hi,
tomorrow is the solstice here in canada. last year was the first time for me doing 108 sun salutations, i did another one for the summer solstice.
if you do a daily practice at home this is a nice change from that.
in my normal practice i have a hard time even keeping track of doing five of them let alone 108, so i mark each one to make sure i do the correct amount.
have you done this before, if yes, how did it go for you? please share.
thanks
wim
In this lifetime I may have done a total of 108.
So I haven’t a clue.
How long did it take you?
What was the motivation?
What did you feel like at number 107?
P.S. I like you avatar looks like there’s someone watching me!!!
My local studio had a 108 breath, 108 minute solstice mala yesterday. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it. I read that 108 is sacred to Buddhism and Hindus for several reasons.
I imagine doing 108 sun salutes would be very invigorating, might have to try it as well.
Interested to hear what others have to say
Namaste.
[QUOTE=The Scales;45440]In this lifetime I may have done a total of 108.
So I haven’t a clue.
How long did it take you?
What was the motivation?
What did you feel like at number 107?
P.S. I like you avatar looks like there’s someone watching me!!![/QUOTE]
Scales, good to see you again!
I have never been to this even and Im not going to since I love my shoulders:) and need them for at least 50 more years:)
108 sun salutation usually done in few sessions. most people take rest during the poses and slip sequences;)
motivation…well public idea is to celebrate the sun solstice… but this is kinds wired way:) People just like to hang out and do things in the crowd… thats human nature.
Maybe ones in a while such a vigorous torture is ok… but I will never go:) maybe just to watch
I was watching this Werner Herzog video “wheel of time”
This guy sun salutationed 3000 miles to Bodh Gaya. Ok not quite the full sun salutation, I guess they are know as “prostrations” with the buddhists.
But whoa. And we ain’t talking nice terrain here we are looking at the crag to moordoor and this guy hands up, hands to prayers, hands to ground, head to grounds his way for like (i dunno three years) all the way to bodh gaya.
He was quite shy and reserved in demeanor. Had a wound on his forehead that wasn’t healing to nicely from doing about 30,0oo,000 full body prostrations from there to there.
I’ve heard we can expect a full moon + full lunar eclipse tonight for the solstice as well, which hasn’t occurred at the same time for hundreds of years. So aside from being the longest night of the year, it will also be the darkest night in hundreds of years! At the very least, I will do a sun salutation or two in the morning to welcome back the light.
Just chiming in again. My winter solstice mala actually turned out quite different than just sun salutes.
It was a combination of Yin yoga stretches, hip openers, spinal twists, with a 108 breath meditation in the middle. I transferred all my negative, fear, anger into a stone held in my hands and then threw the stone in the woods. Then transferred my good intentions for the new year into a wooden frog (could be anything, peace symbol or whatever)
Turned out to be a peaceful event. I’ll save the 108 salutations until I’ve lost a few more pounds. lol
Namaste
I’m in the Pacific Northwest, in a rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula. The moon is being eclipsed, less then an hour to midnight. This is the first time this has happened since 1556. At midnight, I’ll be in the river, which flows off a mountain from the south and into the strait and into the ocean. Coho salmon are returning from the sea. This is magic.
thank you all for the replies.
How long did it take you?
What was the motivation?
What did you feel like at number 107?
scales;
it took me about an hour and a half.
i was motivated because i picture yogi’s having done this for a few thousand years. i like that it makes us think about practice. also it’s a welcome change from a regular practice.
i felt very good at#107. physically and mentally :). at 54 it was hard, knowing i still had 54 to do.
I have never been to this even and Im not going to since I love my shoulders and need them for at least 50 more years
108 sun salutation usually done in few sessions. most people take rest during the poses and slip sequences
motivation…well public idea is to celebrate the sun solstice… but this is kinds wired way People just like to hang out and do things in the crowd… thats human nature.
Maybe ones in a while such a vigorous torture is ok… but I will never go maybe just to watch
city monk;
if the salutations hurt your shoulders tone it down. you could skip the dogs, that still counts in my book.
remember to practice ahimsa (non-violence) to yourself. in that way it is never a torture of any sort but a spiritual enriching experience.
It was a combination of Yin yoga stretches, hip openers, spinal twists, with a 108 breath meditation in the middle. I transferred all my negative, fear, anger into a stone held in my hands and then threw the stone in the woods. Then transferred my good intentions for the new year into a wooden frog (could be anything, peace symbol or whatever)
Turned out to be a peaceful event. I’ll save the 108 salutations until I’ve lost a few more pounds. lol
rechaka;
that looked a positive experience. thanks for sharing!
i am going throw that stone as well. 
108 breath meditation is a great idea. i’ve heard doing 108 ohms is good too.
At midnight, I’ll be in the river, which flows off a mountain from the south and into the strait and into the ocean. Coho salmon are returning from the sea. This is magic.
josey;
the river near my place is frozen at the moment. for the summer solstice i am taking that midnight swim! enjoy!
if you all would like to learn more about this, do a search for ‘108’ on this forum.
thank you!
wim
[QUOTE=wim;45431]hi,
tomorrow is the solstice here in canada. last year was the first time for me doing 108 sun salutations, i did another one for the summer solstice.
if you do a daily practice at home this is a nice change from that.
in my normal practice i have a hard time even keeping track of doing five of them let alone 108, so i mark each one to make sure i do the correct amount.
have you done this before, if yes, how did it go for you? please share.
thanks
wim[/QUOTE]
When we do 108 sun salutes at our studio we do it in four batches of 27, and have an open eyed savasana after each 27. You can then have 27 pebbles or beads and move then from one pile to another after each sun salute. I find the fist 27 to be the hardest and then it gets easier. It also helps to do it with other people as their breathing helps and carries you. Enjoy
Loretha
This sounds lovely, and I really love the stone ceremony idea! Last night as I looked at the full moon in full eclipse - I had awakened for no reason and got up to check animals and go back to bed - and as I gazed at it and thought, I didn’t think about doing a ceremony tonight (sadly), I remembered one solstice when my sisters and I had entered a sweat lodge with our drums (which got soggy fast, so the drumming was floppy, but fun anyway!) and we did a ceremony to throw away all negative things from our lives, past and present. We discarded feelings of unworthiness, of inferiority, of ugliness, or limiting ourselves, fears, etc. It was incredibly freeing, and that was a huge turnaround in my life. We sang, we drummed, we cried and yelled our anger and sadness and fear out. It was incredibly empowering. We sang our joy.
I will attempt the 108 sun salutations. A fitting way to truly commit to starting a regular yoga practice again.
I may try the 27 stone idea lol. I think I will need the rests!
Do you pause for 5 breaths in downward dog, or do you move vinyasa style throughout the 108?
You don’t hold down dog for 5 breaths and it is also good to bend your knees when you bend forward otherwise your hamstrings take too much of a hammering.
I can imagine how good jumping in a cool river would be under a total lunar eclipse! OMG, surely, that first breath in, your heart would skip a beat!!
Thanks for sharing the stories of moon sightings, and 108 ceremonies, It was cloudy here at the full eclipse. Floppy drumming and yelling in a sweat lodge sounds magical too!
Thank you wim! This thread has brought me much joy and learning!
namaste
Tat Tvam Asi
Hamsah
So this is where my yoga teacher got the 108 sun salutations… from Yin Yoga? I have been taking yin yoga for the last year and never had heard of this in the Hatha styles or the Vinyassa styles of yoga. I wasn’t with them when they did this so I am glad to hear about the stones 4 sets of 27. Do you just do Sury Nama… A or do you do B or is there a specific Sun Salute?
[QUOTE=Loretha;45540]When we do 108 sun salutes at our studio we do it in four batches of 27, and have an open eyed savasana after each 27. You can then have 27 pebbles or beads and move then from one pile to another after each sun salute. I find the fist 27 to be the hardest and then it gets easier. It also helps to do it with other people as their breathing helps and carries you. Enjoy
Loretha[/QUOTE]
loretha,
when i read your post i thought it was an excellent inspiring idea. dividing it up in 4 groups suited me for that day, as a matter of fact i did two groups in the morning and two in the afternoon. thank you!
Do you pause for 5 breaths in downward dog, or do you move vinyasa style throughout the 108?
flexpenguin;
this time i did the the first 5 with 5 breaths in downdog. then 15 vinyassa style, the rest standing sun salutations only.
Do you just do Sury Nama A or do you do B or is there a specific Sun Salute?
sury nama,
i don’t know if there’s a specific sunsalute. one does what suits, be that surya namskara a or b, both or none.
it’s about being mindful, take 108 breaths mindfully and you have done a very good solstice practice.
thank you all again for your replies and feed-back. your posts have been a lot of help.
i found that the winter solstice is a great opportunity to get a unique practice in before christmas.
a time when practice in relationships leaves little time for other yoga.
wim
[QUOTE=wim;46260]flexpenguin;
this time i did the the first 5 with 5 breaths in downdog. then 15 vinyassa style, the rest standing sun salutations only.
sury nama,
i don’t know if there’s a specific sunsalute. one does what suits, be that surya namskara a or b, both or none.
it’s about being mindful, take 108 breaths mindfully and you have done a very good solstice practice.
thank you all again for your replies and feed-back. your posts have been a lot of help.
i found that the winter solstice is a great opportunity to get a unique practice in before christmas.
a time when practice in relationships leaves little time for other yoga.
wim[/QUOTE] Thanks. With the standing sun salutes I eagerly wait for next winter soltice 