Benefits: Strengthens and stretches the entire body; keeps spine flexible
Helps: Endurance, low energy, poor circulation, imbalanced spirit

Sun Salutation A

  1. Begin standing in mountain pose (tadasana) with your big toes touching, hands in prayer position.
  2. Inhale as you extend your arms overhead, bringing your palms back together, and look up toward your hands. Exhale as you bend from your hips and lower your torso toward the floor, keeping your spine straight. Place your fingertips on the floor in line with your toes and bring your torso and head toward your legs in standing forward bend (uttanasana).
  3. Inhale as you rise onto your fingertips, straighten your arms, and lift your torso, broadening across your collarbones and lengthening your spine. Look forward as you exhale and step your right foot back into a lunge and lower your hips toward the floor. Place your palms flat on the floor.
  4. Inhale and step your left leg back into plank pose.
  5. Exhale as you bend your elbows in close to your ribcage and lower your body into low push-up (chaturanga).
  6. Inhale as you lower your hips and thighs, press the tops of your feet into floor, and come into upward-facing dog pose (urdhva mukha svanasana).
  7. Exhale as you lift your hips and press back into downward-facing dog pose (adho mukha svanasana). Hold for five breaths.
  8. Inhale as you look forward and step your right foot up between your hands, coming back into a lunge. Exhale and step your left foot to meet your right foot and straighten your legs.
  9. Inhale and rise onto your fingertips, straighten your arms, and lift your torso, broadening across your collarbones and lengthening your spine. Look forward. Then exhale as you lower your palms to the floor and bring your torso and head toward your legs in a standing forward bend.
  10. Inhale as you come back up to standing, sweep your arms overhead, and bring your palms together. Exhale as you lower your hands in front of your chest to prayer position. Take a breath here.
  11. Exhale and release your arms to your sides, returning to tadasana.
  12. Inhale to switch sides and repeat.

Sun Salutation B

  1. Inhale and shift your weight back into your heels, bend your knees, and lower your hips, bringing your thighs parallel to the floor. Sweep your arms out and up toward the ceiling, palms facing in, coming into chair pose (utkatasana).
  2. Exhale and bring your hands to the floor, fingertips in line with your toes. Then straighten your legs, bringing your torso toward your thighs in a standing forward bend.
  3. Inhale as you rise onto your fingertips, straighten your arms, and lift your torso, broadening across your collarbones and lengthening your spine. Look forward.
  4. Exhale as you place your palms on the floor just outside your feet, bend your knees slightly, and jump back into chaturanga.
  5. Inhale as you lower your hips and thighs, press the tops of your feet into floor, and pull your chest through your upper arms into upward-facing dog.
  6. Exhale, lifting your hips and pressing back into downward-facing dog pose.
  7. Inhale as you look forward, step your right foot up between your hands, turn your left foot 45 degrees out to the left, and rise into warrior I pose (virabhadrasana). Sweep your arms overhead and bring your palms together.
  8. Exhale as you lower your arms through prayer position, place your palms on the floor, step your right leg back into plank pose, and lower your body in chaturanga.
  9. Inhale as you lower hips, press the tops of your feet into the floor, and come back into upward-facing dog.
  10. Exhale as you lift your hips and press back into downward-facing dog.
  11. Inhale as you look forward and step your left foot up between hands, turn your right foot out 45 degrees to the right, and rise into warrior I. Sweep your arms overhead and bring your palms together.
  12. Exhale as you lower your arms through prayer position, place your palms flat on the floor, step your left leg back into plank pose, and lower into chaturanga.
  13. Inhale as you lower your hips, press the tops of your feet into floor, and pull your chest through your arms into upward-facing dog.
  14. Exhale as you press your hips back into downward-facing dog. Hold for five breaths.
  15. At the end of your last exhale, look forward between your hands, bend your knees, and jump your feet up between your hands.
  16. Inhale as you straighten your legs, rise onto your fingertips, straighten your arms, and lift your torso, broadening across your collarbones and lengthening your spine. Look forward.
  17. Exhale as you lower your palms to the floor and fold your torso and head toward legs in a forward bend.
  18. Inhale as you bend your knees, drop your thighs and hips toward floor, and lift your chest, and sweep your arms overhead, palms to touch, into chair pose.
  19. Exhale as you look up, straighten your legs, lower your hands to prayer in front of your chest.
  20. Release your arms to your sides, coming back into mountain pose.