Moon Salutation Mama

and a lesser-known namaskar

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

-Anton Chekhov

Yes, that little drawing of the woman saluting the moon is my work. Is it a beautiful drawing? Is it well done? It’s not amazing, but that’s okay. I had an image in my mind of what this full moon today meant to me, and that’s what came out.

I hesitated to post it because, well, I want to create quality work. But I had this idea the other day, that I just needed to create, even if my creations were not always perfect or mind blowing or breathtaking. It occurred to me that this could parallel our yoga practice, where we don’t have to do poses that are perfect, breathtaking, difficult, or ‘advanced’ (whatever that means, in yoga). In other words, the point is, to practice anyway whether or not it feels like a perfect practice, because consistency and authenticity are much more important that painstakingly aligned yoga poses.

Just be yourself as you practice. Come to the mat as you are.

And that’s what I did as I drew this little picture. I was just putting onto the page something that felt authentic and meaningful: a woman moving her body, saluting the moon, touching the moon’s reflection in the water. It might mean something different to you than it does to me, but honestly I’m not sure I could so eloquently explain its meaning to me right now. I just had a sense that yoga, with all its teachings about light, could use a little perspective shift as we look at light as it comes from the moon and reflects on water and other things; to look at light as it plays with darkness.

I also love this image of a woman on a shore because she is touching the elements as she practices. Sometimes, indoors and on a yoga mat, I forget that in yoga philosophy, we have some teachings about the elements of nature, called the gunas. Also, in Ayurveda, the sister science to yoga, we can see things through the lens of the doshas, which are constitutions based on the elements of ether, fire, air, water, and earth. In the coming months, I’ll share more about how the elements manifest in a yoga practice and how we can use them as guiding metaphors.

But back to our lady of the moon. She’s my Moon Salutation Mama. Are you familiar with Moon Salutations? Think Sun Salutations a.k.a. Surya Namaskar, but a more gentle version. Moon Salutations, or Chandra Namaskar, concentrates the energy in the legs since it is mostly standing poses and no chaturanga. Let’s practice it together! There are different variations, so keep that in mind as you watch this video. I encourage you to learn other renditions, too!

As always, thanks so much for being here. It truly makes my day to know there are other yoga lovers out there who take the time to explore my little twist on this old tradition we call yoga.

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Jai Ma!