Surya

DrJi in Urdhva Hastāsana
Beyond the postures, towards the light
Deepen your practice of Surya Namaskar
What it is

Most people know Surya Namaskar as twelve postures flowing with the breath. A good way to wake up the body. A pleasant and solid way to begin the day.

To each āsana corresponds one of twelve Sanskrit names of the sun that carries a quality of light - friendliness, radiance, clarity, warmth - that can be quietly felt as you move. When you know what you are saluting, the salutation changes. The body responds with openness. The quality of light flows with the breath.

Surya is a web app that takes your practice into that layer. It will be there every morning, on any device, wherever you are.

What you will find

A complete practice

01
Illuminating Surya
An orientation before the journey begins. The roots of the practice: why the sun, why these names, and what actually happens when mantra meets movement. From the physical benefits to its deepest root - the Vedic understanding that the sun points beyond itself, toward the awareness in which all light appears. In its fullness, this practice can guide a practitioner to the essential truth of what they are.
02
The Twelve Names
A card for each of the twelve Sanskrit names - meaning, etymology, and a quiet contemplation to carry onto the mat. Learn them one at a time, in your own time, until they are yours.
04
The Practice
Surya Namaskar guided by the names. Move at your own pace, with each name chanted by Swami Prabodh Chaithanya. Opening and closing invocations hold the whole in its proper frame.
05
Invocations
Sound prepares the ground and completes the circle. The opening and closing invocations of the practice are offered here - with their Sanskrit, meaning, and chanting - so they can be learned, held, and carried into the body.
A taste of what is waiting
"May I meet this day as the sun meets the world - openly, warmly, without holding anyone outside my light."
"May I be a maker of light today - not by performing brightness, but by allowing the awareness that I am to shine simply and fully on whatever this day brings."
from the Twelve Names of Surya
The tradition in the room with you

Two teachers. One practice.

Swami Prabodh Chaithanya

The chanting of the twelve names and the opening and closing invocations is by Swami Prabodh Chaithanya, a Vedanta teacher of rare depth trained in an unbroken lineage through Swami Chinmayananda and Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. When Swamiji chants, the lineage chants. His voice carries what a lifetime of practice and the grace of two great teachers have placed in him - and it will be in the room with you.

DrJi

DrJi, co-founder of The First Light Studio, has over forty years of experience teaching yoga. But forty years does not capture it. Yoga is not something DrJi does - it is what he is. The asana images are in his form. The guidance is drawn from his wisdom. To learn from him is a rare thing. This app makes it possible wherever you are.

Begin

The price of a single yoga class - for a practice you can return to every day.

$18 AUD One-time purchase · All devices · No subscription
How it works

Surya lives on your device

Surya is a web app - it installs directly from your browser, without an app store. Once installed, it sits on your home screen like any other app and works wherever you are.

After purchase you will be taken straight into the app. To add it to your home screen:

iPhone or iPad
  1. Open thefirstlight.studio/surya/app in Safari
  2. Tap the Share button - the square with an arrow pointing up
  3. Tap Add to Home Screen
  4. Tap Add

Must be opened in Safari. Chrome on iPhone does not support this in the same way.

Android
  1. Open thefirstlight.studio/surya/app in Chrome
  2. Tap the three dots in the top right corner
  3. Tap Add to Home screen
  4. Tap Add
Desktop
  1. Open thefirstlight.studio/surya/app in Chrome
  2. Click the install icon in the address bar
  3. Click Install

Questions? Write to us at info@thefirstlight.studio