
On each exhale, deepen your squat to feel a deeper stretch in the hips. Touch your forefingers and thumbs together in the Gyana mudra. On an exhale, bend your elbows to a 90 degree angle and feel your shoulders slide down your back, opening the chest. On an inhale, bring your arms straight out to your sides at shoulder height with palms facing forward. Lower your hips into a squat, being sure that your knees don’t extend over your toes. Turn both toes outward and exhale as you bend your knees into a right angle. Inhale and step your left foot wide to the side of the mat. Inhale back to the center and bring your palms down to Namaste position. Be careful keep your core engaged and avoid crunching into the side of the body. On an inhale, come back to the center and then exhale to bend right. Keep your glutes activated and feel an elongated stretch through your right side body. On an exhale, bend to the left and create an arched half moon shape. Interlock your fingers and release the index fingers to point upwards.

Inhale and bring your arms straight out to the sides and then overhead. Take a few rounds of inhales and exhales. Bring your palms to a prayer position in front of your heart chakra and rest your thumbs on your sternum. Keep your spine straight, and gaze forward. Standing Mountain Pose (Tadasana) or Prayer Pose (Paranamasana)īegin in a standing position with your feet hip width apart in the center of your mat. It moves through 9 different asanas (poses), building up to a central pose and then continuing back down to the first posture. The moon salutation flow is a cyclical sequence. What is the Moon Salutation Sequence? 9 Simple Yoga Poses In order to reap the most benefits of moon salutations, it’s best to practice at least once per day, ideally in the evening.

Sun salutations are often a cardio workout while moon salutations don’t tend to elevate the heart rate. Traditional yogis used these mutually beneficial sequences to create a complimentary yoga practice for both morning and evening. On the other hand, the moon salutation is receptive, relaxing, and meditative. The sun salutation is vigorous, energizing, and fast moving. While sun salutations ( Surya Namaskar) are typically practiced in the morning to generate warmth and movement, moon salutations ( Chandra Namaskar) are often practiced at the end of a yoga class or in the evening to help the body cool off and slow down. The moon salutation sequence is the physical and energetic opposite of a sun salutation. What is the difference between Sun Salutation and Moon Salutation? The result is a cooling, stress-relieving, and hip-opening yoga experience that draws your mind inward for silence and peacefulness.

This standing sequence builds up to a Goddess Pose and then repeats each posture on the other side. Moon salutations impart soothing and restorative yin energy that helps balance the fiery, warming yang energy of sun salutations.Ĭhandra Namaskar includes 9 poses that are repeated in a cyclical nature. It includes low-impact asanas that activate the parasympathetic nervous system (for rest and digestion) and open the hips. 3.4 Five Pointed Star Pose (Utthita Tadasana)Ī moon salutation (Chandra Namaskar) is an ancient yoga sequence designed to quiet the mind and calm the body while drawing on the feminine energy of the moon.3.2 Standing Half Moon (Urdvha Hastasana).3.1 Standing Mountain Pose (Tadasana) or Prayer Pose (Paranamasana).

