How To Do Moon Salutations

We’ve all done sun salutations, but Moon salutations are less-frequently taught (and underappreciated!). Especially the summer time is a great time to incorporate moon salutations into your practice. This practice is a way to connect to a cooler, more liquid energy, and it’s structured differently than most yoga sequences. You start standing and work your way down to the mat in a series of linked poses, then turn to the other side and work your way back up to standing, completing the same set of linked poses from the ground up. You can make it the foundation of your practice when you need to counterbalance the heat of summer, or add it at the end of practice to ground and cool down.

Moon Salutation Sequence:

1. From standing, lift your arms overhead and move to Half Moon (standing side bend) to the right and the left.
2. Step feet wide and lower into Deviasana (goddess pose).
3. Trikonasana (triangle) on the right.
4. Drop the left hand and square the hips forward for parsvottanasana (pyramid) on the right.
5. Drop the left knee for a low lunge, anajaneyasana. Lift the arms for a back bend.
6. Drop the arms and turn the toes to your left. Side lunge with the right knee bent.
7. Unbend the right knee and walk the feet together.
8. Sink the hips back into a squat.
9. (This is why moon salutations are fun—now we’ll begin to mirror what we’ve already done on the right side, working from the ground up on the left side.)
10. Lift out of the squat and step the feet wide.
11. Bend into a side lunge, left knee bent.
12. Turn the toes to the left and lower the right knee for anjaneyasana on the left. Lift the arms for a backbend.
13. Plant your hand and straighten both legs for parsvottanasana.
14. Lift the right arm and turn the heart to the ceiling for triangle.
15. Lift the torso, bring the feet parallel, and sink into goddess.
16. Stand and step the feet together.
17. Lift the arms overhead for Half Moon (standing side bend) to the right and the left.
18. Return to Tadasana.