Vedic Origins (1500 – 500 BCE)
- Rooted in sun worship from the Rig Veda, where Surya (the sun) was honored as a life-giving force. Early practices involved chanting mantras, visualizing the rising sun, and making *prostrations – more devotional than physical.
Medieval Practices (12th – 18th century)
- Classical Hatha Yoga texts described asanas, breath control, and purification. Physical prostrations existed in temple rituals and martial traditions, which may have influenced later movement sequences.
Modern Codification (Early 20th Century)
- Pratinidhi Pant, Ten-Point Way to Health (1928), The Raja of Aundh’s publication formalized the Sun Salutation as a daily physical fitness routine.
Integration into Modern Yoga (1930s-1970s)
- Krishnamacharya adapted the sequence into his Mysore yoga school, blending it with asana and breath work. His students Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi – spread lineage specific variations worldwide. It is during this time that Sun Salutations became the foundations of Vinyasa Yoga, used to warm up and link postures.
Current
- Still used in traditional form with mantras, especially in sunrise practices. Modern versions vary across lineages, Hatha, Sivananda, Ashtanga, Vinyasa – but all retain breath-movement flow and symbolic honoring of the sun.
References:
Yoga Journal, “The Sun Salutation Decoded: Learn Surya Namaskar”, McGonigal, Kelly
Akram yoga, “A History of the Sun Salutation Sequence”, Akram, Zahir
*prostrations- Physical expression of self-surrender to God, or self-surrender to your guru.
