Use Child’s pose when you body tells you it is time to take a break during the 108 Sun Salute Challenge.
“Clink!” Another pebble falls into the dish.
Alice is participating in the 108 Sun Salute Challenge. She has done this several times before, but today is different.
She is in Child’s pose (Balasana). Alice is out of energy and needs to rest. She has recently recovered from the flu and she has just resumed her yoga practice. She discovered much to her surprise that she did not have as much energy as she thought she had. Usually she finishes the 108 Sun Salute challenge with ease, but this time is different.
What is the 108 Sun Salute challenge
Like the name implies you challenge yourself to complete 108 Sun Salutes in a row.
When you do 108 Sun Salutes, you do not hold Downward Facing Dog for 5 breaths. You move immediately on to the next position.
The Sun Salutes that are done during the challenge are different from a normal Sun Salute. You do not hold the Down Dog pose for 5 breaths, instead you move directly from Down Dog pose into the next position of the Sun Salute. This change makes the Sun Salute much quicker and easier to complete.
It usually takes about 45 minutes to complete all of the 108 Sun Salutes challenge.
When to do the 108 Sun Salute Challenges happen?
The Challenges are performed several times throughout the year at the studio that Alice attends. They celebrate the changing of the seasons, the birth of Pattabhi Jois, the guru of Ashtanga Yoga and the beginning of the New Year.
Who can do the 108 Sun Salute Challenge?
Anyone that is reasonably comfortable with doing a Sun Salute can take part in the 108 Sun Salute Challenge.
Your age does not matter. You can be less than 20 or over 80. As long as you know how to do a Sun Salute safely and with some amount of ease then you are ready to try the challenge.
Besides celebrating special events there are several benefits that you get from doing the 108 Sun Salute Challenge.
Why do the 108 Sun Salute Challenge
Doing 108 Sun Salutes in a row causes you to focus on several things.
- Your breath
- Your mind
- Body feedback
Your Breath
A 108 Sun Salute Challenge is a good opportunity to focus on your Ujjayi Breath for an extended period of time.
When you do 108 Sun Salutes it becomes very important to have a strong and continuous Ujjayi Breath. It is this breath in combination with Uddiyana Bandha that keeps the energy levels high in your body.
Your individual breath carries you from one pose in the Sun Salute to the next.
The sound of the group breathing in unison as you complete each pose of the Sun Salutes helps you to move on to the next Sun Salute and the one after that. The group breath helps you to keep in sync with the other people that are taking part in the Challenge.
The Ujjayi Breath of the group provides you with the energy that you need in order to complete 108 Sun Salutes.
Your Mind
When you do 108 Sun Salutes in a row you will find that your mind is very focused on the present moment. As you go from one Sun Salute to the next, your mind does not wonder, it stays in the present moment focusing on doing the current pose as safely as possible and preparing for the next pose in the sequence.
Your mind is also making sure that you are utilizing Ujjayi Breath and Uddiyana Bandha as fully as possible to support you through this Challenge.
Body Feedback
As you move through the many Sun Salutes you will focus more and more on your body and the feedback it is giving you. As you will discover that some muscles are getting fatigued, you will recruit other muscles to help support them.
You monitor your body and the energy levels within the body to make sure that everything is progressing safely. You check out your muscles to make sure that none of them are getting injured.
Alice is paying attention to the feedback from her body. It is telling her that it is time to take a break.
What to do if you get tired
Use Balasana when you need to take a break.
Alice has discovered that she is not completely recovered from her flu. Although her energy levels are high enough for a regular yoga class, they are not high enough for the physical demands of the 108 Sun Salute Challenge.
Rather than pushing herself to continue and complete the Challenge she takes a break and moves into Balasana (Child’s pose). She will stay her for several breaths. Once she recognizes that her energy levels have improved she will rejoin the Challenge and resume the Sun Salutes.
If you find that your energy levels have dropped off and you are struggling to complete a Sun Salute safely, it is time to take a rest break. Do like Alice did and come into Child’s pose and rest for awhile. It is better to take a break now rather than continue to struggle and risk injuring yourself.
Summary
The 108 Sun Salute Challenge helps you to improve the quality of your Ujjayi breath and the focus of your mind.
You also become very aware of the feedback from your body. Are you doing each of the poses in the Sun Salute safely? Do you have enough energy to keep moving safely or should you take a break?
Alice discovered that she did not have enough energy to complete all of the Sun Salutes safely and that she needed to take a break.
Taking a break in Balasana gives Alice the time she needs to rest and recover her energy before she rejoins the group and completes the 108 Sun Salute Challenge.
Next Step
Check with your yoga teacher about taking part in the next 108 Sun Salute Challenge. They can answer any questions you may have and will let you know what you can expect from the challenge.
Additional Reading
To learn more about the benefits of doing a 108 Sun Salute challenge read What are the 4 benefits of doing a 108 Sun Salute Celebration.
Check out the 108 Sun Salute page to watch a video about the 108 Sun Salute challenge and learn more about how they are organized.
To learn more about your Ujjayi breath read the article How the Ujjayi breath improves your yoga practice.
