
Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) announces an offering (”yajna”) of one million Sun Salutations, known as Surya Namaskar, to create awareness among the people about Yoga and its advantages in achieving a healthy body, mind and spirit. This will be the third Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY) since it was first launched in 2007.
Surya Namaskar is a combination of yoga postures, called “āsanā(s)”, performed in a pre-determined sequence. 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. HSS invites 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.
To get us initiated, basics of Surya Namaskar will be taught in the weekly shakha on 18th January. We’ll continue doing the Namaskars at our homes daily till February 1 and will end the yajna with a two hour long marathon session. Join us to get started on a path to healthy living and help us meet the national goal of one million Surya Namaskars!
What? Surya Namaskar Basics Lesson
Where? HUB 200A
When? January 18th, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Note: Half hour Surya Namaskar Session will be followed by regular shakha activities.
For more details, go to http://www.hssus.org/sny/