HSS Launches Surya Namaskar Yajna 2009

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) announces an offering (“yajna”) of one
million Sun Salutations, known as Surya Namaskar, to create awareness
among the people about Yoga and its advantages in achieving a healthy
body, mind and spirit. This will be the third Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY) since it was first launched in 2007.

The sun is the source of energy for all life on earth. Surya Namaskar
is a combination of yoga postures, called “asana(s)”, performed in a
pre-determined sequence, in appreciation of this extremely valuable
solar energy.  They are a set of well-balanced movements that will
stretch and exercise all the muscles in the body, thus keeping the body
and mind healthy.  It is practiced all over the world in more than
forty different ways. A common practice of performing Surya Namaskar in
a set of ten yoga postures provides good exercise to the whole body,
calms the mind, and sharpens the intellect.

Each year Hindus worldwide celebrate January 14th as Makar Sankranti
– a day that marks a change of season as the sun enters the sign of
Capricorn or Makar.  Makar Sankranti ushers in longer days; thus the
festivity symbolizes sunshine in life.  Therefore, to mark this
occasion, HSS will conduct a collective Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY) from
January 17th to February 1st, 2009. We invite everyone in the United
States to participate in this “Yoga for health; Health for humanity”
event and perform Surya Namaskar with a collective goal of one million
Surya Namaskar in the sixteen-day span. Last year, over 5,700 people
from thirty states participated in this unique marathon, and this year
we hope that over 10,000 participants across the country will reap rich
benefits from Surya Namaskar.

This program is open to people of all ages, gender, and races.
Details of this event, training resources, and advertising aids to make
this project successful are available on the official HSS SNY website:
www.hssus.org/sny