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With its active energy and warming effects, the Sun Salutation is pretty much ubiquitous in contemporary vinyasa yoga classes. But for moments when you need something more gentle, flowy, and, well, lunar, a Moon Salutation may be the celestial-inspired choice for you.
Like the moon itself, Moon Salutations, of which there are various iterations, offer a yin vibe to the more traditional Sun Salutation’s yang. And while some choose to practice them under the full moon specifically, yoga teacher and astrologer Laura Black offers a more expansive take that fits into all (or more) of our phases.
“Moon Salutations are practiced when we need a calming, grounding effect to our warm-up, such as under a dark moon or an evening practice,” says Black. This well-rounded mini flow—which sends you in orbit around your mat rather than along a predominantly sagittal plane—is packed with goddess energy, thanks, in part, to the incorporation of Goddess Pose. Think of the wide squat as your neutral position, the answer to a Sun Salute’s Downward-Facing Dog.
As with Sun Salutations, moving with your breath is an essential element of this lunar flow. But should you want to pause for a few additional inhales and exhales at any point, feel free. The Moon is, after all, all about exploring your intuition.
How to Practice Moon Salutations
Channel the phases of the Moon by arching into crescents, expanding to your fullness, and beginning again.
Mountain Pose
Begin with your feet together, arms down by your sides, and palms facing forward in Mountain Pose.
Upward Salute
With an inhalation, press down through your feet and reach your arms over your head, bringing your palms together in an Upward Salute.
Half Moon Side Bend
Interlace your fingers, releasing your index fingers in a point and leading with them as you bend to your right in a Standing Side Bend.
Goddess Pose
Rise up and come back to center, stepping your right foot out to the side in a wide stance facing the long side of the mat. Bring your hands apart, creating a V shape with your arms and an X shape with your body. Turn our toes out, bend your knees, and squat down into Goddess Pose, creating a cactus shape with your arms.
Triangle Pose
With an inhalation, stand tall, adjusting your feet so your right foot points toward the short edge of the mat. Hinge at your hips and lean toward your right, taking your right hand to your shin, foot, or ankle in Triangle Pose. Reach your top arm toward the sky.
Pyramid Pose
Release your top arm and frame your front foot or shin with both hands, pivoting your back foot in approximately 45 degrees and squaring your hips to the short edge of your mat in Pyramid Pose. Release your neck and head.
Low Lunge
Set your back knee down, bend into your front knee, and lift your torso for a Low Crescent Lunge. Raise your arms alongside your ears and take a gentle backbend.
Side Lunge (R)
Bring your hands to the mat and pivot to face the long edge, straightening your back leg in Side Lunge or Half Squat. Keep your hands at heart center for balance or take them to the mat for extra support.
Shift to the other side, bending into your left knee and straightening your right leg.
Low Lunge
Pivot, squaring your torso to the short edge of the mat and dropping your back knee. Rise and reach up in Low Crescent Lunge.
Pyramid Pose
Bring your hands down to frame your front foot. Step your back foot up and in and press into your back feel for Pyramid Pose on your other side.
Triangle Pose
Turn your back foot out so that it’s parallel with the short edge of your mat. Reach your right hand to the sky in Triangle Pose.
Goddess Pose
Rise up, pivoting to face the long edge of your mat. Bring your hands up and out into a V shape before angling your toes toward the corners of the mat and bending your elbows and knees to sit into Goddess Pose.
Half Moon Side Bend
Bring your feet together and reach your arms overhead in an Upward Salute. Interlace your fingers, release the index fingers, and arc your body to the left in a Standing Side Bend.
Mountain Pose
Rise up and bring your arms down to your sides.
Repeat this cyclical sequence, beginning on your left side.
