Indeed this is the case!

And, so, therefore, some yogis commit to Surya Namaskar routine as their main yoga process.

But for inSelf Yogins it would make sense to pay tribute or at least express acknowledgment energy to the sun deity when a practice session has been particularly blessed, as explained in the original post above by RishiDeva. Especially, when the practice has been effectuated during the sun cycle (Savitur,  as opposed to the moon - Chandra)

This is where and how the Gayatri mantra directly connects to the experiential effects of the practice of yoga. And, there is more to be said in terms of the benefits to the consciousness of the yogis. For instance, even though expected to be burning molten hot, to the yogin it is rather the contrary, so the similarity with science is extremely limited.