Cupertino
Dec 26th 2012
Surya Namaskar Yagna 2013
Yoga Bharati is excited to announce Surya Namaskar Yagna (SNY) – Sun Salutations Marathon 2013 and a pilot Research Initiative in Surya Namaskar this year. The duration of the yagna is a total of 6 weeks, starting January 1st and ending on Feb 17th, the day of ‘Ratha Sapthami’. SNY has been an annual Yoga Bharati event for a few years now, with hundreds of people participating every year and performing more than 100,000 Surya Namaskars. SNY is a marathon where an individual sets a daily goal of Surya Namaskars and starts practicing, gradually increasing the count per day to reach that goal. The idea is to complete as many rounds of Surya Namaskar as possible during the yagna period. The main goal of the yagna is to spread awareness on the benefits of Yoga and Surya Namaskar in the community.
Surya Namaskars or Sun Salutations are performed to give reverence to the internal Sun, the creative force that radiates inside the body, along with the external Sun, which shines outside the body and is the source of all energy. Surya Namaskar is a series of 10 or 12 poses in a seamless flow; synchronized with one’s breath and typically performed at sunrise and sunset every day. It is ideal for people with busy schedules as it provides various benefits packaged as one routine within a small duration of time.
Surya Namaskar is a wonderful energization technique that combines both stimulation and relaxation to bring voluntary control over stress and release responses. It is also an excellent way to get cardiovascular exercise and build endurance with the least chance of injuries to muscles and joints due to the continuous variability of muscle length. Surya Namaskar practice also produces hormonal balance and burns calories to aid in weight management. Regular practice results in regulating and deepening the breath, builds body awareness and brings mindfulness into all our daily activities. In addition there are several psychological and spiritual benefits for true seekers.
Unique Surya Namaskar Pilot Research initiative for 2013
This year Yoga Bharati is launching a pilot Surya Namaskar Research Initiative in conjunction with the Surya Namaskar yagna. Yoga has been studied and practiced for centuries in traditional ways. It was the vision of Swami Vivekananda to apply the scientific research methods of the West to the ancient practices of the East to develop the best of both worlds for the benefit of mankind. Generating statistically convincing data by following rigorous research methodologies is the best way to convince the modern medical community of doctors and therapists and the community at large to adopt yoga for both preventive and curative solutions.
A chosen set of committed volunteers will practice a pre-determined set of Surya Namaskars for 6 weeks per a scientifically developed protocol and record their observations daily. No other changes in diet or physical activities are prescribed. Volunteers will answer a few questionnaires and allow some health parameters to be recorded at the beginning (Jan 1st) and at the end of the research duration (Feb 17th).
The study participants will be diligently tracked by assigned research coordinators who will be trained on all the research methodologies of protocol assignment and parameter collection.
By conducting this research project Yoga Bharati hopes to achieve the following goals
1) Publish population and cohort studies towards bringing greater awareness about health benefits of yoga to the community.
2) Build interest in the community about scientific approach to ancient sciences and to look at yoga in a new light
3) Contribute in creating yoga as an evidence-based science so that yoga will be looked up as a preventative and complementary health care by governments and healthcare industry.