How to make greetings to the moon : Chandra Namaskar ?
You knew the Sun Salutations but not the Moon Salutations? It’s time to discover them! After a long day at work, you may be overcome by deep fatigue or stress. During these moments, you feel a strong need for calm. What to do then? You can practice the Moon Salutation, also called Chandra Namaskar, to calm yourself. It allows you to feel the soothing and energizing force of the moon unlike the sun salutation which greets the warm and stimulating energy of the sun. If despite all the relaxation exercises, you still can’t feel better about yourself, find out in this article everything you should learn, share about greeting the moon and how to practice it.
The moon salutation: what is this type of salutation that exists in yoga?
The moon salutation has been around for decades and has long been confused in the yoga world with the sun salutation. Indeed, for many people, the sun salutation or Surya represents more yoga, as it helps to start the day with liveliness.
First of all, moon salutations call for a soft and soothing energy of the moon unlike the sun salutation which requires a lot of strength. It comes from the hatha yoga (the yoga of the living force) and is composed of seventeen calm positions like the low lunge that we associate with the breath to obtain fluid movements that free your chakras. Thus, this posture is a gentle practice that focuses on flexibility, finding balance and guiding in the attainment of calmness. It aims to help develop intuition, feminine energy and make women more beautiful. It can be practiced by both men and women.
Secondly, it is a set of asanas that must be performed at the appearance of the moon: full moon or new moon and not the sun preceded by namaskar (bowing). It brings the practitioner peace, self-control and inner energy (yin), while Surya Namaskar brings strength and outer energy (yang). Perfect for women because of the femininity of the moon, as these energies call for fertility and softness.
Why this greeting in yoga?
It works the opening of the legs while allowing to mobilize the whole body in a soft way. Like yin and yang, the two greetings must be combined to form a balance between the two energies moon – sun. The excess of one will unbalance the energy structure.
The benefits of Chandra Namaskar, the greeting you need
The Chandra Namaskara session is a sequence of yoga poses that allows you to absorb the energies of the moon. Thanks to the positions that compose it, it offers several benefits.
The physical benefits or psychic response of Chandra Namaskar, this form of yoga.
- The fight against insomnia by its relaxing and soothing effects.
- Cooling the body and renewing energy
- Improving women’s health and fertility
- Gentle strengthening of thigh, calf, pelvis and ankle muscles.
- A connection to the soothing energy of the moon,
- A balance of energies in duality,
The Chandra also allows for the practice of side bending and twisting poses which are absent in the Sun Salutation. It also stretches the spine and opens the hips.
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What are the postures that make up the greetings to the moon?
Learning the moon salutation would be the best decision of your life. It consists of seventeen positions on both sides of the body which are done in front of the new or full moon opposing the surya. As a movement, we can cite:
– The salute to the sky or Urdha Hastasana,
– The Crescent Moon or Indulasana,
– The posture of the goddess or Utkata Konasana,
– The Triangle or Trikonasana,
– The pyramid or Parsvottasana,
– The low lunge or Anjaneyasana
To begin with, say namaste, do namaskar and calm your mind, because the moon salutation should be a moment of pure pleasure. So take the time to enjoy each position as much as possible without worrying about the time passing. So stand in the center of the mat, shoulders wide and hands at your hip and breathe.
What to do next during yoga?
From this posture, you can move on to the other Chandra Namaskar positions. For the first movement (Hail to Heaven or Urdha Hastasana), inhale, exhale and raise your arms in a circle by your side and join your hands above your head. The Crescent Moon is when you exhale and bend your body from the pelvis to the right. Then follow with the same thing using your upper body only and exhale.
Afterwards, adopt the Goddess or Utkata Konasana posture. Here, the idea is to keep your toes pointing outward and to have your feet spread in the center about twice the width of your shoulders. Exhale and now bend your knees so that you are in a squat position. To finish, stretch your arms and bend your elbows at 90° with your fingers facing the sky. You can find a goddess in yourself with this goddess pose. This goddess posture stretches the adductors and hips, improves your flexibility.
After this recording movement, continue to do the process slowly and calmly with the Triangle position. Trikonasana consists of turning both feet to the right and unfolding the elbows so that the arms are fully parallel to the floor. To continue, exhale and bend your body toward your right leg. Grab your right ankle or calf with your hand and extend your left arm toward the sky. Now inhale and turn your chest towards the sky.
The pyramid is the next position to do to make your moon salutations successful
So exhale, and draw a half circle with your right arm. In order to bring it to your left arm so that you put both hands on each side of the left leg. Next, bring the right hip to the front of the mat and you will see the right heel lift off slightly. Exhale and now turn to the front of the mat. Take a breath and then exhale and look towards the horizon. Inhale, release your forehead to the outstretched left leg. Finally, place both hands on the floor on each side of the left leg. At the end of each movement, always exhale so that you can continue the movements.
To perform the low lunge, exhale and place yourself in the lunge position while taking your right leg for support and placing your right foot flat. Slowly move your left leg back, taking off your heel. Place your hands on the side of your right big toe. Once done, turn your right foot and your whole body towards the length of the mat and at the same time move your left leg and toes towards the ceiling. The lower slot will be several times in the process.
Other poses you can do: The Hip Opening
The Hip Opening or Skandasana is also a position to do in front of the new moon like the low lunge. Exhale and then close with the first part of your body, reproducing the goddess pose. Then get back into a squat position to mark the halfway point of the cycle. Once the movements are done on both sides of the body, exhale, say namaste and do namaskar again. Make sure you always stay focused and calm during the goddess pose, the low lunge and all other postures.
The moon salutation encompasses the sun salutation. To learn how to do the moon salutation, find on our site a video that guides you on the moon salutation, updated version. Indeed, with our compliant legal notices, the site has very good reviews and we guarantee a privacy policy and a minimum of cookies during your navigation . You can thus practice chandra namaskar at home.
Chandra namaskar is a sequence of movements performed in the same order. Perfect for people in search of fulfillment, its purpose is to pay tribute to the moon.
A moon to enable harmony is the main element to practice Chandra Namaskar. It is called the chandra moon. It can therefore be done in the evening before bedtime, but also in the morning when the moon is still high. Thus, it can be practiced in the same way as the sun salutation, or even throughout the day. According to the phases of the moon, it appears well during the day, the full moon and disappears completely during the nights of new moon!
Ultimately, when you greet the moon, you expand your chakras. The moon salutation is a practice that helps a lot in relaxation and in the search for fulfillment. It consists of seventeen postures such as the low lunge, the goddess which you should work on gently and calmly after doing the namaskar. Practicing Chandra namaskar apart from surya through chandra namaskar moon is the best way to feel these benefits. Then take the time to enjoy this moment and come out with a lot of restorative energy and exhale. With videos available on our site with a privacy policy, regularly perform the chained moon salutation and say welcome to harmony and a beautiful day.
Practice your moon salutations with this video: see the video
Check out our article on 27 yoga positions to master more asanas! See the article
