International Yoga Day
21st June 2017
108 Sun Salutations Challenge
International Day of Yoga
is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015.
An international day for yoga was declared unanimously
by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 11 December 2014.
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN address suggested
the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world.
So we dcided we will do a special challenge, just as last year,
we will try to survive the 108 Sun Slutations :)
A very lovely friend of mine, Fiona, did a nice gentle class in the morning in the fields and I joined her - it was my very first class that she thought me :)
Well done! I felt amaing after!
And here is a video and pictures from this class:
In the evening there was something much more difficult we tried to do...
Sorry for not answering all the hundreds of people separately what a SS is, why there are 108 and why we re doing thm...
It is a long explanation, and you can read all about it here :)
What’s this 108 Sun Salutations all about?
It’s a powerful experience that will stretch you and leave your yoga practice changed. Along with being an incredible way to detox, physically and mentally, it’s a memorable gesture to mark the end of spring and the arrival of summer.
Why 108 Sun Salutations?
108 has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga. Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the "guru bead," around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra—much like the Catholic rosary.
Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth:
The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters.
Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.
According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points,
or sacred places of the body.
Who’s it for?
This experience will stretch and expand you to the core and is good for anyone who’s looking to fulfill what we see as our personal mission statement:
Bring peace to mind, through a connection with the body so that they can flow through life with greater ease.
You can only do this by believing in yourself, accepting the fact
that you are worthy of the challenge in front of you
and with your best effort taking it one asana at a time to its natural outcome.
We did it and it was not easy
and
I loved seeing your tired smile
after it had been all said and done!
thank you all
who joined me in this challenge!