Yoga for Hope

**The significance of 108 Sun Salutations.......



1. Why Sun Salutations....

The traditional Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar A) is comprised of nine vinyasas (a "vinyasa" is a specific movement linked to a specific breath):

  1. Urdhva Hastasana (inhaling and reaching the arms up overhead)
  2. Uttanasana (exhaling into a standing forward bend)
  3. Ardha Uttanasana (inhaling and looking up from the forward bend)
  4. Chatturanga (exhaling and jumping or stepping back to the bottom of a pushup)
  5. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (inhaling into upward facing dog pose)
  6. Adho Mukha Svanasana (exhaling into downward facing dog pose))
  7. Ardha Uttanasana (inhaling to bring the feet to the hands)
  8. Uttanasana (exhaling back down to a forward bend)
  9. Urdhva Hastasana (inhaling and reaching the arms overhead)
In some yoga traditions (for example, Ashtanga), the Sun Salutation begins and ends in "Samasthitti", also known as "Tadasana" or "Mountain Pose" (standing at attention, arms by the sides). In other yoga traditions (for example, Sivananda), the Sun Salutation begins and ends standing with hands in prayer at the heart.

It has been said that the nine vinyasas of Surya Namaskar A, together comprise the whole of yoga practice......

2. Why 108???

The number 108 carries spiritual significance throughout a wide cross-section of cultures:
  • 108 is the number of "Upanishads" comprising Indian philosophy's "Vedic texts"...
  • 108 is the number of names for Shiva in Hindu philosophy...
  • 108 is the number of names for Buddha...
  • 108 is the Chinese number representing "man"...
  • 108 is the number of beads on a Catholic rosary...
  • 108 is the number of beads on a Tibetan "mala" ...
  • 108 is twice the number "54", which is the number of sounds in Sanskrit...
  • 108 is six times the number "18" which is a Jewish good luck number...108 is twelve times the number 9, which is the number of vinyasas in a Sun Salutation and eighteen times the number 6, which is the number of days per week that yoga is traditionally practiced.
And for all you baseball fans out there, 108 is the number of stitches on a baseball!