Introduction-
Surya Namaskar can be defined as the single solution to multiple diseases; this yoga is derived from two words: ‘Surya’ which means sun, ‘namaskar’ means salutation or worship. So Surya Namaskar means worship of the sun. Surya Namaskar has been practiced in Indian culture for ages and had multiple health, mental and spiritual benefits.
Some of the major benefits of Surya Namaskar (sun salutations) include improved cardiovascular health, joint strengthening, cures insomnia, increases the height of growing adults, fat loss, glowing skin, improved digestion, better posture, stress relief, sexual health, body toning, and spiritual health.
Surya namaskar comprises of 12 yogic posed in a cyclic way. These cyclic movements of Surya Namaskar with controlled breathing, backbends, forward bends, invigorating and calming poses help us achieve many different benefits through single yogic exercise.
Lets dig deep into every detail of Surya Namaskar and its benefits.
12 Surya Namaskar steps
21 Surya Namaskar Benefits:
These days Surya namaskar has been performed all over the world due to its physical, mental, and spiritual benefits, there have been continuous studies on different benefits of Surya Namaskar and it will be too difficult to list each and every effect of this amazing yoga practice but we will be discussing all major 21 benefits of Surya Namaskar. Let’s start:
1- Increases Height
Surya namaskar has proven to be an effective solution for the height growth problem. Young kids can surely add up a few inches to their height by constantly practicing Surya Namaskar.
Surya namaskar helps in addressing some key reasons for height growth; performing Surya Namaskar stretches the spine and legs which leads to lengthening of height. Additionally, it helps the practitioner with better posture, which makes him look stronger and taller.
2- Regulates Menstrual Cycle For Women
A Study conducted by Indian researchers found the positive effect of performing pranayama and Surya namaskar. A group of female volunteers was made to practice pranayama and Surya namaskar regularly which resulted in the regulation of their menstrual cycle.
3- Glowing Skin
Surya namaskar promotes a better flow of blood all over the body, which makes your skin cells supplied with more oxygen and nutrients.
Surya namaskar also vitalizes your body and makes you feel energetic, which helps in getting an extra glow in the skin.
4- Stronger Joints
Surya namaskar is a multi-joint exercise that works from head to toe. It involves almost all the joints of the body and Surya namaskar’s different poses help to get your joints lubricated and properly stretches.
Due to better blood flow in the body, body joints get the essential nutrition and vitamin supplies.
5- Shreds Fat
Logic is pretty simple; the more muscles get involved in your exercise the more calories you burn. Practicing Surya Namaskar can be a great cardiovascular exercise with the benefits of muscle development as well.
6- Healthy Hair
We have discussed in the above point that Surya namaskar helps in better blood flow in all over the body; the mountain pose helps blood to flow towards the scalp, which helps in healthier and stronger hairs. It leads to lower hair fall as well.
7- Relieves Anxiety
As like any other yoga practice, Surya namaskar is a great stress buster. Practicing Surya Namaskar regularly can improve the quality of life.
Study conducted by Australian researchers included 131 volunteers with moderate stress who performed 10 weeks of regular yoga practice. Study results proved there is a significant reduction in stress levels of volunteers and it improved their quality of life.
8- Detoxify
Surya namaskar helps in detoxifying your body on many levels, it helps to eliminate toxin through sweating, Surya namaskar aid in the healthy digestion process which ultimately excretes all the harmful substances from the body.
Surya namaskar helps in maintaining healthy heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys which results in better excretion of all the body waste and harmful chemicals.
9- Cure Insomnia
Insomnia is a common lifestyle disease, due to high stress and an unhealthy lifestyle more people in the world are affected by insomnia. Surya namaskar can be an effective way to cure insomnia through reducing stress levels and living a healthier lifestyle.
10- Better Digestion
Practicing Surya namaskar benefits in releasing the trapped gases within the stomach, it’s different yoga posture massages your internal organs which leads to better functioning and better digestion.
Surya namaskar affects all the major parts of the digestive system like the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestine, and liver. This is done because of the constant stretching and contraction of internal organs. So start performing Surya namaskar from today to get a stronger digestive system.
11- Makes You Flexible
12 different poses of Surya namaskar benefit your body to get the optimum flexibility. Yoga has been known for its ability to improve the flexibility of the body.
- Mountain pose– helps in stretching spine, glutes, hamstring, and calves
- Cobra pose– helps in stretching neck, spine and abdominal. It also helps in opening chest.
- Equestrian pose– helps in opening chest, stretching Quards, glutes and spine.
- Hand to foot pose– helps in stretching the whole body.
- Raised arms pose– helps in opening chest and shoulders, stretches neck, spine, core, abdominals, and glutes.
12- Better Blood Flow
Surya namaskar benefits through improved full-body stretching and contraction. You are helping your body with better blood flow. Poses like the cobra pose and mountain pose help in getting the blood flow throughout the body.
Improved blood flow will make you feel more energetic and will activate all the muscles and organs for proper functioning.
13- Mental Health
One of the most common lifestyle diseases most people are experiencing is stress. Daily stress is raising continuously and there needs to be some solution to it.
Stress results in anxiety, low testosterone, nervousness, and insomnia. So basically you are slowly killing yourself due to the most common lifestyle disease.
Deep breathing while Surya namaskar benefits in reducing the daily stress and helps you feel revitalized.
14- Stronger Bones
There is a reason Surya namaskar is suggested to be practiced in the open while practicing this yogic exercise in the open you make your body get its daily dose of natural vitamin D.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin to make calcium to be deposited into your body, vitamin D also helps in the production of testosterone hormone, which leads to better muscle development.
15- Gain Muscle
There are two reasons why Surya namaskar benefits in muscle growth:
- Its multi-joint poses help you train your whole body which leads to more muscle development and more fat loss
- By getting an optimum dose of vitamin D, the body gets to produce more testosterone hormone. As we all know testosterone is a growth hormone which helps in gaining more muscle mass.
16- Better Posture
With the effects on all the major muscle groups, better posture is another benefit of Surya namaskar. While performing Surya namaskar you are training your spine, chest, shoulders, glutes, and legs.
Surya namaskar also helps in reducing stiffness within any muscle, which also assists in better posture.
17- Over All Body Development
With every different pose of Surya namaskar, you are transforming your body into a healthier being. Surya namaskar benefits you with these body developments:
- Stronger lungs for better endurance.
- Stronger muscle for better strength
- Lower stress for happy life
- Stronger digestive system for health excretion of toxins
- Better posture for more confidence
- Stronger and flexible joints
18- Improved Sexual Health
What does it need to have good sexual health?
- Good blood flow
- Healthy organs
- Lower fat deposition
- Low stress
- High testosterone level
Surya Namaskar provides the entire ingredient to have better sexual health.
19- Stronger Immune System
With the healthy working of all internal organs, low stress, and better excretion of body waste, you are gifting your body a stronger immune system.
Needless to say, the importance of a strong immune system, practicing Surya namaskar benefits you with diseases free life.
20- Stronger Respiratory System
We have discussed the improvement in the digestive system then how can we forget the respiratory system. Studies have proven the effectiveness of the regular practice of Surya namaskar on the respiratory system.
Volunteers who were hired for the study were found to improve their cardiovascular endurance, and better breathing capabilities.
An online magazine published a story of an Indian soldier name: Lance Naik Hanumanthappa who was trapped under thick snow due to an avalanche at Siachen (world’s highest battleground), he was rescued after 6 days and was found alive (died afterward). Lance Naik Hanumanthappa was a daily yoga practitioner. Practicing yoga drastically increased his lung capacity to survive for 6 days.
21- Beneficial For Diabetics
Surya namaskar has been beneficial for diabetics as well. Performing this yoga moderates the insulin level of the body and also helps in regulating fat percentage.
22- Spiritual Significance
Yog has always been related to the body’s spiritual context as well, yoga has always considered being a workout for the mind as well as body, it helps in attaining calm mind. Surya Namaskar helps balance the three main constitutions of the body; Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. This gives an internal spiritual balance that rides you through all kinds of stress and improves your immunity.
Surya namaskar Muscles worked:
Surya Namaskar comprises 7 different yogic poses that make it a routine to train every single muscle group. To understand the number of muscles worked you need to understand the muscle used in every single pose of Surya Namaskar.
- Pranamasana: Prayer Pose
Muscles worked? Starting position of the Surya Namaskar, the body is at ease, no muscle at work. - Hasta Uttanasana: Raised Hands Pose
Muscles worked? Stretches the whole posterior chain and abdominal area. - Pada hastasana: Standing Forward Fold
Muscles worked? Experience full backstretch; Activates the whole spine, glutes, hamstring, and calves. - Ashwa sanchalanasana: Equestrian Pose
Muscles worked? Strengthens the spine, opens the chest, and stretches Quadriceps and Gluts. - Parvatasana: mountain pose
Muscles worked? Stretches the full-body and get better blood flow towards the brain. It also activates shoulders for strength and stability. - Ashtanga Namaskara: Eight-Limbed salutation
Muscles worked? Strengthens chest, shoulders, and back. - Bhujangasana: Cobra Pose
Muscles worked? Strengthen chest, stretches the spine. Cobra pose is executive in the opening chest and shoulder strengthening.
When to Perform
You can perform Surya namaskar at any time of the day, however, sunrise time is considered to be the best time of the day to perform this yoga activity, it’s also advised to perform Surya namaskar in open.
Performing Surya Namaskar while sunrise can revitalize your body and soul, make you stay active and energetic throughout the day.
Additionally, performing Surya namaskar under direct sunlight can provide your body with sufficient vitamin D, which will help your body with its daily dosage of this essential vitamin.
Pace of Practicing Surya Namaskar
You can practice Surya Namaskar at a different pace and you will get benefitted accordingly.
Slow pace– If you are looking to improve your body flexibility or improve your height then you should practice Surya Namaskar at a slow pace, try to hold every pose for 4-5 seconds.
Medium pace– If you are looking to build muscle tissues then you should go for a medium pace, which means you will hold every position for 2 seconds.
Fast pace– If your motive is to get the cardiovascular benefits from Surya Namaskar, then you should practice it at a fast pace, you don’t need to hood or stretch for any position. You can perform as many numbers of reps as you want.
Surya Namaskar FAQ
1- Does surya namaskar build muscle?
To be accurate, Surya Namaskar can help you strengthen and tone your muscle but if you are looking for improved muscle mass then yoga is not the best choice. Instead of practicing Surya Namaskar for muscle building, you can use it as an active warm-up, cardio or stretching routine.
2- Does surya namaskar reduce tummy?
This is a common question, whether Surya Namaskar can help in calorie burning? yes, you can burn hundreds of calories with the help of this single yogic routine.
Reduction in tummy size or reduction in weight depends on the calories you are consuming if you are eating more calories than you burn then you will gain weight and if you are eating lesser calories than required then you will lose weight.
Maintaining a caloric deficit is the most important factor in weight loss or tummy reduction.
3- Is surya namaskar better than walking?
Definitly! walking is a low-intensity activity that helps in burning calories but Surya namaskar is a compound movement that makes your whole bodywork to burn a lot more calories than walking, additionally, Surya namaskar strengthens all muscle groups and walking doesn’t.
4- Should surya namaskar be done fast or slow?
Improving cardiovascular health is the main aim? doing some quick rounds of sun salutations will surely help. But if you are doing it for strength gains then it’s better to do at a controlled (slow & medium) pace.
Read More:
- 15 Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) Benefits, Variations, Mistakes & Guide.
- 11 Benefits of Marjariasana (Cat pose) & Its step by step Guide
- 21 Vajrasana Benefits, Step By Step Guide and Precautions
- Try Parvatasana For Increased Hight and Fat Loss.
- 11 Benefits of Gomukhasana, Precautions & Step by step guide.
Thanks for reading. Questions are welcomed in the comments as always. This site contains affiliate links as well as general health and fitness information. Please read my Medical Disclaimer and Writing Disclaimer for more information.
12 surya namaskar can fix skinny fat into muscular