Morning Yoga, Evening Yoga (Polair Guides)

MORNING YOGA, EVENING YOGA presents two sequences of postures for today. One, the Surya Namaskar or 'Salutation to the Sun', is probably the earliest such sequence in the tradition. The second of them, Chandra Namaskar, is much more recent and less well-known. It translates as 'Salutation to the Moon'. Where Surya Namaskar is traditionally an early morning routine to awaken the body, Chandra Namaskar is to still the body before sleeping. MORNING YOGA, EVENING YOGA appeals to both the larks and the owls among us. It is designed to help owls face the morning, and larks cope with the evening - to help both types become more balanced in their routine and get more out of each precious day. In addition, Janita writes with a rare depth of understanding about the history of the sequences. She enlarges on traditional teaching and provides alternative postures with authority. The book also contains the mantra chants that traditionally accompany the sequences, taken from the original Sanskrit texts. From yoga comes one of the oldest systems of exercise, perhaps the oldest, we have. The length of the tradition is one of the things that most appeals to its followers in the West.