All salutations to Sister Moon. This beautiful moon that gives powerful feminine energy. She is always there to balance her beautiful Brother Sun. Providing cool, steadiness.
This morning, on the tale of the moon's full Sagittarian beauty, I worshipped her in the form of chandra namaskar, salute to the moon. The qualities of the moon are cool, relaxing & creative, they glorify Devi, the female aspect of divinity.
"The physical practice of the asana sequence is similar to surya namaskar. However there is one extra asana, ardha chandrasana or the half moon pose, which emphasises the link with the lunar energies set up by the preparatory visualisations. Also, in chandra namaskar the force of each asana is changed subtly by the repetition of mantras related to the lunar energies.
In the chandra namaskar sequence of fourteen postures move from position 4, ashwa sanchalana, into ardha chandrasana position 5. This posture is repeated at position 11."
By Swami Satyananda Saraswati in Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha p. 173.
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This posture develops balance & concentration which adds another dimension to the practice. It is highly beneficial to women seeking balance within their life.
It is advisable to learn surya namaskar from a qualified yoga teacher before attempting chandra namaskar.
Whereas the twelve positions of surya namaskar relate to the twelve zodiac or solar phases of the year, the fourteen positions of chavdra namaskar relate to the fourteen lunar phases. In the lunar calender the fourteen days before the full moon are known as sukla paksha, the bright fortnight & the fourteen days after the full moon are known as, krishna paksha, the dark fortnight. The name of each day introduces each asava & is uded as a basis for learning the days of the lunar cycle.
For more details see the Bihar Yoga publication; Swara Yoga.
I go into my day feeling happy, joyful & full of hope. Om shanti, shanti, shanti. I hope the same for you, dear reader.
