The logo for Sun Salutations has a lot of symbolism in it. For those unfamiliar, a “sun salutation” is a sequence of yoga poses (asanas) that stretch, warm, and energize the body. There are different versions, but most begin with the arms being raised with the hands above the head.
After my mastectomy and auxiliary lymph node removal due to breast cancer, I could not raise my right arm above my waist. It was the strangest feeling since I was doing pull ups and teaching yoga up until I had the surgery. It was also very disheartening. Simple things like putting my hair in a ponytail, I could no longer do. I really had to modify activities, like my yoga practice, to fit the needs of my body. After months of physical therapy, massaging, and doing modified yoga, I was slowly able to raise my arm to my head again.When I started this company in Afghanistan I knew I wanted the logo to be a silhouette from a sun salutation sequence. To help the graphic designer see what I had envisioned, I did a raised hands pose against a bunker at night time so my shadow and silhouette could be captured. This silhouette became the origins for the Sun Salutations’ logo. The logo is a silhouette of me, and captures a triumph of my cancer journey in being able to raise my arms to my head again after my mastectomy. This logo also symbolizes the power yoga has to heal, and the new beginning we each experience every day at sunrise.