing with the movements of the body. Advanced students may increase the number of rounds, but strain and fatigue should be avoided.

Practise three to 12 rounds slowly with your concentration on the chakra related to the yoga pose, while mentally reciting the full mantra for that particular pose. For example, in the first position – prāṇamāsana – concentrate on the heart chakra, and mentally chant oṁ mitrāya namaḥ .

Alternatively, you can practise reciting the bīja mantras, the seed syllables that set up powerful energy vibrations within the mind and body. For example, in the first position, concentrate on the heart chakra, and mentally chant the short bīja mantra ‘hrāṁ ’.