Moon Salutation

Yesterday, after I posted about my garden, I stepped outside to pick blueberries, and to my surprise, a frolicking baby deer. I froze, not wanting to scare the mother and child. The mother watched me closely as the fawn ran around the yard freely. Never before have I been blessed with such a close encounter of a wild mother and child. Eventually they returned to the secrecy of the forest. I am always deeply grateful for moments like these. Nothing brings you closer to Mother Nature than watching her creatures play.

In honor of the mother and child, the feminine, let’s take a brief look at the Moon Salutation.

(photo from Laura Cornell)

There are different versions, but this Moon Salutation is based on 16 flowing postures "created by and for women in the late 1980s at the Kripalu Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. It balances the more familiar Sun Salutation on physical, psychological, and spiritual levels.” (1) The Moon Salutation cools and calms the nervous system, and is beneficial during menstruation, menopause, and pregnancy. (2)

I personally find that it is a very grounding series of postures that leaves me refreshed and calm. It is a good flow series to practice in the evening or when it is too hot to practice more heat-generating asanas.

(Copyright: Graceful Yoga and Simplicity, 2009)