Alignment is critical for practicing postures efficiently and in developing physical awareness. Experiential yoga facilitates this awareness through the exploration of subtle adjustments in various poses. This session will review basic alignment cues and subtle adjustments through a simple form of sun salutation (Surya Namaskar) as participants develop a better understanding of the most popular form of yoga exercise. Lastly, we will also review the points of concentration offered by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, which accompany the poses for Surya Namaskara sequence practiced at the Bihar School of Yoga.

The everyday habits we have formed regarding how we carry our bodies is generally not beneficial. We slouch because it is easy. The car seats, couches and chairs, tend to weaken rather than strengthen the lower back. These, along with other actions, induce a chain reaction of misalignment that eventually becomes expressed in the hips, shoulders, neck, etc. By developing an awareness of alignment when practicing yoga poses (asana) with regularity, a practitioner will begin to observe the re-conditioning of posture in their everyday life, as well as, an overall healthier disposition.

One important note to make is that different schools promote different variations of the sun salutations. It is not to say that any one or the other is more valid or beneficial. They all essentially achieve the same results. However, what is important is how we approach the practice. Also, the names of the poses have varied over time and culture. Take mountain pose for example, this pose would be represented (to most people in the U.S.) as a standing pose with the arms extended downward with the palms open and forward-facing. However, for some contemporaries, mountain pose is parvatasana, a.k.a. downward-facing dog.