Surya Namaskar literally means salutations to the Sun. This practice is unique it consists of a combination of 12 positions which when done correctly is the only practice you need to maintain good health or fight off different health concerns. There is no health concern physical or mental that Surya Namaskar cannot help with. It revitalizes the whole body, and is excellent starter practice to perp the body and mind for subsequent asanas, pranayama, meditational practices. It loosens up all the joints, flexes all the muscles of the body, massages the internal organs, activates the respiratory and circulatory systems as well as helps to tone all the other systems of the body. In short, it harmonizes the whole body-mind complex.  The whole movement of surya namaskara from start to finish is synchronized with breathing. Each position is associated with either inhalation,exhalation or retention of breath. This breathing comes naturally to
the particular posture being practiced. Each of the twelve positions in Surya Namaskar are associated with a mantra. While doing surya namaskara, a particular mantra is repeated either silently or uttered aloud with each positon. When surya namaskara is combined with correct breathing and these bija mantras (seed sounds), the entire mind and intellect are energized. These bija mantras create a vibration and it is this which creates the energy. It is essential that each of the 12 postures are performed in the right sequence and breathing is synchronised to the movement.