A Calming Energy
According to hatha yoga tradition, the moon and the sun emit two very different types of energy. While the sun is the source of warm, active and outwardly manifested energy, the moon is quite different. Lunar energy is thought to be much cooler, receptive, and directed inward.
This means that yoga practitioners who learn the art of moon salutations will have a great way to calm themselves whenever they need to. In hatha yoga tradition, a moon salutation is a way to calm the energy in the body. This is even more important today than when it was first invented.
There are two reasons for this. The first is that today's society is a much more fast-paced, hectic society than at any other point in history. Everyone is always running around in 20 different directions at once, and this means stress levels are through the roof for most people.
Finding Balance
The other reason that the moon salutation is more important than ever is because of the type of yoga that is practiced in most yoga studios today. In traditional yoga practice, it is thought that the two main forces that are at work inside the body are the solar and lunar energies represented by the sun and moon. The aim of traditional yoga practice is to use asanas to balance the two energies. However, in most modern yoga studios, the asanas that are practiced are primarily asanas that channel the solar energy.
The traditional moon salutation draws from many classic yoga poses to create a 16-step routine that channels the feminine, thoughtful energy of the moon. Although many of the poses like downward-facing dog, child's pose and cat's pose are familiar to most yoga participants, the energy generated by a moon salutation sequence transforms these familiar poses into something quite different.
Anyone who uses a moon salutation regularly will find that they become much more centered and balanced in all aspects of their lives. They will be able to lower their levels of stress, allowing them to deal with difficult situations with a much greater sense of calm and assuredness. The key to great yoga is balance. Anyone who wishes to find balance must look to harness the power of lunar energy. Using the moon salutation is the surest way to help find this sense of balance.
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4 comments:
Moon salutation is a way to calm the energy in the body, by this way its help us to become more centered and balanced in all aspects of our lives.
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Yoga Bali
This is good but it would have been helpful to post the sequence to moon salutation. Many people are not aware of it or what the pose sequence is. Great article.
If you are interested you can even google it ����
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