108 Sun Salutations for the fall equinox

Shiva Rea has founded the global mala project a couple of years ago and I just came across it today in a newsletter and figured, I might as well celebrate the fall equinox with 108 sun salutations or surya namaskar. I underestimated the number 108 - it's larger than you think and takes you longer than you might expect. But then again, I really liked this quote that I came across yesterday: Eleanore Roosevelt said "Do one thing every day that scares you." So why not?!

I ended up taking about 1hour and 20 minutes of continuous salutations and was drained in sweat afterwards. Yet, it felt great and I'd encourage everyone to try it on one of the equinoxes - the winter one is coming up on Dec 21...

In case you're wondering, why 108 - until recently I only knew 108 was an auspicious number and that there were a lot of yogis who used the number for different purposes - for instance I did 108 core cultivations in order to strengthen my abs before the summer equinox earlier this year. But I never really thought about why it was 108 - so there are several reasons as I found out in an Huffington post article:

* 108 is the number of "Upanishads" comprising Indian philosophy's "Vedic texts".
* 108 is the number of names for Shiva (a really important Hindu god).
* 108 is the number of names for Buddha.
* 108 is the Chinese number representing "man".
* 108 is the number of beads on a Catholic rosary.
* 108 is the number of beads on a Tibetan "mala" (prayer beads, analagous to a rosary).
* 108 is twice the number "54", which is the number of sounds in Sanskrit (sacred Indian langauge).
* 108 is six times the number "18", which is a Jewish good luck number.
* 108 is twelve times the number 9, which is the number of vinyasas (movements linked to breath) in a Sun Salutation.

Interesting stuff! I'm convinced. There must be something about that number - I don't think I could have done one more sun salutation afterwards but it's just the right amount. You don't want to jump back though  - might get too intense with so many repetitions... Also, you really need to pay attention to your form - as you continue through all of these salutations, you may have a tendency to slack off a little - so remind yourself to stay true to the cause and the shape... I told my boyfriend that I truly believe this was as good a work out as running for an hour - it actually has a much more calming and meditative effect. Let's see about the soreness factor tomorrow or the day after. I guess they say the only thing that helps is to continue, right?