The sun is the source of energy for all life on earth. Surya Namaskar is a combination of yoga postures, called “āsanā(s)”, performed in a pre-determined sequence, in appreciation of this extremely valuable solar energy. They are a set of well-balanced movements that will stretch and exercise all the muscles in the body, thus keeping the body and mind healthy. It is practiced all over the world in more than forty different ways. A common practice of performing Surya Namaskar in a set of ten yoga postures provides good exercise to the whole body, calms the mind, and sharpens the intellect.
Each year Hindus worldwide celebrate January 14th as Makar Sankranti – a day that marks a change of season as the sun enters the sign of Capricorn or Makar. Makar Sankranti ushers in longer days; thus the festivity symbolizes sunshine in life. Therefore, to mark this occasion, HSS will conduct a collective Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY) from January 17th to February 1st, 2009. We invite everyone in the United States to participate in this “Yoga for health; Health for humanity” event and perform Surya Namaskar with a collective goal of one million Surya Namaskar in the sixteen-day span. Last year, over 5,700 people from thirty states participated in this unique marathon, and this year we hope that over 10,000 participants across the country will reap rich benefits from Surya Namaskar.
This program is open to people of all ages, gender, and races. Details of this event, training resources, and advertising aids to make this project successful are available on the official HSS SNY website: www.hssus.org/sny. For questions or suggestions, email sny@hssus.org.