108 sun salutations
The room is full. All yoga students move synchronously to the beat. Your own breath becomes a shared breathing. There is concentration. Everyone is busy with their own emotions and yet, there is something that the students share. They all want to do 108 sun salutations. After each round of a sun salutation, the students place one of their 108 matches in the bowl next to them, so everyone knows how many have already been completed and how many are still to come. The emotions range from joy to fear, from “I’ll never be able to do that” to “I can do it and I’ll stick with it.” Through 108 sun salutations, everyone pushes their limits physically and mentally. The feeling afterwards is liberated and strengthened at the same time.
Why do so many yoga schools offer 108 sun salutations?
Through the ritual of 108 sun salutations, the aspect of “Niyama” can be practiced intensively. It stands for behavioral guidelines and self-discipline. By repeatedly practicing the same sequence of movements and persevering, internal and external purification (saucha) and self-study in the sense of what does this do to me (svadhyaya) can be trained. Heat, discipline and effort (tapas) are experienced. And of course also devotion to the divine (ishvarapranidhana). In the end there is satisfaction (santosha) in what has been achieved (together).
Why 108?
The number 108 is considered a divine number in yoga and many other cultures. For example, many yoga writings are divided into 108 chapters. Some interpret the 108 like this: the 1 stands for the one divine principle, the 0 for the emptiness or fullness and the 8 for eternity or infinity, or in other words: “thing, nothing, and everything”, “something, nothing and everything.” You can find a good summary of what the 108 stands for here .
Practical tips for your 108 sun salutations
- Divide your strength well
- Find your rhythm
- Feel the strength and energy. Feel within yourself and what the movement does to you.
- Try to get into a flow where you no longer notice anything other than yourself and don't think about anything other than the 108 sun salutations.
- Do the 108 sun salutations in a group. This motivates you and you will do it together.
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