Surya Namaskar: 12 Yoga poses for weight lossSobiya N. Moghul,Health Me Up|Jan 5, 2015, 12.00 AM IST

READ MOREWeight Loss|Touch|Rock Climbing|Heart|Football

Surya Namaskar: 12 Yoga poses for weight loss (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)RELATED 7 super ways you won't have breast cancer Suryanamaskar is more than weight loss Improve posture for a flat tummy 6 Secrets for the perfect absSun Salutation is considered a complete body workout. Yoga experts say that doing 12 sets of Surya Namaskar translates into doing 288 powerful yoga poses in a span of 12 to 15 minutes.

A workout for 'busy bees'

Facing a time crunch? Want to feel fit but don't know how? Welcome to the world of Surya Namaskar. Literally translated as sun salutation, Surya Namaskar comprises a sequence of 12 yoga postures. The best part about Sun Salutation is that it works well for those 'super busy' people who often complain about not being able to do yoga because of a time crunch. Doing at least 12 sets of Sun Salutation, preferably at sunrise, at a fast pace provides a good cardiovascular workout. If done at a slower pace, these postures help tone the muscles and can be relaxing and meditative. Moreover, it allows you to enjoy the stretch and makes the body more flexible.

Though pretty much an exercise in itself, Sun Salutation forms an excellent link between warm-ups and intense yoga postures. Start your early morning yoga routine with some warm-up stretches to ease out body stiffness. You can then do a few rounds of Sun Salutation to help increase body flexibility and also prepare the body to stretch more during the intense yoga posture sequence.

Sun Salutation is considered a complete body workout. Yoga experts say that doing 12 sets of Surya Namaskar translates into doing 288 powerful yoga poses in a span of 12 to 15 minutes.

Why Sun Salutation is good for you?

But that's not all. Regular practice of Sun Salutation offers a lot of interesting benefits for every part of the body. These powerful yoga poses have a great impact on the heart, liver, intestine, stomach, chest, throat, and legs - the whole body from top to bottom. It purifies the blood and improves blood circulation throughout the body and ensures proper functioning of the stomach, bowel, and nerve centres. Practicing Sun Salutation daily helps balance the three constitutions - Vata, Pitta and Kapha - that the body is made up of.Surya Namaskara- A complete Yoga for Every one

Main Advantages of performing Surya Namaskara Daily: Beneficial for the health of digestive system.Regular practice of Surya Namaskara helps to improve thedigestivesystem.It stretches the abdominal muscles andhelps to lose excessive belly fat and gives flat stomach. Ideal exercise to cope with insomnia.Regular practice of Surya Namaskara calms the mind and helps to get sound sleep. Thus it helps incontrollinginsomnia and other relateddiseases Practice regulates irregular menstrual cycles.Practicing Surya Namaskar ensures the easy childbirth. It helps to decrease the fear of pregnancy and childbirth. Surya Namaskar practice boosts blood circulation and helps to prevent hair graying, hair fall, and dandruff. It also improves the growth of hair making it long. Regular practice of Surya Namaskar helps to lose extra calories and reduce fat. It helps to stay thin. Practicing Surya Namaskar is the easiest way to be in shape. Sun salutation exercise helps to add glow on your face making facial skin radiant and ageless. It is the natural solution to prevent onset of wrinkles. Regular practice of sun salutation boosts endurance power. It gives vitality and strength. It also reduces the feeling of restlessness and anxiety. The back muscles are toned up and strengthened to a great extent and the spine and arms become stronger It regulates the respiration system and improves lungs functionality

Procedure to perform Surya Namaskara: Surya Namaskara consist of 12 postures. Ideally Surya Namaskara should be done total 13 times along with Surya Namaskara Mantras given below chanting one mantra before starting each cycle of yoga postures.1. Aum Mitraya Namah2. Aum Ravayre Namah3. Aum Suryaya Namah4. Aum Bhanave Namah5. Aum Khagaya Namah6. Aum Pushne Namah7. Aum Hiranyagarbhaya Namah8. Aum Marichaye Namah9. Aum Adityaya Namah10. Aum Savitre Namah11. Aum Arkaya Namah12. Aum Bhaskaraya Namah13. Aum Shri Savitra Surya Narayanaya namah

Step1: Stand straight with your feet together and palms folded at the chest as if in prayer. Your toes can be slightly apart but the heels should be as close as possible.Step 2:Raise your arms above your head and stretch back as much as possible to bend your spine backwards while inhaling air. Your abdomen should be stretched to the maximum limit and your biceps should be touching your ears with your hands parallel.Step 3:Bend forward, go down and touch your toes with your fingertips. Dont bend your knees and try to touch your knee with your forehead. When you do this, your stomach is compressed, so exhale.Step 4:take your right leg back and stretch it while balancing it on the toe and keep your left leg folded in front of your chest. Keep your palms straight on both sides of the left foot on the ground. Look up and inhale.Step 5:Take back the left leg as well and keep both the feet together while raising your hip from the ground and balancing yourself on all fours. You will look like an inverted V. Exhale while you do this posture.Step 6:Slowly come down and rest your palms next to your shoulders, your knees touching the ground but your waist and hip slightly raised above so that they dont touch the ground. Your face should also be downward facing and hold your breath during this.Step 7:Lower your waist and raise your torso, making your arms straight and balancing yourself. Feel your spine bend and the abdomen stretch. Inhale when you do this and look straight.Now, again raise your hip and balance yourself on all fours. Looking like an inverted V. Exhale while you do this.Step 8:Bring the left leg forward and fold it so that the knee reaches your chin and look up. Keep the right leg behind as before and stretch. Inhale when you do this.Step 9:Withyour palm at your toes, raise yourself up so that your forehead touches the knees and your spine bends forward. Exhale in this posture.Step 10:Get up very slowly and take your arms above your head and stretch backwards while inhaling.Step 11:Then come back to the first position with your arms folded and relax while breathing normal.Step 12:Repeat the series with the other leg.