I did sun salutations every day for a month—here’s what it taught me

I’ve been practicing yoga for over 20 years and I’m a yoga therapist, so I know firsthand that consistent practice is the secret to unlocking the benefits of yoga.

Even with that background and knowledge, it’s taken time to embed practices into my life and I will go through periods when I’m not consistent—I try not to be hard on myself and gently guide myself back into regular practice.

That’s one reason why I decided to challenge myself to practice the sun salutation (surya namaskar) sequence every day for a month.

I chose sun salutation because it’s a sequence that has (almost) everything you need. The 12 postures linked together energize the body, improve flexibility and mobility, and help focus the mind.

Traditionally practiced at sunrise to honor the sun as a source of vitality and life, the sequence flows from backbend to forwardbend synchronized with inhalation and exhalation. There’ll be some variations to poses depending on the style and lineage of yoga you practice.

In the Bihar School of Yoga version I follow, one round includes the following postures, repeated twice (for left and right leg back on crescent low lunge).

1. Mountain pose with prayer (pranamasana)
2. Raise arms (hasta uttansasana)
3. Standing forward fold (uttanasana)
4. Crescent low lunge (ashwa sanchalanasana)
5. Downward-facing dog (adho mukha svanasana)
6. Eight limbed (ashtangasana)
7. Cobra (bhujangasana)
8. Downward-facing dog (adho mukha svanasana)
9. Crescent low lunge (ashwa sanchalanasana)
10. Standing forward fold (uttanasana)
11. Raise arms (hasta uttansasana)
12. Mountain pose with prayer (pranamasana)

Here’s what I discovered after practicing sun salutations every day for a month.

Forming a habit takes commitment

Building habits takes effort and committing to daily movement is often easier said than done.

What helped was linking my sun salutations to the 10 minutes of mantra and meditation I already do every morning. Three rounds took around five minutes so I had almost no excuse to skip it.

Knowing the benefits of sun salutation on both body and mind, and my motivations and intentions—to deepen my practice and make me a better teacher—also helped the practice stick. This all helped me get onto my mat every morning, no matter what.

Sometimes I needed more

As I practiced first thing in the morning—before a cup of tea or turning my phone on—my mind was still relatively sleepy, but so was my body. So occasionally I’d add a few extra poses to warm up: leg raises from lying down to wake up my hamstrings and hips, ankle rotations to mobilise my feet, and waist rotating pose (kati chakrasana) to add some spinal rotation—one of the movement patterns missing from sun salutation.

I always finished with relaxation pose (savasana) to settle my heart rate, bring my body back into balance, and let everything integrate—an essential step many people skip.

The benefits were not as dramatic as I expected

The 12 postures are great for mobilizing joints and lengthening muscles, but I didn’t gain as much flexibility as I thought I would—the changes were subtle.

My heels reached closer to the floor in downward-facing dog, I could bend a tiny bit deeper in raised arms pose and my hips felt looser stepping in and out of crescent low lunge pose.

These small differences helped make the practice more comfortable and enjoyable. However, I still couldn’t reach the floor beyond my fingertips.

Since the challenge, I’ve stuck to practicing sun salutations three to four times a week, making space for my mobility and rehab work on the other days. It’s a simple and almost effortless way to feel energized and grounded before the day begins—worth the effort I put in.