Struggle With Sun Salutations? Here Are 8 Ways to Modify Them

The sun salutation — or Surya Namaskar — is a common and popular yoga sequence and the foundation of the Vinyasa yoga practice. Sun salutations are often used as a warm up at the beginning of yoga classes, but they can also be practiced as a daily discipline all by themselves.

Despite their popularity, sun salutations can be hard to do depending on factors like limited mobility, strength and flexibility.

However, one of the best things about yoga is that it can be adapted to the individual so that anyone can reap its benefits. Here are eight modifications for customizing the sun salutation for your body and unique practice.

"Bring your big toes together and leave a little space between your heels."

This is a common alignment cue for mountain pose (Tadasana). The problem is that bringing your feet so close together can feel like a balance challenge. If standing with your feet together makes it hard for you to feel stable in mountain pose, try the equal standing pose (Samastitihi) with your feet hip-width apart.

Sometimes called mountain or extended mountain, upward salute (Urdhva Hastasana) is the classical name for mountain pose with your arms extended overhead.

The typical cues for lifting your arms is to circle sweep them around and up. It might seem like a simple movement, but lifting the arms can be challenging for people with limited shoulder mobility due to injury, impingement or even over-developed muscles.

If circle sweeping your arms causes you pain or discomfort in your shoulders, try starting in equal standing pose (demonstrated above) with your hands at your heart and reaching straight up.

You can touch your toes if you bend your knees. However, many people think they have to "lock" or hyperextend their knees when they fold forward. This is usually fine for people with lots of hamstring flexibility. For everyone else, though, locking the knees in the standing forward fold can result in dangling in space with a rounded back — which can cause strain on the lumbar spine.

Bending your knees a little releases your hamstrings so your pelvis can move, and it gives you more access to the fold with neutral spinal alignment.

The Vinyasa flow is a three-pose sequence that includes high-to-low plank (Chaturanga Dandasana), upward dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) and downward dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). This sequence often serves as a transition space in the sun salute and helps build strength and heat in your body.

While it can feel exhilarating and powerful, this sequence isn't so accessible for those with injury or limited mobility in their wrists, shoulders and back. If this is the case for you, there are some options for adapting this flow for your body.

The easiest way to make a plank more accessible is to lower your knees to the ground, and the easiest way to make backbends, like cobra pose, accessible is to reduce the amount you extend your back. In this Vinyasa flow variation, you'll do both while still building strength in your upper body.

This variation is ideal for those who would prefer an even gentler backbend and to skip the high-to-low plank altogether. It provides all the benefits of spinal mobility poses but with the support of your knees. It's also good place to practice bearing weight on your arms.

It's not easy for everyone to step forward into a lunge from a downward dog. Many people find their foot gets stuck in the middle of their mat rather than actually making it to the top of their mat and between their hands, as is usually the cue.

The fix for this is to lower your opposite knee and move that foot more forward so your ankle is under your knee. Alternately, you can start from tabletop position and move into your lunge from there.

In the traditional sun salutation, you'd move to warrior I pose (Virabhadrasana I) from your low lunge. The standard cues for getting there are to release your back heel, turn your toes to a 45- degree angle, lift your torso and square your hips to the front of your mat. Here's the problem: If your toes are at a 45-degree angle and you turn your hips forward, you're basically forcing your knee into a twist. And your knees are a hinge joint, not meant for twisting.

Certified yoga teacher Sadie Nardini, E-RYT 500, who created Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, recommends keeping your hips open a bit and only turning to square your chest forward.

Alternatively, you can skip the knee-compromising warrior I altogether and try this crescent lunge variation instead.

Hopping to the top of your mat is basically a prep for a handstand and floating your feet between your hands. It's an amazing feat of athleticism that requires developing a lot of shoulder stability, upper-body strength, hamstring flexibility and gymnastic-levels of coordination.

Sure, there are benefits to that kind of practice. But for a gentler, more accessible way to travel to the top of your mat, try walking your feet underneath you. This variation also helps develop some of the strength and stability you'll need if you want to practice other arm-support poses.