108 Surya Namaskars in a go: Quality matters or quantity?

From Kareena Kapoor Khan to Alia Bhatt to Malaika Arora, you must have seen these Bollywood divas incorporating 108 Surya Namaskar or sun salutations in their exercise regime. Yes, it is good for your health. Yes, it can aid weight loss but does that mean you should do it too? While it is touted to be one of the best set of yoga asanas for health, is it a good idea to do 108 Surya Namaskar in one go?

Health Shots asked yogini Juhi Kapoor about the benefits and side effects of doing it. So, let’s find out if it’s a good idea for you to follow in the footsteps of Bollywood actors or not!

How many Surya Namaskars is too much?

It’s great to start your day with Surya Namaskar, but overdoing anything can be harmful to you. According to the yoga expert, 108 Surya Namaskar in a go is not the right way to go about it as it can lead to injuries and cause damage to your body. While it is a vital aspect of yoga, you shouldn’t put a number on it. When you do that, you forget everything else and compromise your breath, body posture as well as state of mind because you are constantly running after one goal. Without maintaining the right posture, and repetitive utilisation of the same muscles beyond the capacity of the body can result in injuries.

If you are maintaining the correct posture, it won’t benefit you regardless of how many Surya Namaskars you do. It is important to focus on your posture, breathing pattern, and muscle group that needs to be engaged.

Benefits of doing Surya Namaskar regularly

For the unversed, Surya Namaskar is a sequence of poses that comprises 7 yoga asanas: backward bend, forward bend, lunge pose, plank pose, chest, and limbs pose, cobra pose, and downward facing dog. Yes, it can be difficult to pull even 10 rounds of these for a beginner, but many do 108 sun salutations is one go. While it is not necessary for everyone to do that many sun salutations, one should incorporate a few rounds due to the many health benefits it offers. The yoga expert says that doing Surya Namaskar regularly can benefit you in the following ways:

• Improves blood circulation in the body, which promotes better organ functioning.
• Strengthens the bones and muscles
• Helps with hormonal imbalances and problems that occur due to it.
• Good for joint mobility.
• Promotes better functioning of the endocrine system.
• Better blood circulation and hormonal balance promote restful sleep and better nerve function.Also read: This ONE simple trick can help you do 108 rounds of Surya Namaskar in a go

How to do Surya Namaskar correctly?

To do Surya Namaskar correctly, you should focus on four aspects:

• Breath: When to inhale, when to exhale and when to hold your breath – all these aspects need to be considered.
• Posture: Are you doing it correctly so that the muscles are engaged? Are you holding the posture in a correct manner or an incorrect manner? You need to be mindful of maintaining the correct posture.
• State of mind: Find out what a particular asana allows you to learn. For example, a forward fold allows you to become grounded, and a backward bend allows you to learn to become fearless and proud. So, each posture you do is helping you learn or experience something. This will only happen when you focus on the quality and not the quantity.
• Duration: This means how well you are able to hold and how long you are able to hold a posture right. For example, it doesn’t make sense to complete a Surya Namaskar in 5 seconds. Doing it correctly will allow you to improve your own stamina and endurance, and improve your own strength.

If a person is doing each Surya Namaskar the right way and holding each pose for longer while maintaining the right posture and focusing on the breath – they are benefiting more from it than a person who does not do it right. Even if you are doing 10-15 Surya Namaskar, but correctly, you can avail more benefits from it.