Common Sun Salutation Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Sun Salutation is forgiving, but a few habits quietly undermine it — some just make it less effective, others risk a niggle over time. Here are the ones that come up again and again, each with a simple correction. For the full sequence, see the complete Surya Namaskar guide.

Holding the breath, or rushing

The most common fault is letting the breath fall out of step with the movement, usually because you're going too fast. The fix is simply to slow down until each transition has its own full inhale or exhale. If you're ever holding your breath or gasping, that's the signal to ease off the pace.

Crunching the lower back in cobra

Many people throw the head back and compress the lower spine in cobra or upward dog. Instead, lengthen forward through the crown, lift from the chest rather than cranking the neck, keep the shoulders down away from the ears, and use only as much backbend as feels easy. The back of the neck should stay long.

A sagging or piking plank

In plank the hips often drop toward the floor or hike up toward the ceiling. Aim for one straight line from head to heels, with the belly gently drawn in to support the lower back. If holding that line is hard, lower the knees — a strong knees-down plank beats a collapsed full one.

Locking the knees in the forward fold

Straightening the legs hard in the forward fold strains the hamstrings and rounds the lower back. Bend the knees generously and let the fold come from the hips, keeping the spine long. Flexibility comes with time; forcing it just invites strain.

Ignoring what your body is telling you

Finally, pushing through sharp pain, skipping the warm-up, or chasing a round count at the expense of form all backfire. Work to a comfortable edge, not into pain; warm up first; and value smooth, honest rounds over fast, sloppy ones. Practising along with a guided class for a while helps groove good habits.

Watch: correcting your Sun Salutation

In this refresher, Sanjana Prasad walks through the common mistakes that creep into Surya Namaskar once it becomes automatic — and how to correct each one. As she puts it, when we practise something over and over the practice can become “blind” and we lose sight of its nuances, so it is worth revisiting the fundamentals from Samasthiti onward, checking the feet, shoulders, neck and breath at each stage.