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Bhucha Phra-Athit

(Classical Thai Sun Salutation)

Commentary: The Starting Point

As elsewhere stated, throughout the world today the practice of yoga is largely associated with Hatha-yoga. The major emphasis of Hatha-yoga is developing physical health and fitness. And the common means of achieving this is the utilization of bodily postures called āsanas. Hatha-yoga is an initial component of Saint Guru Chod's yokha-booran,[1] too.

In this way, the starting point of yoga sri tantra is almost always physical culture, specifically employing the highly-Khmerized Classical Thai Sun Salutation, or Bhucha Phra-Athit, to wonderful results. When regularly performed as a sacred ritual, together with its noble benedictions (mantras), Bhucha Phra-Athit bestows on one incalculable therapeutic benefit. It energizes the personality and makes it sensitive to the cosmic power. It cures all blemishes such as disease, despondency and lethargy. It taps the wellspring of life within. As Guru Chod remarked, "When observed with a sentiment of openness and purity, Bhucha Phra-Athit enables a person to adapt oneself to the infinite source of universal energy."

But don't be deceived. Bhucha Phra-Athit in no way corresponds to today's generic surya namaskar. It is set apart clearly by its technical precision, the unadorned elegance of its Siamese-Khmer stylistic modes, by the organization of its rule-ensemble and its subtle philosophic idiom. Pregnant with sophisticated cultural elements, Bhucha Phra-Athit is an integral component to the highly refined vernacular that this Classical Thai Yoga-Tantra signifies.

Cultural and Philological Underpinnings

Some mention of Bhucha Phra-Athit's distinctive cultural and philological underpinnings would be in order here. Briefly, Bhucha Phra-Athit is a Sanskritic-Thai expression denoting a highly Khmerized mode of Sun worship.[2] Its Vedic origins are evident. Bhucha is derived from the Sanskrit pūja, which combines the sentiments of 'worship,' 'reverence,' 'adoration' and 'rite.' The prefix phra- is a Thai honorific (Sanskrit vara, 'best, very') that functions to exalt the noun it precedes.[3] Athit is derived from the Vedic Aditya, one of the twelve ritual names of the Sun.[4] Supplication of the Sun as Nature Deity is therefore an extremely ancient enterprise. In the remote Vedic religion its worship is supported by the archetypal myth of the Solar Deity riding in a single-wheeled chariot pulled by twelve horses symbolizing the months of the year as it passes through the houses of the zodiac. 

Now this sentiment of heliolatry is no less implicit in Guru Chod's rediscovered yokha-booran. However, cloaked as it is in the Vedic myth, we cannot automatically assume its Indic origin; for there are aspects of Bhucha Phra-Athit that are strongly redolent of Ancient Royal Egypt, "cobras conferring kingship" and that sort of thing.[5] In fact, many scholars are of the view that heliolatry is the origin of all religions. They furthermore postulate Egypt as its birthplace.[6]

T. D. Harris, last revised 23 Apr 2007

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Performing Bhucha Phra-Athit

by Guru Chod (1984)

The most appropriate time to perform Bhucha Phra-Athit, or the "Classical Thai Sun Salutation" is when the Sun is just at the point of rising above the horizon, that is, in the early morning. But this is not obligatory. Every time that you perform Bhucha Phra-Athit, you should directly face the Sun. As with other forms of exercises, it can be done whenever your stomach is empty. It is best to do this with all the windows of your room open, or in the garden on the lawn under the open sky. You should have as little clothing on as possible, or wear light clothing in which you can move about freely when doing this exercise. It should be done with bare feet.

There are twelve positions in Bhucha Phra-Athit.

In the First Position, you stand erect, alert but not tense, looking straight ahead of you with the palms of the hands joined together at chest, your feet closed in, toe-to-toe and heel-to-heel. Think of the Sun as the eternal source of light and power. Breathe in, and then out as you extend your arms in front of you at shoulder level, palms down.

It seems that many people have forgotten how to properly breathe. They pull in their stomachs when they inhale and push out their stomachs while they exhale. This method of breathing is incorrect. The correct way is to push out or distend your stomach as you breathe in, and to pull in or contract your stomach when you breathe out. This way you can inhale more deeply, as well as exhale more fully. Thus in the first position when you are inhaling, you should throw out your stomach or distend it fully. You pull in or contract your stomach as you exhale. This also exercises your kidneys and liver every time you inhale and exhale.

In the Second Position, you raise your arms high over the head and bend backward from the waist while deeply breathing in.

In the Third Position, you breathe out while bending your body forward so that your hands go down as far as they can. Do not strain yourself. Your head should eventually touch your knees. The legs should remain straight. Your hands touch the ground right beside your feet. Your fingertips and toes mark a straight lateral line.

In the Fourth Position, you move your right leg backwards while keeping the left leg where it is. Here the left leg, which must be kept stationary, is bent at the knee and the knee of the right leg, which is to be moved backwards, should be resting on the ground. The right leg touches the ground only with the toes and the knee. Relax and move your body forward a little. Rise up your chin and chest while inhaling deeply, distending your stomach to the fullest. By doing this, the heels of your hands are automatically raised up, only the tips of your fingers still rest lightly on the ground. If this position is properly done, it tones up your liver and kidneys, and exerts gentle pressure on your abdomen, helping proper elimination.

The Fifth Position is assumed when you throw your left leg back to the full length of the leg, and then throw the right leg back, as well, making a plank. The head, back and legs form a straight line. At this point, you should hold the breath.

In the Sixth Position, you bend the arms and let your body come to rest on the ground with the eight points or ashtanga of your body touching the ground. These eight points are, the two feet (toes), the two knees, the chest, the forehead and the two hands (palms). As you lower your body, exhale as deeply as possible, expelling all the air out of your lungs, while at the same time pulling in your stomach.

In the Seventh Position, you raise your head and chest upward to the full extent of your straightened arms; arch your back and raise your chin up as high as possible. Breathe in.

In the Eighth Position, without moving your feet or hands, you raise up the entire body so that your bottom is in the superior position, like a mountain, with the knees and elbows straight. Try to touch the heels and the top of the head to the ground. Breathe out.

The Ninth Position is achieved by dropping the left knee down on the ground, about half way between the hands and the feet and then bringing the right leg forward all the way to the hands (in reverse of position no. 4). Breathe in.

The Tenth Position is performed by bringing the left leg forward, putting the left foot at the side of the right foot and letting the hands remain on the ground. This is in repeat of position no. 3. Breathe out.

In the Eleventh Position, you return to position no. 2. Breathe in.

In the Twelfth Position, you lower your arms down straight in front of you until they come to rest at your sides. Breathe out.

These twelve positions make one round. It is essential to point out that you should perform Bhucha Phra-Athit twelve rounds at a time. If you are tired after any round of the exercise, you can rest and then start again until twelve rounds are completed.  

Finally, Bhucha Phra-Athit is never complete without proper breathing. Breathing is the rhythm, the rhyme and the life of this exercise. You must, therefore, practice this exercise with care in order to master the technique of breathing. Without proper breathing, this exercise is just an exertion. With breathing properly done, it charges your personality with unbounded cosmic energy.

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Notes to Commentary

[1] Yokha-booran is a Sanskritic-Khmer-Thai expression: yokha is obviously the Sanskrit yoga; booran is derived from the Sanskrit pūrna, which with extended meanings in the Thai language implies 'complete, full, fulfilled, restored and perfected,' among other things. The Sanskrit reconstruction of Thai yokha-booran would be pūrna-yoga.

[2] Its Sanskrit reconstruction would be āditya-pūja.

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