The Surya Namaskar is a foundational yoga posture originating from the Ashtanga Vinyasa method of Mysore and it serves as the beginning of many styles of Asana practice.
In Hindu temples, the sun god Surya is shown riding a chariot with seven horses indicating seven days of the week. Each of the 12 wheels of the chariot represents one month of the year and the eight folks in each wheel indicate the traditional divisions of the day.
In Buddhist art, Surya is shown on a chariot with wives of female arches by his side, shooting arrows and driving with the darkness of the night.
In the Upanishads, it is the Sun who reveals to sage Yagyavalkya that in the divine power Brahman, which is in us and in everything around us, is the potential to expand the mind and realise infinity.
A famous story from the Ramayana goes as follows: as a child, Hanuman was so strong that he jumped the sky to eat the rising sun thinking it was a golden fruit. When he grew up, he wanted to learn everything about the world and asked his mother how he could achieve this objective. His mother pointed to the sky and Hanuman went to Surya and said he wanted to learn everything that the sun god knew about the world. Surya said that he had no time to teach since he travelled all day and rested all night and does not even have a moment to pause. So, Hanuman decided to ride in front of the sun chariot each day so that Surya could teach him while they were travelling, and the Sun warned him that his heat would be intolerable. Hanuman replied that it did not matter, because knowledge cannot come without suffering and hard work.
Impressed by his determination, Surya agreed and Hanuman spent thousands of years staring at the sun from sunrise to sunset listening to everything the sun had to say. Thus imbued with knowledge, he realised his divine potential and transformed from Hanuman, the monkey to Hanuman, the God with infinite wisdom and power. He expressed his attitude to his teacher by designing Surya Namaskar.
This asana hence represents courage, determination and dedication to realise the divinity that exists within and around us.
