In The Alchemical Body, David Gordon White, a professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, describes how practitioners of Tantra (a form of yoga that preceded hatha yoga) believed that the “sun” was located in the solar plexus the “moon,” in the crown of the head. The Shiva Samhita, a 500-year-old Tantric text, regarded the moon as the source of immortality. Other variants of the sequence exist, including one created by The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in the 1980s.īut the idea of looking to the moon for rejuvenation is certainly not new. The Bihar School, which is a yoga school in India founded in the 1960s, first published the sequence in Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha in 1969. The sequence is believed to be an invention of the late 20th century. An ancient understanding of the moonĪnother reason Chandra Namaskar isn’t as well known as Surya Namaskar is because it hasn’t been around nearly as long. As the name suggests, Chandra Namaskar is a quieting sequence that invites you to acknowledge and cultivate the moon’s soothing and cooling lunar energy. You stretch, strengthen, and heat your whole being from the inside out.īut on days when you’re feeling depleted, overstimulated, or overheated, it’s helpful to know that Surya Namaskar has a soothing sister sequence known as Chandra Namaskar, or Moon Salutation.

The sequence’s Sanskrit name, Surya Namaskar, literally translates to “bow to the sun.” As you lift your arms and then bow down, lengthen forward and then jump back, you begin to embody the warmth of solar energy. Perhaps it is a reflection of our multi-tasking, strength-building, destination-driven American culture that the most ubiquitous sequence in our collective yoga practice is the ultimate heat builder, the Sun Salutation. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!

Hatha yoga beginner sequence