The gentle standing sun salutation is a newly designed educational flow by YogaVacation for anyone who cannot, or prefers not to, get down to the floor. Everything happens standing, using a wall for support. It keeps the idea behind every sun salutation, reaching up, folding, stepping a leg back and opening the chest in rhythm with the breath, but the hands rest on the wall instead of the floor, and the head never drops far below the heart.
It is not a traditional sequence, and no school publishes it as such. The traditional orders are on the Sun Salutation A, B and 12-position pages; this flow mirrors the 12-position version’s lunges and its alternating leg.
Who it is for
People with knee pain that makes kneeling hard, people who find getting up from the floor difficult, older adults, travellers in a small hotel room, and anyone who wants a warm-up at the office. It also suits days when the full sequence feels like too much. Stand about an arm’s length from a clear wall; wear shoes or stand on a non-slip mat.
How the counting and sides work
There are 11 steps. In step 5 the right foot steps back into a short lunge; in the next round the left foot does. One pass is one round, so do an even number, four to eight, which takes about five to eight minutes. Breathe in as you lift or open, out as you fold or step back. If you need more breaths in any position, take them.
Note one difference in counting. In the Sivananda 12-position sun salutation, one round has two halves: the first leads with the right foot, the second with the left. Here we count each half as its own round, so four of our rounds equal two Sivananda rounds. Sivananda suggests starting with four rounds and building up to twelve; with this gentler flow, four to eight of ours is plenty for most people.
The flow, step by step
Stand facing the wall with the palms together and breathe out (1). Breathe in and reach the arms up (2). Breathe out, place the palms on the wall at shoulder height and walk the feet back until the back is long, hips back (3). Breathe in, soften the knees and lengthen the spine, head in line with the arms (4). Breathe out and step the right foot back into a short lunge (5). Breathe in, step the foot back in, slide the hands up the wall and lift the chest (6). Breathe out into the wall hinge again (7). Breathe in and step the same right foot back (8). Breathe out and step it in to the hinge (9). Breathe in, walk toward the wall and rise slowly with the arms up (10). Breathe out, palms together, and pause (11). Then repeat with the left foot.
Like the floor version, the steps take turns: Sivananda describes each position as balancing the one before, with the chest opening and closing in time with the breath. Move slowly enough that every breath is full and easy.
How each step maps to the floor version
It helps to know what each standing step stands in for. Reaching the arms up is the same in both. The wall hinge, with the hands on the wall and the back long, takes the place of the forward fold and of downward-facing dog: the hamstrings and the backs of the arms lengthen in a similar way, without weight on the wrists. The short lunge stands in for the equestrian lunge. The chest opener, sliding the hands up the wall and lifting the breastbone, takes the place of cobra. The flow keeps the rhythm and the alternating leg, but asks much less of the wrists, knees and shoulders.
What it does not do: it does not build the arm strength that plank and chaturanga build, and the backbend is small. That is the point. If you later want more, the beginner sun salutation adds those elements gradually.
How to practise it safely
- Keep the hands at shoulder height or higher on the wall; that keeps the head above or level with the heart, which many people with blood pressure concerns or dizziness find easier. If you have a medical condition, check with a health professional first.
- In the lunge, keep the front knee over the ankle and take a short stance; the back heel can stay lifted.
- In the chest opener, lift the breastbone forward and up rather than bending the lower back.
- Stand close to a chair or counter if your balance is uncertain.
Stop with any sharp pain. This is general information; the flow has not yet been reviewed by a qualified teacher.
Easier and harder
Easier: the chair sun salutation, done seated. A step up: the beginner sun salutation, which goes to the floor with the knees down. Sun salutations are traditionally done at dawn facing the rising sun, Sivananda notes, and this flow works well first thing in the morning too, or as a short break later in the day. For more standing practice, see our chair yoga sequence and chair yoga guide.
