Why 108 Sun Salutes?

At the oldest level of Hindu spirituality, the Sun is one of the three most important deities. The world’s source of warmth and light, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, the Sun is thought of as the source and sustainer of life on Earth. But it also destroys the world at the end of its life cycle. 

The Sun is at the center of creation, at the point where the manifest and unmanifest worlds come together. So it’s the gate to the unmanifest aspects of divinity, the “path to the gods.” The Sun is “visible divinity, the eye of the world, the maker of the day ... The planets, the stars ... the lord of the wind and the lord of fire, and all the other gods are but parts of him” (Bhavishya Purana). 

The Sun is the “soul of the world,” the selfsame soul that dwells in and animates each of us, realized in our heart as a prodigious source of light.  Because of this, the Sun is “deserving of adoration” and “worthy of praise.” 

In ancient times, expressions of adoration and praise directed at the Sun were a regular part of Hindu worship. These expressions always included a mantra, which was often accompanied with offerings such as water, flowers, and rice. With this, the petitioner might simply be praising the Sun, making an appeal for its forgiveness for wrongdoing, or asking for deliverance from troubles. 

The form of Sun Salute we know so well has only been around for 80 years or so. It was first described in a book titled, The Ten Point Way to Health, by the Rajah or Aundh to benefit the health of his population. The Rajah’s son, Apa Pant, also wrote a book on the same subject, titled Surya Namaskars, first published in 1970. 

The Nest Yoga 108 Sun Salute Challenge 2021 will extend over the entire year. Around each equinox and solstice, we’ll gather to perform 27 repetitions, so that at the end of this year, at the Winter equinox, we’ll have completed 108 rounds. 

We all have a vague sense that 108 is a “spiritual” number, and it’s believed to be so not only in India, but in many other traditional cultures.2 One theory suggests 108 is a member of a family of numbers based on 18, a highly charged number in Hindu myth and spirituality. All we need do is insert a zero between the 1 and 8. The Sanskrit word for zero, shunya, is another name for the Absolute (Brahman). 

One of the strangest theories involves calculations based on the diameters of Earth (7,917 miles), Sun (864,337 miles), and Moon (2154 miles), and the distances between them (Earth to Sun, 92,955,807 miles, Earth to Moon, 238,900 miles). There are three versions.

a. First calculation involves the distance between Earth and the Sun. 

This distance is supposed to be 108 times the diameter of the Sun. 

Check: 92,955,807 divided by 864,337 = 107.5, not a bad approximation. 

b. The second calculation involves the distance from Earth to the Moon. 

This distance is supposed to be 108 times the Moon’s diameter. Check: 

multiply 2154 by 108 = 232,632 (actual distance 238,900). Not bad, about 

6,000 miles shy.

When we divide the actual distance by the diameter, we get 110.9, still in 

the ballpark. 

c. The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of Earth. Check: 

864,337 divided by 7917 = 109.1, again very close. 

Whatever the reason that makes 108 special, we hope you’ll join Nest Yoga’s year-long 108 Sun Salute Challenge. If you do, there just might be something waiting for you around the time of the Winter equinox, just in time for Christmas. 

- Richard Rosen

For references see The Ten-Point Way to Health: Surya Namaskars by Shrimant Balasahib Pandit Pratinidhi, B.A. RAJAH OF AUNDH

Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Balasana (Child's Pose)

BALASANA

Child’s Pose

Technical note: there are two Sanskrit words spelled b-a-l-a, one with a short first “a,” the other with a long first “a.” The latter is transliterated into Roman letters with a short horizontal line, called a macron, over it. Child’s Pose is spelled with the long “a” and is pronounced baa-laa-suh-nuh. 

There doesn’t seem to be any precedent for Balasana, the pose in which the buttocks sit on the heels, the torso rests on the thighs and the head on the floor, in the traditional literature. I searched through the 425-page Encyclopedia of Traditional Asanas, which includes 900 poses, and found three that approximate Balasana. One is called Ardha Kurmasana, Half Tortoise, in which the forearms are placed on the floor with the elbows squeezed between the knees, the other is its companion, Kurmasana, in which the thumbs are hooked into the armpits and the elbows spread to the sides. The third is Catakasana, the Sparrow Pose, in which the forearms are placed on the floor and the head lifted to look forward.

Balasana can be performed passively or actively. Like Makarasana, Balasana is an excellent way to learn to breathe into your back torso. 

1. For both versions, bring your big toes to touch, sit on your heels, and separate your knees at least as wide as the sticky mat, at least wide enough to allow the hip points to snug down into the inner thighs so the front pelvis can narrow and the back widen. Lay your torso down on the thighs and rest your forehead on the floor. 

2. Passive version: simply bring your arms alongside your torso and lay the backs of your hands on the floor beside your feet. Allow your shoulders to release.

3. Active version: stretch your arms forward toward the front edge of your mat. Then lift your sit bones an inch or two off your heels and reach your hands even farther forward. Press your palms firmly against the floor, and think of the heads of the upper arm bones (humerus) lifting up into their sockets so your armpits seem to deepen.

4. Push the hands away from your crown and release your sit bones back to your heels, feeling the stretch lengthen along the sides of your torso and into your armpits. Continue pushing away with your hands, and use that pressure to draw your inner groins back into the pelvis. Then without bending your elbows, scrub your hands back toward your crown and lengthen your front torso along the thighs. Continue working with the hands to deepen the inner groins and lengthen  the front torso. 

5. Imagine your outer arms sliding away from the sides of the torso through your little fingers. Imagine these two digits reaching away from your hands and lengthening along the floor. At the same time, imagine your tail bone reaching along the floor away from your pelvis. Feel the V-shape formed by the tail and the two little fingers. Imagine the legs of the V stretching more and more. 

6. Now, whether active or passive, direct your inhales into the space between your shoulder blades (scapula). Expand that space with each inhale, with each exhale allow your torso to rest more fully on your thighs. As a simple rest-release, stay 30 seconds to a minute. To work with your breath in the back torso, stay 2-3 minutes. 

7. When you’re ready to exit, imagine your tail bone tugging on your back torso, lengthen the front torso through the top of the sternum, and slowly lift with an inhale. 

TIPS

If your head doesn’t rest comfortably on the floor, support it on a block or thickly folded blanket. If your buttocks don’t rest comfortably on your heels, put a folded blanket between your thighs and calves. If your shoulders don’t easily release in the passive version, support them on blocks. 

Photo by Alexandra Tran on Unsplash

Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Half Moon Pose

HALF MOON POSE (ardha candrāsana)

ardha = half

candra = glittering, shining; the Moon 

Look up at the full Moon and what do you see? The Person (formerly Man) in the Moon, right? But if you’re a Hindu swooning over the Moon, what you’ll likely see is a Hare (śaśa). The story behind this goes...

Once upon a time, Indra, disguised as a beggar, descended from Heaven to test the Hare’s charity. He asked the Hare for food, but the poor creature had nothing to give except some grass, totally unsuitable for a human. So he built a fire and jumped in, intending to cook himself for his guest’s lunch. Fortunately for the Hare, the fire god Agni froze the fire and saved her life. 

Needless to say, Indra was mightily impressed with his host’s rather extreme show of hospitality, so he resumed his godly form, picked up a mountain, squeezed out some juice as we might squeeze juice out of an orange, and painted a picture of the Hare on the moon in her honor. 

Another name for the Moon is Soma (juice, extract), which interestingly enough gives us the Sanskrit somavāra, the day of the moon, or as we say in English, Monday. The Indians believe it’s particularly auspicious to be born under the full Moon, which assures that the child will grow to be rich and powerful and have many friends. 

PRACTICE

1. Half Moon is typically entered from Triangle Pose (trikonasana). Start with your right foot turned out, left foot turned in, about a yard apart, and a block sitting on one end outside your right foot. Rest your left hand on its hip.

2. From Triangle, inhale, bend your right knee, and stretch the block as far away from the foot as you can reach. Then slide the left foot forward slightly, and reach the block out even farther. Once you’re in the pose, the block should be well away from the right foot on the little toe side. This gives you a wide base of support. 

3. Inhale and slowly straighten the right leg, being sure not to push back on the knee cap to do this. Resist the calf to the shin to avoid locking the knee, and press firmly back on the femur head. Also be sure not to “flatten” the hips. The top hip should roll slightly down toward the floor, as the upper torso turns left. 

4. I was taught to bring the raised leg parallel to the floor, but some students like to bring the leg parallel to the spine, which generally moves it above parallel. In either case, reach actively out from the tailbone and press through the raised heel. Soften the standing toes, and press firmly on the base of the big toe and inner heel. 

5. If you care to, raise the top arm parallel to the line of the shoulders. Be sure not to reach that  arm back to open your chest. Keep the upper back and upper chest equally broad. Imagine there’s a wall in front of the top hand, and press into the imaginary resistance. Ideally, this will help bring the scapula more firmly against your back. Roll the bottom shoulder down and away from the ear. 

6. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Then exhale, bend the right knee, and slowly lower the left foot back to where it started on the floor, returning to Triangle. Finally, come up with an inhale and repeat to the left for the same length of time.

BEGINNER’S TIPS

There are two simple ways to stabilize Half Moon at a wall. The first of course is to perform the pose with your back against the wall. Alternatively, start standing with your back to the wall, one of your leg’s lengths away from the wall. Exhale into a standing forward bend, and raise your left foot and firm the sole to the wall, toes pointing down. As in the free-standing pose, have your block a good ways ahead of the foot on the little toe side. 

Check that the standing knee is aligned with the ankle, center of the knee directly over the center line between the inner and outer ankles. You may need to rotate the right thigh out a bit to get this. When ready, pivot on the left heel and turn the toes out to the left, inner foot parallel to the floor. With an exhale, spin the upper torso to the left, initiating the movement from the right sit bone, so the twist is rooted in the groins. Keep the left hip releasing slightly toward the floor.

If you still feel unstable, you can look at the floor, or instead of a block under your bottom hand, rest your forearm on a chair seat. You can rest the top hand on your hip, or raise it parallel to the line of your shoulders. Gradually lighten the heel’s pressure on the wall, until you take it half-a-moon-inch away and balance. To exit, de-rotate the body first, bend the right knee and lower the left leg to standing forward bend (uttanasana). Repeat on the left side for the same length of time.

Where’s the half moon? Look at the picture of Mr. Iyengar in Light on Yoga (plate 19 in my edition). Start with the top hand and draw a half circle across the raised foot to the standing foot. See it? Half Moon is one of the balancing standing poses we’ll be working on in my next Nest Flight, Stand on Your Own One Foot, Wednesday, 24 February, from 9 to 11 AM PST.

Period Power: Making peace with your period

Do you dread ‘that time of the month’? Do you ever feel like you are out of commission for a week every month because of your period? Are you tired of your period symptoms controlling your life?!

This was me six years ago. I would PMS for a solid 7-10 days, then be in bed with debilitating cramps for three more days. I hated my period and dreaded its arrival every month. One day, while wishing I felt like myself, I realized that if my period symptoms lasted for two weeks and there were four weeks in a month, then half of my life was spent not feeling like myself. I decided that I needed to learn about my cycle and support my hormones better.

I started researching cycle syncing and learned that women’s hormones change drastically throughout the month. When female hormones are imbalanced, we suffer from all sorts of ailments such as PMS, cramping, mood swings, aches, migraines, UTIs, vaginal infections - basically any recurring female issue can be linked to a hormonal imbalance. What a relief! There was finally a reason and a solution for all my suffering!

I immediately started implementing my discoveries and noticed significant changes in my life. For instance, I use to get a UTI every month right before my period. I learned that hormones are at their lowest during the menstrual (bleeding) phase which makes the vagina more susceptible to infections. Another example my partner reflected back to me is how I use to make him cry every month during my luteal (PMS) phase only to come back crying and apologizing a few days later during my menstrual phase. I can’t be alone in this sentiment, right?! Luckily, through cycle syncing, I have cured my recurring UTIs, am a better partner, and can more fully support my hormones. 

The best way to start cycle syncing is through diet as food has the biggest impact on our hormones. A simple way to start cycle syncing is by adding in different vegetables throughout the month that supports hormones for each phase. Here is a simple guide: 

As you start cycle syncing you will notice a profound shift in your life. Your mood will stabilize and you will gain a greater understanding of your body. You will naturally begin to work with your body instead of against it. From there you can begin to cycle-sync every area of your life including:

•  working out - strenuous exercise during certain times of the month triggers fat storage!

•  managing your energy

• supporting your brain

• planning your life in accordance with your cycle

• understanding your sex drive

• diving even deeper with food and supplements. 

I cover all of this plus yoga and rituals for each phase in my upcoming course Period Power! Here’s what others are saying about this course:

“My greatest takeaway from this course was the realization that I can shift the way I interact with my menstrual cycle and use that natural rhythm as a way to honor and know myself more deeply. For years, I only thought of my period as a burden, but now I am able to see it as a tool to help me cultivate my own inner wisdom and power.” - Christina H.

“Bekah is a thoughtful, knowledgeable, and delightfully approachable teacher. She skillfully creates a safe space for us to talk about some very personal and intimate subjects in this class. I found the course to be full of useful information that Bekah was able to share in a caring and informed manner. It's one of the most empowering courses I've taken in a long time and I only wish I would have learned this information earlier in life! I think this course is a must for anyone with a menstrual cycle!” - Erika H.

“I cannot tell you how mind-blowing amazing this has been. If I could buy this course for all the women in my life I would.” - Laura Q.

Next round of Period Power! Starts Monday, March 8th. You can learn more about the course and sign up here: https://www.benditwithbekah.com/period-power

Staff Spotlight: Baxter Bell

Nest Staff Spotlight allows fellow teachers, staff members and our yogis the opportunity to delve into the life of a selected community member. We hope this gives everyone a chance to learn more about our teachers and staff.

Baxter has been studying Hatha yoga since 1994 and teaching since 1999 after graduating from the Piedmont Yoga Studio's 680-hour Advanced Studies 2000 program. He has studied with Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, Donald Moyer, Erich Schiffman and TKV Desikachar. Baxter combines Western medicine and yoga therapeutics to create safe and healing yoga classes. His teaching style is nurturing and focuses on re-awakening our curiosity. Read more about Baxter below!

Tell us about yourself. Anything you want people to know. 

I’ve been practicing yoga for 27 years and loving it! And I have been lucky to also be teaching yoga for about 21 years now, and still enjoying the chance to share what I know with all of you. 

If you could instantly be an expert in something what would it be?

Gypsy Jazz Fiddle! 

What is your favorite book/movie/tv show/podcast?

My recent favorite show is “Away” about a fictional first space flight to Mars, not only because I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but because each episode is so emotionally moving...now, keep in mind, I’m only 3 episodes in so far!

One of my favorite books of all time is “The Power of Myth”, a conversation with Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell- blew my mind the first time I read it. 

What would you like the community to know about your classes, teaching style or you?

I’ve been exploring the idea of Yoga for Healthy Aging for the last decade, and right up front, you should know that it’s for people of all ages! I blend my experience with Iyengar yoga and the Yoga of Krinshmacharya (you might know this as Viniyoga) and my yoga therapy and medical backgrounds to create unique classes that are pretty accessible to students of all levels. And we have a lot of fun in class, too!

What would be your personal motto?

Engage, educate, inspire! And have fun doing it!

If you were to describe yourself as ice cream, which would you be? 

Caramel sea-salt (because it’s so delicious!)

What is your least favorite yoga pose? Favorite yoga pose? Why?

I have always fancied Half Moon Pose, the balance version, as it combines strength, length, balance, focus, even agility to enter and exit it gracefully. It feels like a giant “YES” to the universe when I am in it! 

For least favorite, see my response below to next question.

What’s something that was once important but is now becoming less and less relevant?

Wow, I just wrote a blog post on this as it relates to yoga about the 6 poses I no longer practice or teach, so if you are interested check out www.baxterbell.com. On a non-yoga level, I am less interested in being right, and more interested in connecting with others. 

How did you find yoga?

It’s a good story...ask Vickie Russel Bell about that one!

What’s a goal you have for yourself that you want to accomplish in the next year?

I have really gotten into playing my violin daily since the Pandemic began and I’d like to master a series of songs and share them with others in person or online live!

What are three things still left on your bucket list?

Too many to really list...if you are engaged in life fully, it’s not really a bucket list, it is just life unfolding! I’d love to live in Italy for at least 3 months some time, if you need one! 

What is one thing you can’t resist? Why?

Tortilla chips...who can resist the salty, crunchy goodness???

Have you ever gotten super lost? What happened?

Yes, hiking in the Red Rock Arches state park in Kentucky once...and as if by magic, this man and his son showed up out of nowhere with bottled water on ice (!!!) and guided safely out. Felt very blessed that day.

Baxter teacher’s Hatha Yoga Mondays at 5:00 pm and Yoga for Healthy Aging Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 am!