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  • Navel-Gazers and Lotus-Eaters by Swami Veda Bharati
  • Worrying by Swami Rama
  • Rural Development: Sewing Project
  • Guru Purnima Retreat 2014
  • Guru Purnima as Gateway to the Infinite
  • Yoga-Tarangini by Swami Veda
  • When the Student Is Ready
  • O' World: Many Voices
  • Sadhana Yoga Conference by Cintamani Musello
  • Swami Hari Bandhu Bharati by Swami Prashant Bharati
  • Santosha – Happy to Breathe by Jim Fraser
  • Surya Namaskar and 'More'
  • My Commentary on the Yoga Sutras
  • Nava-ratra 2014 by Swami Veda Bharati
  • 2014 Events and Beyond
  • Full Moon Meditation Dates
  • Location of our SRSG ashram
• AHYMSIN Newsletter Archive

Surya Namaskar and 'More'

by Sarojini Bissessur-Asgarally

Surya Namaskar with Bija Mantras & Attitude of Worship

I was always fascinated since my childhood to watch people doing the particular posture of Ashtanga Pranama (Namaskara) and the way they move to Bhujangasana (Cobra) as if the postures were telling me something that I was not able to recall.

When I started doing Surya Namaskar at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) in 2010, I had to make great physical efforts of to cope with the perfect postures. Though I was glad to do the postures, my body needed tough stretching movement which was not easy. Fortunately with time, after regular practice of Sun Salutations at home, the stretch movements and the postures have become smoother.

However, it is quite recently, when I started doing the Surya Namaskar within the prescribed method of the level 2 programme in HYT-TTP, that the true meaning of surrendering myself naturally to the great divine forces started unfolding to me. While doing the Surya Namaskara with bija mantras and with the awareness to specific chakras on specific postures, my eyes closed instantly and I started feeling the energy lights inside myself. It gives me pleasure to do the Sun Salutations and I don’t feel much of the physical efforts of stretching exercises of my body but I feel the shining of lights within; it is like a dance in the divine light. I am more at ease in doing the Sun Salutations with the twelve mantras for each twelve postures. This is because I feel an emotion arising within me to surrender my whole being to the divine forces within me and to the great forces of the Universe especially when I think of the beautiful Sanskrit mantras with the appropriate postures. The Sanskrit mantras are very meaningful for me because I am so familiar to the Vedic chanting of the few expressions like Savitre - savitur, Pooshney/Poosha, Surya, Mitra and Aditya, Hiranyagarbha.

The sequence of the asanas are indeed like a worship with the whole  body where mind, speech and action are united in one flow of movements, and by doing so, anybody can be taken up with the magnificence of the cosmic lights that make me bow down humbly and surrender to the divine force.

I find the bija mantras a bit confusing because the bija-mantras change; for example, in the first Lunge Posture, we say Hraim and at the second Lunge Posture, we say Hrum whereas the same bija mantra applies to first forward bending and at the second forward bending, we say Hraim. I find the Sanskrit mantras easier for me.

I surrender myself to the Guru lineage because now I can understand why I was fascinated since my childhood to the Ashtanga Pranama that is the prostrations into eight angas (limbs) with: feet, knees, hands, bosom and head + thoughts, word and glance.

Editor’s Note:

Sarojini Bissessur-Asgarally is a student in HYT-TTP (Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program), and is from Mauritius.

For more about the HYT-TTP (Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program), we invite you to visit their website at http://www.himalayanyogatradition.com/. The next teacher training retreat at SRSG is scheduled for 9th – 22nd November 2014.