Mountain Pose:
Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, disperse your weight evenly from
left to right and front to back. Strengthen your thighs and glutes, lift your
spine tall and roll your shoulders back. Keep the head lifted. This is an excellent opportunity to practice "perfect posture" which will be challenging for most of us.
Full Sun:
Inhaling through your nose, lift your arms to the sides and above your head into full sun.
After you've performed a few repetitions, and your spine is warmed up, you can even add a little back extension here by looking up and back.
Swan Dive:
On your exhale, sticking your hips back and keeping a slight bend in your knees, slowly fold to the ground with a flat back. The hips back / knees bent is very important to make sure you are not putting any strain in your lower back.
Forward Fold:
Finishing your exhale in the forward fold, dropping your head down, looking through your legs behind you. While in the folded position (if you plan on holding it for a little while), make sure you support your weight by putting your fingertips on the ground, or placing your hands on your shins. Again, this helps to prevent unnecessary pressure in your lower back. 
Lunge:
On your next inhale, step back with one leg into a deep lunge. Drop the hips and lift the head and chest. If you are doing option 1 that follows (child's pose), you can drop back to a kneeling lunge, pressing your back knee into the mat.
Option 1: Child's Pose
For a beginner, or anyone seeking a more gentle practice, stick with option 1 for the next few asanas. After your lunge drop both knees to the ground and press back into child's pose as you exhale. Your fingertips reaching forward while your forehead presses to the mat.
Option 2: Down Dog
As you advance, or for a more intense practice, from the lunge position, step the other leg back and exhale as you lift your hips up to the sky. Focus on pressing the heels into the ground and keeping your shoulders relaxed. Think about sliding your shoulders "down your back" and tucking them into your back pockets, keeping your shoulders away from your ears.
Option 1: Kneeling Plank
Inhale as you shift your weight forward into a kneeling push-up position. Your hips should be in a straight line with your knees and shoulders and your abdominals are kept tight.
Option 2: Plank
From down dog, shift your weight forward into a push up position on your toes, inhaling as you come forward. Abdominals are tight and your arms are strong.
Option 1: Kneeling Crocodile
Slowly and with control, keeping your elbows close to your sides, gently lower yourself toward the ground for the entire length of your exhale. Over time, work on building strength by holding this position. The more you keep your elbows tucked in, the easier this will be.
Option 2: Crocodile
From the plank pose, shift your weight forward by pushing with your toes and slowly lower, keeping your elbows close to your sides. If it seems too challenging at first, feel free to drop to your knees as you lower down, then work on building the strength over time.
Option 1: Baby Cobra
After lowering all the way down, inhale as you lift your chest slightly, using your hands for additional support. As you flow through multiple sun sal's, you may be able to lift your chest a little higher, however, never lift higher than you feel comfortable. This should feel like a nice opener for your abdominals and chest, and a strengthener (not causing strain) for your lower back. If there is any irritation, stay low. You will notice your flexibility will be different every day you perform these poses.
Option 2: Full Cobra
If you have the back flexibility, after lowering your crocodile pose, inhale as you lift your chest and press higher with your hands. Don't feel the need to straighten your arms completely, just lift as high as is comfortable for your back. Just because you are choosing option 2 doesn't mean that you have to perform the full cobra. Having a low-back injury myself, I often perform all the other moves on my toes, but then opt for the baby cobra, unless I am feeling very warm and flexible.
Option 1: Back to Child's Pose
Gently lower your chest and press back to child's pose while exhaling.
Option 2: Back to Down Dog
From Cobra, tuck your toes under and press with your arms as you lift your hips back to the sky, pressing the heels into the ground, back to down dog. Exhaling as you press into this position.
(Whether you are following Option 1 or 2): Lunge
Step one foot forward into the lunge position, taking the time to work your foot back up between your hands. Dropping the hips and lifting the chest as you inhale. Checking to make sure your knee and ankle are in alignment (and that your knee is not past your toes). I have found that it is more difficult to step forward into a lunge (achieving proper form) then it is to step back into the lunge that we do towards the beginning of the salutation. Take the time to inch your foot forward so that your knee comes into proper alignment.
Forward Fold:
Stepping the other foot in as you exhale and sink into your forward fold, remembering to drop your head and keep your weight supported.
Reverse Swan Dive:
Inhale, sticking your hips back and keeping a slight bend in your knees while lifting with a flat back (again, supported through your hips).
Full Sun:
Finishing your inhale by standing tall and reaching back up into full sun.
Mountain Pose:
And finally exhaling your arms back to your sides into mountain pose, checking to make sure the feet are in alignment with the toes facing forward with your hams and glutes contracted.
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This completes one sequence of the sun salutation. I suggest performing an even number and making sure that you alternate which leg you lunge back (and forward) with each time.
After performing 6-10 salutations, you'll probably be feeling pretty warm and ready to attempt additional yoga stretches! However, I've also used the sun salutation as a nice break from a study session, to help clear my mind, and also after a long day of sitting/traveling in order to stretch and strengthen each area of my body.
While I certainly emphasize proper form to all of my classes, it is most important that you release any feelings of judgement or competition with yourself or with others. Resist comparing the way you feel or look in the pose to the pictures you see here, or other ideas you have about these poses. Each day will be different. Some days you will feel strong, balanced and flexible, others you will feel off balance and/or inflexible. That is all part of the journey and discovery of becoming in tune with our bodies.
Keep in mind all the great benefits of yoga that I briefly introduced in the last post about Yog-aaahhhhh. And stay tuned as the next post will give you greater detail and explanations for why and how those benefits can be achieved.
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