Morning Yoga, Evening Yoga

Yoga is not just a modern fad, it is one of the oldest forms of bodywork, perhaps even the oldest, that we have. The very length of the tradition behind it is one of the things that appeals to its followers in the West. "Morning Yoga, Evening Yoga" offers two sequences of postures that are popular today. One, the Surya Namaskar, is probably the oldest such sequence in the tradition. It translates to 'Salutation to the Sun,' a name by which it is often known in the West. The second sequence, Chandra Namaskar, is much more recent and is less well known. It translates as 'Salutation to the Moon,' and where Surya Namaskar is traditionally an early morning sequence, Chandra Namaskar is to do before sleeping. "Morning Yoga, Evening Yoga", therefore, has an appeal to both the larks and the owls among those who do yoga. Indeed, it is designed to help owls face the morning better and larks cope with the evening - to become more balanced in their routine. In addition, Janita Stenhouse writes with a rare depth of understanding about the history of the sequences, so that she can enlarge on traditional teaching and provide alternative postures with authority.
She, also, knows the Sanskrit texts behind yoga and is familiar with the mantra chants that traditionally accompany the sequences. Almost unique among yoga books, "Morning Yoga, Evening Yoga" is, also, about sound. Janita Stenhouse writes a column for "Yoga and Health" and also has had a regular strip cartoon feature there and in other yoga journals.