108 Sun Salutations for Winter Solstice | Tuesday December 21st, GOZO

Donation: 10 euros (all proceeds to the Gozo SPCA)
Booking is necessary

Typically yogis do 108 Sun Salutations. Surya Namaskar, the Sun Salutation, is a series of 12 postures performed in a single, graceful flow. Each movement is coordinated with the breath. The Sun Salutation builds strength and increases flexibility.

The 108 ritual is performed 4 times a year, with the start of each season, to acknowledge the changing world around us. It usually takes about 1 1/2 – 2 hours to complete.

On the day of the winter solstice, we are tilted as far away from the Sun as possible, which means that the Sun’s path across the sky is as low in the sky as it can be. Think about the daily path of the Sun: It rises in the east and sets in the west, arcing across the sky overhead. During the summer, the Sun arcs high in the sky, but during the winter, it arcs lower, closer to the horizon.

The number 108 carries spiritual significance in many cultures:

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, analogous to a rosary).
108 is twice the number “54”, which is the number of sounds in Sanskrit (sacred Indian language).
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
108 is the number of Sutras in the Yoga Sutras.

1 stands for Higher Truth, 0 stands for Emptiness and 8 stands for Infinity.

***

SaNamNamaste xx