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Surya A: Knee Down

The traditional Hatha sun salutation: a full, flowing sequence where each lunge lands with the back knee gently down, giving you the complete classical practice with steady, supported transitions.

Transitional240 to 360 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand at the top of the mat and reach up

    Keep the overhead reach smaller if that is plenty for your shoulders today.

  2. 2

    Fold forward and step one foot back

    Hands to the floor or onto blocks, which saves you a long reach down. Shorten the stance so the front hip and knee stay in a range they are happy with.

  3. 3

    Set the back knee down, do not drop it

    Lower the back knee under control onto the mat. A cushion under the knee and padding under the back foot make the kneeling part much kinder.

  4. 4

    Travel through the floor positions with the knee down

    The hands take some weight through this section, so use fists or fingertips if flat palms bother your wrists. Keep the gaze neutral and the holds short.

  5. 5

    Step back to the front, rise, and change sides

    Repeat for four to six minutes, keeping the range through the folds smaller if that suits you better.

What to watch for

The back knee arriving hard, and the stance getting longer as you warm up. Pad the knee and keep the stride short, and if anything starts to spread further down a leg, stop the round there.

Ways to adjust it

  • Neutral spine
  • Smaller range through the folds
  • Small range
  • Stop if symptoms spread
  • Gaze neutral
  • Short holds
  • Hands on blocks
  • Smaller range overhead
  • Fists or fingertips
  • Shorten the stance
  • Cushion under the knee
  • Pad the back foot
  • Smaller step

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Sun Salutation versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

One movement is a start. A session is the thing.

A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.

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From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.