Feb 12th, 2011
Yoga Bharati, USA concluded their annual six weeks Suryanamaskar yagna (Sun Salutations Marathon) today. More than 1000 people all over America participated in the yagna and performed close to 100,000 Suryanamaskars. About 250 individuals submitted their logs for a healthy competition. Yoga Bharati teachers made Suryanamaskars as the focus of their free public classes at various centers in different chapters such as SF Bay Area, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego and Atlanta.
Yoga Bharati Bay Area chapter arranged a concluding program at the Sunnyvale temple where more than 50 people gathered to perform Suryanamaskars in a synchronous group practice. The program began with a chanting of Aditya Hrudayam by Sharat Joshi. This was followed by a talk by Ashwini Surpur on the background, philosophy and significance of Sun worship by different cultures around the world. She explained the significance of Ratha Saptami and of practicing Suryanamaskars, how Suryanamaskar practice works at the body level through various asanas, at the prana level when breathing is synchronized with body movements, and at the mind level when mantras are chanted and their vibrations contemplated upon. Finally she said, with a yagna like this, the entire society comes together to celebrate health and harmony of the society and it becomes a festival for the entire society.
This talk was followed by yoga practice session by Binta Patel. After the initial demonstration and corrections, thirteen rounds of Suryanamaskars were performed with music giving them a sense of synergy and enthusiasm. Binta conducted a deep relaxation session, the yoga nidra, followed by pranayama and meditation. Then was the session where Suryanamaskar statistics were read out and the names of the leading people in different categories such as men, women and children were announced. During the feedback session that followed, people expressed their benefits and how this practice helped them.
Sharat Joshi, who performed an average of 100 Suryanamaskars for the last six weeks said his energy level was very high and he was very efficient at work. ‘When I went for a ski trip with a group at work, everyone else was tired the next day, but I was totally fine’, he said. Prajwala Darog who performed an average of 40 Surayanamaskars per day said she felt healthy and happy throughout the six weeks and most importantly, she felt calm and peaceful within. Anil Surpur said with Suryanamaskars, he can do his marathons without trouble and he has increased his mile time. Another regular Saturday public class attendee who participated in the yagna said, her planter fascias was much better now.
The programconcluded with Shanti Mantra and people enjoyed healthy snacks provided by Yoga Bharati volunteers.