Hi folks,
Please accept my most humble apologies as it's been about 2 weeks since I last posted something.
It's true that this blog is just a hobby, but I feel some responsibility towards my followers and it's pretty unacceptable to leave such long gaps, so once again: SORRY.
As all of you are either friends or family, I don't mind getting a bit personal. The last few weeks have been pretty difficult. Apart from the back pain you all know about, I've had several other medical appointments, including a gastroscopy and a breast biopsy. Things have been stressful, to put it mildly. It's also really difficult to find a bit of peace and quiet for recording voiceovers when you live with a vociferous Spanish husband, demanding elderly mum, and two cats who hate each other and fight all the time! Not to mention the noisy neighbours and the building works!
Anyway, enough excuses, here is the long-awaited sun salutation video. If you thought there were lots of different versions of the moon salutation, you have another think coming when it comes to sun salutations ;-) I know quite a few that are so different as to count as unique, plus there are loads of variations you can incorporate into each one.
The one I am showing you today is the first one I learnt. Some schools teach you to do downward facing dog twice instead of one plank and one down dog, but I've always preferred this version. There wasn't enough time to fit all the instructions into the voiceover, so please read the following carefully before you start.
1). When you touch your hands to the mat for the first time, keep your arms and back in a straight line while you transition from standing to touching the mat. Bend your knees as much as you need to, and straighten them when your hands are on the mat, if you can. Don't worry if you can't.
2) When you touch knees, chest and chin to the mat: try to keep your arms close to your body, with the elbows pointing upwards. There should be enough space to put your arm underneath your belly without it touching your body. Only your toes, knees, chest, chin and hands should touch the mat.
3) You may have noticed that the second time I went into downward facing dog, I rolled on my toes. If you'd like to learn how to do this, get in touch via the contact form and I'll post a separate video for that.
VERY IMPORTANT: PLEASE ASK ME HOW TO MODIFY SURYA NAMASKAR IF YOU ARE PREGNANT. You can still do it, but some changes need to be made. The same applies if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure or any other medical condition you haven't told me about.
Have FUN! If you practice yoga regularly, then do as many rounds as you like. If you are just starting out, I'd recommend aiming for 3 rounds (N.B: a round counts as doing the whole sequence once with the right leg and once with the left).
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