Sun salutations are a flowing sequence of yoga poses performed in a specific order, with each movement linked to either an inhale or an exhale. Known as Surya Namaskar in Sanskrit, they serve as both a warm-up and a standalone workout in most yoga classes. A 30-minute session burns roughly 230 calories for a 130-pound person, placing sun salutations firmly in moderate-intensity exercise territory.
Where Sun Salutations Come From
Despite their ancient-sounding name, sun salutations as a physical sequence are surprisingly modern. The practice was developed in the 1920s by the King of Aundh, Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, and later refined by influential yoga teachers like Krishnamacharya. The movements drew heavily from “danda” exercises, a form of physical training used by Indian wrestlers and martial artists for centuries.
The spiritual roots run much deeper. The Krishna Yajur Veda contains 132 verses devoted to honoring the sun god, traditionally chanted alongside physical prostrations. What emerged in the 20th century was a blend of that devotional tradition with physical culture, creating the sequence that now opens nearly every yoga class worldwide.
The Three Main Sequences
Sun Salutation A
This is the version most beginners learn first. It contains 11 positions that form a symmetrical loop: you move through a series of poses going “down,” then reverse the same poses coming back “up.” The sequence flows like this:
- Mountain Pose: Standing tall, arms at your sides
- Arms Extended: Sweep your arms overhead
- Standing Forward Bend: Fold at the hips, hands toward the floor
- Half Forward Bend: Lift your chest to create a flat back
- Half-Plank (Chaturanga): Lower into a low push-up position
- Upward-Facing Dog: Press your chest forward and up, tops of feet on the ground
- Downward-Facing Dog: Push hips up and back into an inverted V shape
From Downward Dog, you step or hop forward and reverse the sequence: half forward bend, full forward bend, arms overhead, and back to standing. One full round takes about 30 to 60 seconds depending on your pace.
Sun Salutation B
Sun Salutation B adds Chair Pose and Warrior 1 to the mix, making it longer and more demanding. It runs 19 positions. After the initial forward fold and Chaturanga-to-Downward-Dog flow, you step one foot forward into Warrior 1 on the right side, then cycle through Chaturanga, Upward Dog, and Downward Dog again before repeating Warrior 1 on the left. The sequence finishes by folding forward, rising into Chair Pose, and returning to standing. Expect each round to take roughly 90 seconds to two minutes.
Traditional Hatha Version
The Hatha yoga version uses low lunges instead of Warrior poses and replaces Upward-Facing Dog with Cobra Pose, where you keep your hips on the ground and lift only your head and chest. This version also includes an eight-limbed pose where your knees, chest, and chin lower to the floor before pressing into Cobra. It tends to feel gentler on the wrists and shoulders, making it a good starting point if the Ashtanga-style sequences feel too intense.
How Breathing Maps to Movement
The general rule is simple: you inhale when your body opens or extends, and exhale when your body folds or contracts. Reaching your arms overhead is an inhale. Folding forward is an exhale. Lifting into a half forward bend with a flat back is an inhale. Lowering into Chaturanga is an exhale. Pressing into Upward Dog is an inhale. Pushing back to Downward Dog is an exhale.
This breathing pattern isn’t arbitrary. Linking breath to movement keeps you at a steady, controlled pace and prevents you from rushing through transitions. It also naturally deepens your breathing over the course of several rounds, which is part of why the practice feels calming even though it’s physically demanding. If you lose the breath pattern, the standard advice is to pause in Downward Dog for a few breaths and pick it up again on the next inhale forward.
Which Muscles Sun Salutations Work
Because the sequence moves through so many positions, it engages a wide range of muscle groups rather than isolating any single one. Surface electromyography studies have mapped exactly which muscles fire hardest during each transition. The most demanding moment is the shift from the low position (where your chest and knees are near the ground) into Cobra or Upward Dog. During that transition, the broad muscles of your back (latissimus dorsi) hit 82% of their maximum activation, and the lower trapezius, the muscles between your shoulder blades, reach 72%.
The spinal erector muscles, which run along either side of your spine, stay highly active through both the lowering and lifting phases, working to control and extend the spine. Your quadriceps engage significantly during the poses where you bear weight on your legs, and the entire sequence demands continuous work from your core, shoulders, and wrists. It’s a full-body pattern that builds functional strength through body weight alone.
Cardiovascular and Nervous System Effects
Sun salutations produce a different cardiovascular response than conventional steady-state exercise. A study comparing Surya Namaskar to stationary cycling found that the yoga sequence improved heart rate variability, a key marker of cardiovascular health and the body’s ability to shift between “active” and “resting” nervous system states. Cycling, by contrast, temporarily reduced heart rate variability, reflecting the kind of sympathetic (fight-or-flight) dominance you’d expect during intense cardio.
Specifically, practicing sun salutations increased parasympathetic nervous system activity, the branch responsible for relaxation, recovery, and digestion. Higher parasympathetic tone is associated with lower resting heart rate, better stress resilience, and reduced risk of heart disease over time. The researchers found statistically significant differences between the two groups in overall heart rate variability, total power, and high-frequency power, all favoring the sun salutation group.
This doesn’t mean sun salutations replace cardio. It means they occupy a useful middle ground: vigorous enough to elevate your heart rate and burn meaningful calories, but structured in a way that promotes recovery and autonomic balance rather than pure sympathetic drive.
The Tradition of 108 Rounds
You’ll hear yoga practitioners talk about completing 108 sun salutations in a single session, typically to mark a solstice, equinox, or personal milestone. The number 108 holds significance across several traditions. In Hinduism it represents the wholeness of the universe. In Buddhism it corresponds to the 108 defilements a person overcomes on the path to enlightenment. In Ayurvedic medicine, 108 sacred points are said to exist on the human body. Even in astronomy, the distance between the Sun and Earth is roughly 108 times the Sun’s diameter.
Practically speaking, 108 rounds of Sun Salutation A at a moderate pace takes most people 60 to 90 minutes. It’s a serious physical challenge that requires both endurance and joint tolerance, and it’s not something to attempt without a solid foundation in the basic sequence first.
Making Sun Salutations Work for You
The transitions that cause the most trouble for beginners are Chaturanga (the low push-up) and the jump or step back from a forward fold. Dropping your knees to the floor before lowering through Chaturanga reduces the load on your shoulders and wrists considerably. Stepping back one foot at a time instead of jumping is equally valid and far easier to control.
If you have lower back sensitivity, Cobra Pose (lifting just the chest while keeping the hips grounded) is a safer substitute for Upward-Facing Dog, which requires more spinal extension and puts more pressure on the lumbar spine. The Hatha version of the sequence builds this substitution in by default. For wrist discomfort, placing your hands on yoga blocks or making fists instead of pressing flat palms can reduce the angle of extension at the wrist joint.
Starting with three to five rounds of Sun Salutation A is enough to feel the effects. As your strength and familiarity with the sequence grow, adding Sun Salutation B or increasing to 10 or more rounds creates a progressively more challenging practice without needing any equipment beyond a mat and enough floor space to lie down.