Tuesday, November 19, 2013

108 Sun Salutations



I remember reading about this last year when I was in my teacher training. The sacred number 108. 108 beads on a mala. 108 repetitions of a mantra in meditation. Always numerals of 108 - 54, 27, 9, etc.

I'm not gonna go into a super lot of detail - mostly because I'd feel like I was plagiarizing - but this post on the Elephant Journal explains all of the different roots of why 108 is considered sacred, among them...

... the Sun's diameter is 108 times the diameter of the Earth.

... there are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet (54 x 2 = 108)

and

... the heart chakra is said to be the point where 108 lines of energy converge in the subtle body. (And you know I love me some heart chakra talk)

So, what do we do with this information? Whatever you like. I am not here to dictate anything, but what have I chosen to do with this information? I have chosen to connect myself to the number 108 through my asana practice (the physical practice of yoga)

Starting easily enough...

... 9 sun salutations every morning for 12 days in a row.

Why break it up into 9 and 12, and why morning? A few reasons:

  1. Finishing at the end of November means I'll be inspired and ready for zero overlap into my photo challenge. 
  2. 9 seems like a friendly place to start. It takes about 30 seconds to do a sun salutation A (give or take a few seconds), so it'll be easy to dedicate 5 minutes when I first wake up in the morning. 
  3. Sun salutations are a fantastic way to wake yourself up. They get blood flowing through your entire body, help you stretch, lengthen, and energize for the day!

Then what? Then we'll play it by ear. For now I mean the Royal We, but I'd love for you to join me!
What do you think? Leave me a note in the comments if you want to give it a shot! I'd love to know who else wants to try.

Then maybe We ;) can do 108 all in a row to ring in 2014!

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