Sun Salutation B (Surya Namaskar B): the Ashtanga order and its 17 counts

Sun Salutation B (Surya Namaskara B) is the second sun salutation of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, practised straight after Sun Salutation A. It keeps the same backbone, a fold, a jump back, chaturanga, upward dog and downward dog, but adds chair pose (Utkatasana) at the start and end and Warrior I (Virabhadrasana A in Ashtanga) on the right and then the left. The result is longer, stronger and warmer.

The order, breath and counts below follow Ashtanga lineage teaching material (see Sources). Other styles use B-like sequences with different holds; those are variations, not this order.

The order in brief

From Samasthiti: chair pose, forward fold, head up, jump back to chaturanga, upward dog, downward dog; step the right foot forward into Warrior I; chaturanga, upward dog, downward dog; step the left foot forward into Warrior I; chaturanga, upward dog, downward dog for five breaths; jump forward, head up, fold, chair pose, and back to Samasthiti.

How the 17 counts work

Ashtanga counts movements (vinyasas), one per breath, not the shapes you hold. Sun Salutation B has 17 vinyasas. The first six mirror A, except that count 1 is chair pose instead of arms up. Counts 7 to 10 are the right-side warrior and the linking vinyasa (chaturanga, upward dog, downward dog). Counts 11 to 14 repeat that with the left leg forward. Downward dog at count 14 is the one long hold, five breaths. Counts 15 to 17 bring you forward, into the fold and up into chair pose; the final exhale back to Samasthiti is not counted, just as in A.

Two details trip people up. First, the downward dogs at counts 6 and 10 are not held: you pass through them on one exhale and step forward into the warrior on the next inhale. Second, how you get the back heel down and the foot forward into Warrior I is not a counted movement of its own; it happens inside the inhale of counts 7 and 11. Many teachers tell students to turn the back heel down first, then step, so the knee and hip are not twisted as the weight arrives.

Rounds and sides

One round includes both sides, right first, then left. The Ashtanga sources we used give five rounds of B after five rounds of A; beginners in Mysore-style classes are commonly given fewer at first, at the teacher’s discretion. Keep the ujjayi breath steady throughout; if the breath gets short, the round is too fast.

How to practise it safely

B asks for everything A does, plus sustained leg strength and three trips through chaturanga in each round. That is a lot of load on the shoulders and wrists, so quality matters more than speed. In chair pose, keep the knees tracking over the toes and the weight in the heels. In Warrior I, a shorter stance makes it easier to square the hips and keep the front knee over the ankle. If the knees complain in chair pose, rise higher; if the lower back complains in Warrior I, shorten the stance and lift the belly.

The same precautions as A apply: ask a teacher or health professional first with wrist, shoulder, knee or lower-back problems, uncontrolled blood pressure or glaucoma, and in pregnancy. Stop with sharp pain or dizziness.

Easier alternatives

Step between the poses instead of jumping, lower with the knees down, use cobra in place of upward dog, and drop the back knee to the floor in the warrior (a low lunge) if the full stance is too much. The beginner sun salutation, gentle standing sun salutation and chair sun salutation are complete alternatives. The pose pages for chair pose and Warrior I give the alignment in detail.

Where it is taught

B is part of the fixed opening of every Ashtanga practice (see the Ashtanga series overview). Many vinyasa and power classes borrow it, often holding the warriors longer or adding Warrior II; those are teacher variations.