It’s a bit of a thing to do 108 of a thing in the yoga world. Events where attendees complete 108 sun salutations are prevalent on the solstices, equinoxes, and days of importance. Most japa meditation malas have 108 beads. I’m no expert on the historical and spiritual significance – and given the incredibly broad range of optional answers google reports back on what makes 108 special, nor are most in the world. Today Google finds well over 86 million results to the query, so it’s a popular topic. Regardless of how far down the rabbit hole you go in your research, it’s pretty solid that in the Dharmic religions 108 is a number of spiritual completion and it seems likely the idea gained traction in getting paired up with our more modern sun salutations when a few commonly repeated fun facts were added in:
“the diameter of the sun is 108 times the diameter of the earth” (well, it’s actually 109.2)
“the average distance of the sun and moon to the earth is 108 times their particular diameters” (but it’s 109.1 for the sun, 110.6 for the moon)
“their are 12 major constellations and 9 planets – 12×9=108” (and Pluto kind of ruins this one in that it wasn’t even discovered until 1930, and then lost it’s full planet status in 2006)
As a mala maker, I also have it on very good authority that even the sacred mala has 108 beads to ensure you have complete the mantra 100 times – that’s right, in Tibetan Buddhism the last 8 are spare so you don’t have to stress. If you were working to say a mantra 1,000 times, you would simply go around 10 times and not have to worry about missing any or messing one up because you have spares for that. Bonus info – some malas have 111 beads, with larger spacer beads so you know when you are 1/4 through, and bracelets can have 21 or 22 (not just the traditional 27) – you just have to run through those 5 times instead of 4 to get your solid 100.
None of this is to be negative, if anything it’s wildly interesting to me that so many people are seeking and creating long detailed official sounding answers to a question that maybe doesn’t need one – perhaps we can just let it be enough that its a sacred number?
But about that practice… if we go to what I consider to be the core of a yoga practice, the idea that it’s a moving meditation, then it all starts to make a bit more sense. My take is that the goal is to honor the day with a powerful meditation. The more repetitive a thing is, the more likely we are able to turn off the focus on what the physical body is doing and get to a meditative space.
The idea here is a like a way more intense walking meditation. In any given yoga practice we are pretty likely to honor the sun with a (sun) salutation. It’s a common, known pattern in the body. So as we repeat it a bunch of times, the breath regulates to the motion, the mind gets to leans on muscle memory while staying just focused enough to not get distracted, and your set for a great meditative state.
Knowing that, I offer you this – it’s not about the actual sun salutation, or the chaturangas, or the muscles powering through a yoga marathon. It’s about you using your body and breath to calm the mind. I hope this perspective allows you to seeking a version that suits all of you (body, mind, and spirit) to honor the day, instead of pushing to places that may not be best for your, or saying “no” altogether.
Below are a few variations you might try, or blend together:
- 108 Traditional Sun A’s (mindful of the shoulders, meditation is no place for ego induced injuries)
- 108 Sun A’s with knees chest and chin and cobra in place of the chaturanga/up-dog
- 108 Sun A’s with a step back to down dog in place of the chaturanga/up-dog
- 108 “Top of a Sun A” – skip the step back altogether and flow mountain/forward fold/half lift/forward fold/mountain
- 108 seated cat/cow breaths with arms sweeping up and around with the inhale (cow), and down through center with the exhale (cat).
- 108 of anything else that sinks your movement with your breath and allows you to find a moment of meditation.
Namaste!
P.S. Counting is hard, here’s my method: take 108 beans, or shells, or really anything small that won’t roll away. Make a little pile on the right side of your mat and each time you come near the end of the movemement sequence move one over to the left. This “when” may vary with your variation, but in a traditional one I do it just before returning to standing mountain.