Lower back, upper back, neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, knees and ankles

Surya A: Little Sun Salutation

A short, rhythmic floor flow that moves your whole body through hips, shoulders and spine: one complete practice in a single video, no standing required.

How to do it

1. 1

   Start kneeling with your hands on your thighs

   Everything in this flow happens on the floor, so there is no standing and no balancing at any point.

2. 2

   Come up from kneeling onto your feet in a crouch

   Heels down or lifted, whichever your ankles prefer, with the hands resting on the thighs for support. Keep the knee bend partial if the fronts of your knees complain.

3. 3

   Bring the hands down and come onto all fours

   Hands under the shoulders, knees under the hips, spine long. Fists or fingertips instead of flat palms if the wrists object.

4. 4

   Press back to Downward Dog for a breath or two

   Short visits rather than long holds. Blocks under the hands reduce how far the arms travel overhead.

5. 5

   Reverse the flow and repeat for six to seven minutes

   Come back through all fours, the crouch and kneeling, then start again. Choose a pace you could keep for the whole time.

What to watch for

Nothing is held for long here, but the arms and shoulders take weight over and over for several minutes and it adds up. If the overhead position starts to ache, shorten your visits there or rest on all fours between rounds rather than pushing on.

Ways to adjust it

• Partial knee bend
• Hands on the thighs
• 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
• 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.

• Surya A: Chair Supported

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.

• Surya A: Chair Supported
• Surya A: Classical
• Surya A: Gentle / Modified
• Surya A: Knee Down
• Surya A: Midline Focus
• Surya A: Therapeutic

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.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.