Half sun salutations are great for warming the body up. It is most important that you use your breath as you move through each pose. This will keep your attention on your body and its present abilities and assist in preventing injury. As your breath deepens, each pose may become deeper as well. In general think about using your inhalations to lengthen the body and your exhalations to soften any tension stored in the muscles.
Half sun salutations have many benefits. In addition to lengthening the back of the legs, opening the chest and stretching the arms, each pose also helps to massage the front of the hips and thighs where a lot of lymph nodes are. Each pose helps to improve circulation of blood and lymph throughout the body assisting detoxification as well as weight loss.
Half sun salutations can be done standing as seen in the you tube video above or can also be done seated. If practicing your half sun salutation seated in a chair or on a balance ball make sure you are sitting at the edge of your seat to keep your posture tall. Whether seated or standing keep your feet planted firmly to the ground pressing into the ball of the big and little toes and inner/outer edges of your heels. For a deeper stretch in your hamstrings press into the balls of your feet in your forward folds. To receive the full benefit of each pose in the salute make sure that each breath is slow, focused, and controlled.
Sarah Zender LAc
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