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Lower back, hips and shoulders

Surya A: Therapeutic

A flowing sequence that wakes your whole body at a controlled, safe pace.

Transitional120 to 240 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand and let one full breath lead each change

    Slower than feels natural. The sequence warms the spine by cycling gently between rounding and arching, and the cycling only works at a breath led pace.

  2. 2

    Reach up, then take a half fold with soft knees

    The knees stay soft and the fold stops halfway, with the chest reaching forward and the spine long. Hands on blocks if the floor is a long way away.

  3. 3

    Step back and let the knees drop to the floor

    The knees come down for the transitions so you are never holding yourself up on the arms. A shorter step keeps this comfortable.

  4. 4

    Warm through a small arch, then round back

    Both ends of the cycle stay small. The aim is that the whole spine moves a little, not that any one position goes far.

  5. 5

    Keep cycling for two to four minutes

    Arms out to the sides instead of overhead if the overhead reach is too much, and skip any position that does not suit today.

What to watch for

Holding the shapes instead of moving through them. This one is a cycle rather than a set of poses, so if you are gripping anywhere long enough to feel strain, keep moving and drop the knees earlier in the transitions.

Ways to adjust it

  • Hands on blocks
  • Skip the deep positions
  • Shorter step
  • Arms out to the sides instead of overhead

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.

Start your first session

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.